Suburbs hit by Poverty

[HoosierGuy]

Poverty comes to the suburbs.

The Associated Press: Suburbs take hit as US poverty climbs in downturn

A pair of analyses by the nonprofit Brookings Institution paints a bleak economic picture for the 100 largest metropolitan areas over the past decade and in coming years, and finds that suburbs now are home to one-third of the nation's poor, and rising.

The study of census data finds that since 2000, the number of poor people in the suburbs jumped by 37.4 percent to 13.7 million. The growth rate of suburban poverty is more than double that of cities and higher than the national rate of 26.5 percent.

More than half of the U.S. largest suburbs had large increases in poverty.

[pam]

I think whoever wrote this needs to get out of the city and visit the "burbs" more often. I've lived in large cities all my life and there has been poverty in many of the suburbs of the cities I've lived in.

[HoosierGuy]

I think whoever wrote this needs to get out of the city and visit the "burbs" more often. I've lived in large cities all my life and there has been poverty in many of the suburbs of the cities I've lived in.

The thing is, it's on the rise.

[pam]

The thing is, it's on the rise.

And that is new news?

[HoosierGuy]

I just read one out of every 34 Americans who earned wages in 2008 earned absolutely nothing in 2009.

Every 34th wage earner in America in 2008 went all of 2009 without earning a single dollar, new data from the Social Security Administration show. Total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined, but at the very top, salaries grew more than fivefold.

tax.com: Scary New Wage Data

[Traveler]

This goes back to what I posted some time ago. Starting in the 1960’s it was determined that it was possible to take 2% of the gross national product and divert it to the poor to end poverty in the USA. We are now diverting much more than that through government programs and poverty is worse today than it was 50 years ago we started what was labeled under President Johnson as the “Great Society”.

It is time to fire both the Democrats and the Republicans and try something different than to retry something that has failed calling it different. There will never be enough money to end poverty.

And the federal funding of education has taken the pride of the industrial world and turned it into the worse of all industrial nations. Does anyone else get the impression that Washington is not helping – regardless of the party?

The Traveler

[dahlia]

Every 34th wage earner in America in 2008 went all of 2009 without earning a single dollar, new data from the Social Security Administration show. Total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined, but at the very top, salaries grew more than fivefold.

tax.com: Scary New Wage Data

Wow, that's amazing. I usually keep up on this kind of data but missed this. If this is the case, there are a lot of people hurting out there.

[RachelleDrew]

I see it a lot. I guess i'm in a nicer residential area, similar to the "burbs". I get collection calls from agencies for my neighbors a lot (those people are RUTHLESS. They call your families, your neighbors, your work...it never ends. I've had to call the BBB twice now.)

There were several foreclosures here over the summer, and I don't recall there ever being any before. A lot of housewives are going back to school or work after years of homemaking. It doesn't take statistics to see the decline in the middle class.

[bytor2112]

It's funny what Americans consider as "poverty".

[RachelleDrew]

It's funny what Americans consider as "poverty".

Truth. Our poverty is like a Daddy Warbucks dreamworld to people in other parts of the world.

[HoosierGuy]

It's funny what Americans consider as "poverty".

So the American public does not have the right to complain and fight for a better life? They should shut up and be happy they are not horribly poor as those in India and Africa?

[Just_A_Guy]

The trouble is that "fight for a better life" too often degenerates into "demand government-enforced redistribution".

Most people--even (ulp!) conservatives--are on board with a limited degree of outright redistribution, to the extent necessary to address starvation or homelessness or immediately life-threatening medical conditions.

But in the United States, "poverty" connotes none of the above more often than not.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Just_A_Guy

[RachelleDrew]

So the American public does not have the right to complain and fight for a better life? They should shut up and be happy they are not horribly poor as those in India and Africa?

I think he was just making an observation, not a judgement necessarily...I could be wrong though. Bytor?

[bytor2112]

I think he was just making an observation, not a judgement necessarily...I could be wrong though. Bytor?

Your right.....just an observation.

[RachelleDrew]

Your right.....just an observation.

Do I win?

[Guest Kamperfoelie]

Quote:- Traveler - There will never be enough money to end poverty.

Money doesnt cure poverty. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him to fish and he will eat every day. unless of course he refuses to be taught, cant be bothered to work, has some far-fetched semi-imaginary medical condition that exempts him from trying, or of course, if he is constantly high on meth/coke and pawns the fishing rod you gave him.

Not saying there arent lots of people who are 'blamelessly' unemployed. Just saying there's a whole big bunch who are unemployed through their own doing, and these are the stone around the neck of any nation struggling to make it to its feet.

[bytor2112]

Do I win?

Yep.

[Wingnut]

[tangent]

It's funny what Americans consider as "poverty".

I had a thought similar to this a few weeks ago.

I live in the Cleveland area, near East Cleveland. We had sister missionaries in our ward for a few months, but they were transferred out after only a few months, because the mission president realized how close to East Cleveland they were. It's not a good neighborhood. White women in skirts shouldn't be there after dark by themselves (or in pairs).

I grew up in Southern California. When the Rodney King riots broke out in 1992, my dad was in the stake presidency. He canceled all stake meeting for nearly two weeks (I think), because our stake took in a small part of the area where the riots were happening, and he didn't want anyone in the stake having to travel or leave their houses unnecessarily.

On my mission, I served for three months in Salinas, CA. At the time, it has the highest murder rate per capita in the country. Though we split the city with the elders, and they had the seedier areas, we had some pretty rough neighborhoods, too. While visiting a less-active family once, my companion and I missed our next appointment, because we ended up spending almost an hour on the floor of a shabby one-room "apartment" while there was a drug bust and police shootout happening outside the front door.

I was with a group of girlfriends the other night -- most of whom are married to medical or dental students, who met their husbands at BYU, and were all raised out west. They talked about how they always had sirens going down their street when they lived in "the ghetto" (direct quote) in South Provo.

It's funny what Americans consider as "poverty".

So, to quote again, really, it was all I could do to not burst out laughing. It's funny what white girls from Utah consider "the ghetto."

[/tangent]

[HoosierGuy]

In the paper today Indiana is going to put armed guards in 38 or so unemployment offices.

Unemployment insurance runs out for many in November. I guess they are expected trouble. This is no surprise. The real unemployment rate that is not reported might well be in the range of riots. Sources in Florida (my sister and her husband) say things are also getting worse in Florida and they expect crime to go up in the next few months.

[pam]

Link to article?

[HoosierGuy]

Link to article?

36 Indiana unemployment offices to have armed guards - 13 WTHR

36 offices, not 38. And unemployment insurance runs out in December, not November.

Fort Wayne - A state agency has decided to have armed security guards on hand at 36 unemployment offices around Indiana.

All this goes back to the bad things from Wall Street. Senator Bernie Sanders said it again on the radio on Wednesday. The people in Wall Street are bad.

Looking up the definition for Fascism is scary because it sounds so familiar. This country is becoming fascist more and more every second of the day.

[pam]

Utah is paying businesses to hire the unemployed and youth.

ksl.com - Utah paying businesses to hire youth, unemployed