PD Editorial: A picture of Sonoma County’s working poor

Sonoma County has so much going for it — towering redwoods, pristine beaches, some of the world’s best wines.

But a new Fed study paints a sobering picture of Sonoma County residents struggling to make ends meet in a place of plenty.

According to the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 36% of local households are unable to afford basic necessities, even though at least one resident is working at least one job. The percentage is even higher in adjacent counties.

The profile of those foundering includes people with jobs widely seen as middle class or even upper-middle class. They are firefighters, teachers and paramedics as well as “people who wait on us today,” William Rodgers III, the institute’s director, told an audience drawn from local community service organizations at a Sonoma County Economic Development Board conference in October.

Among those who struggle to pay for basics, according to a separate statewide study by United Way, are 70% of single mothers, 27% of seniors, 45% of African Americans, 51% of Latinos and 44% of Native Americans.

The data, which reflects the high cost of housing and rising prices for food and transportation, child care and other staples, comes alive at places like local food pantries where hundreds of people line up every week to supplement their meals.

You can think of them as ALICE.

ALICE is an acronym coined by Rodgers to describe people who are asset limited, income constrained and employed. In short, working households that don’t earn enough to afford the basics where they live.

Rodgers’ research found that 43% of California households fall into that category, and the total is higher still in many Bay Area and North Coast counties — 45% in Marin, 48% in Mendocino, 51% in Lake.

There are individual impacts — health problems and obesity resulting from poor diets, risking bigger financial problems by driving without insurance, living in substandard housing or becoming homeless. There also are macroeconomic effects, with reduced buying power subtracting from potential gains in gross domestic product.

“One of the challenges for Sonoma County,” Rodgers told the North Bay Business Journal, “is there’s a host of jobs, on average, that have lower wages.”

The Board of Supervisors raised the living wage for county employees and contractors, and new state laws will raise the wage floor for fast-food and health care workers in 2024. But employers also must account for rising costs. Moreover, in a tight labor market — Sonoma County’s unemployment rate in September was 3.5% — even starter jobs already tend to pay more than minimum wage.

A well-educated workforce with skills tailored to a 21st century economy could attract higher paying jobs to Sonoma County. Institutions such as Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College have a large role in training that workforce.

But that will take time, and it won’t address immediate needs. Fortunately, there are numerous nonprofit and community organizations providing assistance to people in need, including United Way, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Catholic Charities and the Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County. As we head into the holiday season, remember these organizations and others like them could use your help making life better for everyone in Sonoma County.

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