Chris Pietropinto knows what it’s like to have to choose between bills.
For the last two decades, the Cedar Rapids woman and her husband have lived on one income, after a disability at 23 meant Pietropinto could no longer work. Instead, she did her best to balance their books.
“He’s worked everything from lube tech to line cook to gas jockey; mostly non-benefit jobs with low pay,” Pietropinto said of her husband’s employment.
In a bygone era, even just one low-paying job might have allowed the couple to get by.
But Iowa’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour—untouched since the federal government last raised it in 2009—hasn’t kept up with the reality of price increases. The couple dealt with rent hikes, higher food prices and unexpected vehicle maintenance. All the while, Pietropinto tried to figure out ways to make it through another month.
A sick cat one month meant forgoing the electric bill and catching up later. A sore tooth meant waiting for days or even weeks for a spot to open up at the University of Iowa’s student dental clinic—which is cheaper but takes longer, with more hoops to jump through—and swallowing their pride to ask family for the extra cash to pay for it.
“Those ‘extra’ expenses almost broke us down a few times,” she said.
The Pietropintos usually did not qualify for food assistance, like an estimated one in four food-insecure people that fall through the cracks. Pietropinto still remembers “the scary time” one week, when she cleaned out their fridge and...
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