Lone Star authorities opted against joining 22 other states on Jan. 1 in boosting the minimum wage, which has sat at the federal hourly minimum of $7.25 for more than a decade. We were also one of 15 states (all of which happen to be Republican-led) to swat away millions in federal aid for a summer child hunger assistance program.
Critics argue that Texas should be doing far more to help out its most vulnerable residents.
State Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat, blasted the refusal to raise the minimum wage as “beyond unconscionable.” He served as joint author on a bill during the last regular session that would have mandated a $15 hourly minimum. Jones also cited other legislation, including a bill he co-authored, that could have worked to address hunger in a state where more than 1.2 million kids need assistance.
The fact that Texas, which enjoyed a record budget surplus in 2023, declined to help feed its poorest kids doesn’t sit well with Jones. He said it was “disappointing” that these issues weren’t taken seriously last session, but that he’ll continue fighting to find solutions.
Nearly 45,000 residents in Jones’ district live below the poverty level, he said.
“Declining to increase the minimum wage and declining Federal child hunger assistance is a direct attack on my constituents,” he said via email. “These resources would have helped families who continue to suffer in silence and are pushed aside in an effort to pursue partisanship over policy.”
North Texas Food Bank President and CEO Trisha Cunningham told the Observer that the coronavirus ushered in unprecedented need. But the additional support that people received during the pandemic, such as stimulus checks, has since sunsetted.
Since March 2022, Cunningham’s organization has seen a roughly 15% distribution increase above pandemic levels, she said. The COVID-era support that the food bank received from the government has also gone away.
Even though unemployment has improved, the food bank that Cunningham leads is serving needs at a higher rate than it was during the pandemic.
“There are people [whose] budgets now just are not going as far, and they don't know where to go to get help,” she said. “So, they’re turning to the food bank.”
More folks are seeking out North Texas Food Bank’s help in putting food on the table, Cunningham said, describing the ongoing situation as an “economic disaster.” Paychecks just haven’t kept up with inflation.
Amanda Posson, senior policy analyst with the nonpartisan nonprofit Every Texan, highlighted several pertinent stats. The median household income in Dallas, for instance, is nearly $64,000, but nationally, it’s more than $75,000.
The rate of low-income folks is higher locally as well: 17.5% of Dallas residents are living in poverty compared with 11.5% at the national level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Posson also zoomed out by noting that 2.5 million Texas workers earn less than $15 an hour, which translates to around $31,000 annually. It’s hard to get by at that pay, she said, especially considering that cities like Dallas have high costs of living. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that a family of four in the Dallas metro area needs to bring home more than $82,000 per year to cover all of their basic costs.“There are people [whose] budgets now just are not going as far, and they don't know where to go to get help.” – Trisha Cunningham, CEO North Texas Food Bank
tweet this
There’s a narrative in Texas that raising the minimum wage would result in job loss, Posson said, but studies don’t generally support that assertion.
Nationally speaking, Republicans tend to argue that wages should be set at the local level because of differing city and state economies, she added. However, in Texas, Republicans have stripped local officials’ ability to take such action.
“We need to make our voices heard on this issue,” Posson said. “We need to elect representatives who understand how stagnant wages are, and that the only solution to bring families out of poverty is to raise the minimum wage so that people and families can put food on the table.”
North Texas Food Bank’s Cunningham said that when Texas doesn’t take advantage of federal aid, such as the child hunger assistance program, food banks here become “the safety net for the safety net, and we are not equipped or funded to be able to do that.” To her, not helping Texas families with federal resources seems “shortsighted.”
Still, her organization receives support from officials on both sides of the aisle, she said. Hunger is a nonpartisan issue.
“It is critical that all of our elected officials come together and try to support stronger policy that will help us to be able to ensure that we can meet the needs of our community,” Cunningham said. “They have done it in the past, and we know that they can continue to do that for us.”
