Miami-Dade needs bold solutions to confront deep poverty in the county
The grim reality outlined in the Miami Herald’s Feb. 7 story, “Booming economy? For South Florida residents, barely getting by is increasingly the norm,” is so true, yet truly disturbing.
The United Way’s recently published Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed report (ALICE), examines household finances for some Miami-Dade families.
The report confirms that 40 percent of Miami-Dade’s working families now struggle to make ends meet.
According to the data, a family of four with two young children would have to earn more than $61,000 a year to afford basic necessities. However, the median household income in the county was only $46,000.
This report calls attention to the very issues I have been working on for years and serves as a warning for area leaders that our work to address the affordability crisis in Miami-Dade must deepen and accelerate. We must do more to address the inadequate supply of affordable housing by re-assessing our county assets and deploying tools to address issues.
In the past seven years, the county has created only 12 new homeowners using the available county funds for affordable housing, despite the $40 million left unused in the trust fund. This is simply unacceptable, and the ALICE report confirms why it’s time to bring fresh approaches to these challenges.
Change won’t come automatically. We need to work for it, and that starts by accepting we have problems that are worthy of bold and immediate solutions.
Daniella Levine Cava is the Miami-Dade County commissioner representing District 8.
