1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

According to the United Way's latest available data (from 2022) there are 1.9 million households in the state of Ohio that fall beneath the ALICE Threshold. ALICE stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed and describes the Americans whose income does not meet the level of a survival or subsistence budget for where they live. From the United Way website: Of Ohio's 4,857,452 households in 2022… 14% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) 25% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live Together, 39% of households in Ohio were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households) Nearly all means-based qualification for help from the government is based on a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level. The way the FPL is calculated was defined in 1963. They took the amount of money it would take to feed a family of a given size frugally, and multiplied that by 3. That's the Federal Poverty Level. Obviously, this is out of date, but it's not been revised in 62 years. For Ohio, the middle-class income range in 2022 was between $44,660 and $133,980. This is based on a common definition where middle-class households earn two-thirds to double the state's median income. For Ohio, the ALICE Threshold for a family of 4 (two adults, two children) is $64,044. This means that a significant number of households that are considered to be "middle class" are not earning enough to afford a basic survival budget. The common sense definition of "poverty" would seem to me to be living on less income than is necessary to afford the basic necessities. But clearly, this is not how poverty is legally defined. In order to address any problem, the problem must first be identified and defined. So to address poverty in Ohio, I think it is vital that we recognize the true costs of living, and how that affects Ohioans. At the time of the election last year, voters were saying the economy was a top priority. Most working peoples lives are not directly affected by the stock market. When they say "the economy," what they mean is how much it costs to live versus what they are earning at their jobs. In conclusion, I'm calling on our representatives and leaders in the state of Ohio to legally recognize poverty as the condition of living beneath the ALICE Threshold. Once that has been done, then maybe we can begin to figure out how to start helping Ohio families.