Weaknesses of the Self-Sufficiency Standard Methodology

The Self-Sufficiency Standard studies share a common methodology for developing their data, and in general it is quite sound. (Wealthandwant sees different causes and solutions to the problems, but applauds the short-term solutions the writers propose.) Here are a few possible issues for those who delve into the SSS-based tables on this website.

1. Transportation costs do not vary as widely as is probably appropriate to account for local commuting patterns. Counties where many people commute to a nearby city might have higher costs than those who live in counties closer in. (A researcher who wants to delve into this might use the county-level commuting data from the 2000 census.) It would also be interesting to know what percentage of the costs in the SSS studies could be attributed to gas costs, and be able to estimate the impact of higher gas prices on the SSS.

2. Because "miscellaneous" is a function of the total of housing, food, childcare, healthcare and transportation (10% of that subtotal), "miscellaneous" in San Francisco is a lot more than "miscellaneous" in Wilcox County, Alabama, which may provide the family in expensive cities a bit more leeway than those in small-town America. This may account in part for the phenomenon of urban young people having what to most of us are expensive electronics, or designer shoes, despite their families' low income. However, 10% is a lower assumption than many other "basic needs" methodologies use.

3. The public transportation assumptions can be tricky. For example, in Stamford, CT, many people commute to New York City by train, so use public transportation, satisfying the criterion for public transportation use. So the SSS assumes public transportation for low-income people, at a rate of about $45 per month, the cost of a local bus pass. Buses run every hour or half hour on most routes, and may not run on weekends. (A monthly train ticket to NYC costs $264 in Spring, 2006; a monthly ticket to nearby Norwalk is $56, and needing a combination of bus and train would not be unusual. And railroad station parking costs at least $50 per month, if you can get a parking spot; waiting lists are years in length. Daily parking is far higher.)