Evaluating human security conditions in the US
Speaking Security Newsletter | Note n°209 | 29 June 2023
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Situation
In his first budget request, Joe Biden said the goal is “not simply to emerge from the immediate crises we inherited, but to build back better.” So are we better off? Those who say yes point to upturns in broad macroeconomic indicators. More precise measures of human security suggest the answer is no.
Human security
While national security is about preserving the state, human security’s concern is the people living in it. Being secure on a personal level means having freedom from fear, want, and indignity. How close someone is to that ideal condition depends on several factors. The 1994 UN Human Development Report outlined seven dimensions of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political.
The US government sponsors plenty of human security assessments for developing countries, but it rarely evaluates itself in the same way. The closest thing we’ve got to a comprehensive human security barometer is the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which began collecting biweekly data in 2020 to gauge the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic and track Americans’ recovery from it.
I like the Household Pulse Survey. I may even love it. It’s diverse human security-related information disseminated in near real-time: the most recent data collection period, for example, was June 7 - 19. Findings were analyzed and published eight or nine days later. Usually there’s a lag time of eight or nine months for data like these.
Measuring economic and food (in)security
I used two of the Survey’s questions to define economic and food insecurity: People who say it’s somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses are economically insecure;1 people who say they sometimes or often don’t have enough to eat are food insecure.2 I calculated the fiscal year averages for both.
Based on these two metrics, the human security situation is deteriorating in the US. After declining in 2021, economic and food insecurity rates in 2022 eclipsed 2020’s appalling levels. So far, 2023 is even worse. The marked improvement in macroeconomic indicators like GDP and unemployment belie the actual day-to-day conditions on the ground. Those broad indicators still matter, of course. It’s just that if you want to find out how people are doing, it’s a good idea to ask around.
^Alt text for screen readers: Financial hardship and food insecurity rates are rising in the U.S. This chart has blue and lavender columns from 2020 to 2023. The blue columns represent the average percent of Americans who are struggling to pay their bills. The lavender ones show the percent without enough to eat. A grim picture is painted. Financial insecurity rates: 32.2 percent in 2020, 30.8 in 2021, 35 in 2022, and 39.3 in 2023. Food insecurity rates: 10.5, 10.1, 10.7, 11.2. Figures are fiscal year averages as of June 2023. Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
*I updated the chart on July 4 to make the notes easier to read and to correct a spelling error I made in my own Twitter handle. Everything else is the same as before.
-Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)
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Here’s the full Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey question I used for economic insecurity: In the last 7 days, how difficult has it been for your household to pay for usual household expenses, including but not limited to food, rent or mortgage, car payments, medical expenses, student loans, and so on? Select only one answer. 1) Not at all difficult 2) A little difficult 3) Somewhat difficult 4) Very difficult.
Here’s the full Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey question I used for food insecurity: In the last 7 days, which of these statements best describes the food eaten in your household? Select only one answer. 1) Enough of the kinds of food (I/we) wanted to eat 2) Enough, but not always the kinds of food (I/we) wanted to eat 3) Sometimes not enough to eat 4) Often not enough to eat.