Don Erbert hit the nail on the head.
“Why is it a person working at a plant in Iola can’t afford food?” the longtime Iolan questioned in his recent letter to the editor.
Why? — Because today’s minimum wage does not support a minimum lifestyle. And most industries in Iola pay piss-poor wages for entry-level positions.
The minimum wage in Kansas is $7.25. For an individual to live a bare existence in Allen County, he must earn 9 percent more — $7.99 an hour — according to the Living Wage Calculator, a study that considers the living conditions of every county in the United States.
A minimum-wage job provides an annual income of $15,080. A minimal existence in Allen County requires annual income of $16,628.
According to the calculator, an area individual can afford no more than $425 a month in rent, $242 a month in food, and $306 a month for transportation.
Add a child, and the income required for overall costs balloons to $35,700, requiring an hourly wage of $17.17.
AS A STATE, Kansas is losing traction.
Roughly one in seven is enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, KanCare, according to a new report by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The program provides health care for adults who are elderly and poor or disabled as well as to indigent mothers and their children.
For an individual, coverage is available for those who make about $7,800 a year — and less.
In one year’s time, the number qualifying for KanCare has jumped from 396,374 to 426,642, hitting a historic high.
State officials blame the Affordable Care Act, saying news of its offerings has caused a surge in applications from those who before went without health insurance.
Not to cast aspersions, but Mr. Erbert also said that he, for one, is glad Crossroads Motel showed its delinquent patrons the door. “It was definitely a canker sore on Iola,” he said of the motel, which raised its rates from $100 a week to $200 a week.
