I usually listen to KUNM on my way to and from work. I love NPR, I think it is no nonsense news and information. This morning on the KUNM Call in Show they were discussing household energy prices and how they would affect New Mexico households this winter. The best part of the discussion was when a gentleman called in and commented on how we’re not really as poor as it sounds. I tend to agree.

They mentioned that New Mexico has a lot of impoverished households, in fact almost 1 in 5 New Mexico households fall below the national poverty live. This is troubling because it would in fact be difficult to live at these levels. I believe it was stated that 1 in 3 NM households are below double the federal poverty level ( this is still not a lot of money, but you can live on it.) Even at or below the poverty level it is possible for American families to live better than most of the citizens of the World. If you figure in government aid, these people can live as well as I do.

Here is a staggering statistic. They said that the average food costs for a family of 3 was $550 a month. The average household expense for food among American families surveyed by the ERS for the USDA was $38 per person per week in 2003. It must be higher today. That means that the average household the size of mine spent over $600 a month for food in 2003. For households at or below the poverty level it was $27 per person per week or, $430 a month for a family of 4. This may not seem like a lot to you, but it seems like a lot to me. My family of 4 spends an average of $310 a month for food including both the grocery store and eating out.

The caller also pointed out that people generally are not good about their energy use. They leave lights on, they leave their TVs on, they don’t carpool to work.

What we need to do is educate the impoverished, not give them money. They need to learn how to use energy efficiently, cook inexpensively (and healthily), and manage their funds appropriately.

I’m not saying that it is easy to live on a small amount of money, but with the government aid these people are receiving, if they would manage themselves well, they would be able to rise out of poverty.