The South Is Tops in Poverty
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By Gene Nichol
UNC Center on Poverty
The recent release of poverty figures by the Census Bureau again speaks volumes about the American South.
We are, as ever, the nation's poorest region. The South has the highest percentage of citizens living in poverty. Ten of the country's 12 poorest states are Southern. Though about 15 percent of Americans live in poverty, in Mississippi the figure is 23; Louisiana, 21.4; Arkansas, 19.5; Georgia, 19.1; South Carolina, 18.9; Texas, 18.5. The former Confederate states set the gold standard in American economic deprivation.
We share the indignity with our kids. In fact, we visit it upon them disproportionately. Of the 10 states with child poverty rates in excess of 25 percent, nine are from the South. Of the 11 states with more than 10 percent of kids living in extreme poverty ($11,525 in income for a family of four), 10 are Southern. The Southern Education Foundation reports that of the 6 million children living in extreme poverty in the United States, a disproportionate 42 percent are our Southern neighbors.
We also lead the nation in those without health care coverage of any kind. Here, Texas paves the way - with an astonishing 24.2 percent. But Louisiana (20.3), Florida (20.2), South Carolina (19.7), Georgia (19.3) and Mississippi (18.6) give the Longhorns a spirited run for their money.
To add insult to our traditional injury, the Pew Foundation released a new national study of economic mobility. The states with the lowest economic mobility - where the poor are most apt to remain poor and the rich most likely to stay that way - are Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas.
And, on these broad fronts, North Carolina clings stubbornly to its regional heritage; 17.9 percent of Tar Heels live in poverty, 25 percent of our kids. Almost 18 percent of us lack health care coverage. We have the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the country. We face daunting levels of extreme poverty and extreme child poverty. Almost 40 percent of our children of color are poor. Four in 10. Try saying that out loud, in the richest nation on Earth, without a catch in the throat.
As November approaches, if you're old like me, you're apt to get calls from across the country asking whether these imposing, humiliating numbers, and the wounds they reflect, will affect the electoral outcome. Will Southern voters (and candidates) turn their attentions to the plight of the struggling souls on the lowest rungs of the ladder? Not likely.
In our heated gubernatorial race, when it comes to poverty, mum's the word. Vigorous competing plans are offered to achieve disparate ends. None seeks to lift Tar Heels out of poverty. It is hard to imagine the sledding is any better in Jackson or Tallahassee or Austin or Baton Rouge.
At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, the drumbeat was relentless. Republicans represent those at the top - the wielders and beneficiaries of economic privilege. Democrats, on the other hand, are champions of the middle. Middle class, middle income, mid-level, working folks and families. Main Street, not Wall Street.
Well and good, I suppose. But who, in this defining dichotomy, speaks for those at the bottom? If any poor people followed the proceedings in Tampa and Charlotte, they must have wondered when their convention would be scheduled.
And, in the South, we move a step beyond marginalization - often pointedly, boastingly, refusing to embrace policies congenial to those facing economic hardship. Many Southern governors carped about federal stimulus efforts, occasionally even turning back dollars, as their states reeled from unemployment.
A survey, last year, of the Congress' tea party caucus - those most vehemently opposed to a bolstered safety net - reported that the largest state contingents are from Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. New England claims no members. This led one pundit to suggest the activists should have taken Fort Sumter, not Boston harbor, as their rallying cry.
Over the top, perhaps. But for those of us who choose to live, enthusiastically, in the American South, the silent marriage of privilege and privation mocks our commitment to egalitarian constitutional democracy.
It also confounds our efforts to face and resolve our most trying and chronic problems.
Gene Nichol is the Boyd Tinsley distinguished professor at UNC's Law School and director of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity. This is reprinted with permission from The News & Observer of Raleigh.
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Comments
LSM 7 months, 2 weeks ago
The reason for poverty being so extreme down here in Dixie must be because of the lack of opportunity. Possibly if there were some free cell phones, that might just work. And the guy that wrote this insightful and thought provoking column is a distinguished professor at UNC's Law School and director of the UNC Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity. WOW!!!
dustyrhoades 7 months, 2 weeks ago
And you, LSM, are a faceless anonymous troll on a message board. I know who I give more credence to.
LSM 7 months, 2 weeks ago
A taxpayer paid attorney, along with that free telephone.
dustyrhoades 7 months, 2 weeks ago
You're adorable when you're incoherent.
OldPilot 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Newt Gingrich said "...among the politically correct, you're not supposed to use facts that are uncomfortable". Thankfully we have law professors who are politically incorrect, subject matter experts who point out those uncomfortable facts most choose to ignore, and attorney/columnists who write in their defense. So save your Confederate money boys, wave that battle flag, the South will rise again. Maybe it will be better the next time, not doing so well right now. .
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Hmm, well, hes right NCs unemployment is almost 10% in all actuality its upwards of 20% So let me take a guess at what we should do.
spend a whole bunch of money on government programs that KEEP people in poverty living in poverty, Ok check that ones done.
Make our public schools so bad that the only people who stand a chance of learning anything are those who are gifted enough to learn in any environment or those who can afford public schools because charters are horrible right? Ok check that ones done.
Pass regulations that drive businesses away from north Carolina while simultaneously spending tax payer money on things other then governening like retreats and get aways. Ok check that ones done to,
Ok we got a 3 step program to prosperity in place now lets just watch and wait....
(fast forward 120 years..)
Damn I thought that would work..........
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Edit, number 2 is supposed to say private not public.
LSM 7 months, 2 weeks ago
After seven years of existence (created for a place to set John Edwards for a couple of years) the UNC Center of Poverty seems to believe this is the problem of Southern insufficiency, a bolstered safety net unfortunately prevented by those evil tea party politicians. Just provide more, make people equal, problem solved. Yet the old South, this heritage of where the white Confederacy stands in the way of especially people of color even after one hundred and forty-seven years still stands as an excuse for personal responsibility.
MarkinMiami 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Call me crazy, but there's probably more poverty in all of Detroit than in one entire southern state. I've been there several times, from the "good times" (I use that term loosely) of the clinton administration up until a few years ago.
LSM 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Percentage of people below poverty level for Detroit and then percentage for Michigan.
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2006-2010
34.5% Detroit
14.8% Michigan From the Quick Facts Census Bureau web site.
But the Confederate Republicans are not going to put them in chains like the poor down here in the South, that is the difference. So see, you are not crazy.
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
It's the Consevrvative Bible-Beltitis that's to blame. They teach that KNOWLEDGE is EVIL. As in ADAM&EVE stuff. Very infantile, backwards, and self-defeating. They teach their Congregations that their "REWARDS" are not here on Earth but in Heaven. How do they know? Questioning authority is also frowned upon. Until the KNOWLEDGE that is taught in schools and colleges is raised to be accepted more prominently than that crazy bible talk, the South will NEVER progress.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
funny moon because in MY church, there are scientists, math teachers, doctors, engineers, OSHA specialists, etc etc,,,,
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
"Until the KNOWLEDGE that is taught in schools and colleges is raised to be accepted more prominently than that crazy bible talk, the South will NEVER progress." Moon
That's a good one. You mean the purely liberal indoctrination of our children that disallows any true diversity of thought or ideas other than its own? What a joke!
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm talking about those SOUTHERN church's that teach their congregations that the world was created in 7 days, that Adam&Eve were the first Humans and that they RODE on DINOSAURS. Does your church teach that idiocy? Believe it or not I did go to church quite a bit growing up and I was even Baptized in a church, OMG! But, I was never taught any such nuttyness. What exactly is "Liberal Indoctrination", Geoff? Gee, that the world is round and not flat and that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa? The south is full of church's that teach their congragations that hooey just to "keep them in check". To not think for themselves and to only believe what they're told. Liberals question things Geoff. Conservatives believe what they've been told. Just like Mitt with all of his LIES, his "followers actually believe him! Stupid.
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
To not think for themselves and to only believe what they're told. Liberals question things Geoff." Moon
Really....Then how come you all walk in lockstep with the headlines of the New York Times? How come you all get behind Obama like zombies who haven't a unique thought in your heads? Conservatives believe in the individual, not government, and individuals all think differently, even if they believe in God. You've got it backward, Moon.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Because moon only believes what MSNBC tells her to believe.
MikeNC 7 months, 2 weeks ago
How does that song go: "now the south side of Chicago, is the baddest side of town, and if you go down there, you better just beware.... " Gotta love Democratic controlled Chicago. On your way to Chicago, take a side tour and enjoy the wasteland of Democratic controlled Detroit. After the side tour of Detroit, I invite you to travel a few hours south and spend a night around Scovall and E.55th in Cleveland. That part of the Democratic controlled section in Cleveland, this section of Cleveland is EVEN worse than the South Side of Chicago. Diane
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
"Conservatives believe in the individual". really? How many "Conservatives" are supporters of Roe v Wade? Let's see, I could look those numbers up but I'll take a guess........ZERO? Opposing Roe v Wade is the number one example of the LIES that the Conservative Loonies spout out there in the world and that exposes their NON-support of the Individual. SO NO, Geoff..YOU HAVE IT BACKWARDS. I also do not follow the President around like a Zombie. He's a very imperfect person and I DO NOT like his chuminess with Wall Street and The Military Industrial Complex. Sorry Profitman, wrong again...I only believe what "THE DAILY KOS" tells me.
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Diane, every leftist American needs to take a ride up 75 into Detroit. I do it every summer. Results of liberal Democratic government is sure something to behold. More Obama and the same will spread to the rest of us. Has 60 Minutes taken their cameras up there yet? Probably not....
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
"YOU HAVE IT BACKWARDS." Who else?
Moon, no need to yell. You're hard enough to comprehend as it is.
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
I spent the summers of 1969 and 1970 in Detroit (Dearborn). It was still a vibrant city although it had a few scars from the riots a few years previously. I remember going to several huge Malls (the largest ones I had ever seen) that were busy and full of so many different stores. People were driving so many new cars that I never had even seen before. Beautiful old ones too. Detroit was a major business city with major manufacturing. The decision's that were made back then to take most of the "Car Making" overseas and close plants is the direct reason that the city failed and continues to fail. I re-visited Detroit back in 2005, on my way to Toronto, and absolutely did not recognize it. I couldn't even find the house that I stayed in those summers. I left as quickly as I could. It was horrible and until Major Manufacturing with great paying jobs returns there will never be any improvements. Greedy Capitalists destroyed it and they could still care less about it's resurgance.
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
http://www.nationalreview.com/exchequer/302257/detroit-moral-story
Sure Moon, It was Greedy Capitalists alright.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Moon is there anything you havenot done or anywhere you have not been? You seem to have been everywhere and done everything, This means 1 of 2 things, 1 you are 300 years old, (highly unlikely) or 2 you are a compulsive liar (highly probable)
BTW Detroit was a huge sucess story until the Democratic Union took hold.
Easygoing 7 months, 2 weeks ago
But we in the south have guns for everyone, no gay marriages, lots of fast food fried chicken places and a pickup truck in every garage. Who cares about education, equal rights or poverty?
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
@ easygoing What a dumb statement
teufelhunden 7 months, 2 weeks ago
The South has the fattest states too.
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Profitman, I was just born at the right time, and to the right parents. Living and being born on the East Coast of the U.S. in the 50's, 60's and 70's enabled me to experience all of the Tumult of the times and to help form my beliefs and ideas of how life is and how it should be. Okay, I'll tell a little bit of one of my "secrets". The Fortune 500 Co. that my Dad was an Executive with was one of the BIG 3 Auto Makers. He worked in Boston, NYC, Washington DC and Detroit. He traveled the world for them. He had an office right down the hallway from the CEO, in Detroit. He took me to every office he ever had (way before the "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" was invented). That article Geoff, means nothing. What killed Detroit? GREED and sorry ethics. My father saw it and it made him sick because he had dedicated his entire life to that company. We were a "Company Family". living and breathing it because at the time it was what made my fathers life so great. To see the LIES, HATRED and DECEIT begin to envelope the highest levels of management was devastating for my Dad. But "The South" is now relishing in the after-facts and effects, I guess. Car Companies are now moving this way because of NON-UNION workers. The CEO's will get continue to get rich. The workers will not. The South needs an INTERVENTION but of course they are being told it's a COMMIE CONSPIRACY so they'll reject such a notion. Too Bad.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Na ill take option two
MarkinMiami 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Yeah I didn't think I was crazy. Detroit: ruled by left wing nutjobs since 1973. Come enjoy the entitlement society and poverty!
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Yeah, that was about the time they gave my Dad a promotion to run the NYC office. Never was the same and he never went back. The CEO's starting firing guys who had long careers going so they wouldn't have to pay them their EARNED retirements. It was very stressful and my father ended up having a heart attack in 1974. He HAD to retire. They tried to "entice" him back to Detroit with an even bigger promotion but he saw thru their LIES. He told me he knew they wanted him back just so they could fire him. He passed away in 1976. He was only 53. They are using the workers in the South too and they are so relieved they don't at least have to pay them a decent wage. And so that's why I can't stand those CAPILTALIST PIGS.
Courseaire 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Just think of how much more below the poverty line the South would be if it wasn't for their cash crop - Tobacco and how well the Tobacco companies take care of their workers and show their concern for their customers.
geoffcutler 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC PO Box 58129 Raleigh, NC 27690-5831
These guys distribute food to those in need of it right here in Moore County. I hope my friends on here, both Conservative and Leftist, (yes, even you, Moon,) will join me by taking the time to pop a check in the mail. We talk about poverty, but here's a chance to really do something about it. And close to home, too. Thanks!
Middleman522 7 months, 2 weeks ago
We can thank NAFTA for the South being a little low in the jobs market. Textiles are hard to replace. You must plant something besides cotton, and find a new factory to put in the old buildings, with an education system hell bent on teaching liberalism instead of job skills. Furniture plants and tobacco's demise have also helped this problem. Look at Greenville, SC and the growth they are seeing along their highways.
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes, Geoff, that's a great Charity. I spent a bit of time at Food Banks arranging "Food Bags" for my clients and for those who came to our office hungry. I delivered a lot of food but I also spent a bit of time helping MY clients BUDGET their Welfare or Social Security Checks so they could make it thru the month. Sometimes though they couldn't make it. I give often to the Food Bank along with Habitat for Humanity. I also enjoy going to the NC State Fair every year with my Canned Goods. The answers for solving the Problems of Poverty are there but it will take more of a concerted effort on the part of EVERYONE.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
No Sht Moon! Something Else you have done...Again option 2 fits, You suffer from a condition called being a compulsive liar, what this means is even things you ACTUALLY have done are irrelevent because of all the things you say you HAVE done that you havnt. People accept people for who they are, were all real sorry you suffer from this need for attention but seriously its past time to grow the **** up.
MikeNC 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Moonchild, you remind me a lot of Forrest Gump. Always there at the right moment in history. Diane
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Just because I have done a "WHOLE LOTTA STUFF" in my life and like to share those experiences (not for attention either Profitman) with others, is not a reason to put me down. I wanted to be an elementary school TEACHER, but my life took a different turn and I became a Social Worker instead. I tell my experiences hoping that others can learn something from them. If you learn something GREAT, if you don't, I don't care. Life is for learning, not for stewing around in the muck and mire. Why wouldn't a person want to make a difference in this world? I LOVED my job as a Social Worker and because of the way I started at the "Bottom" there and worked my way up, I ended up being the only one at that time who learned and administered EVERY PROGRAM that our Department offered. Try helping to make this world a less violent and hateful planet Profitman and MikeNC. Volunteer somewhere and not just at a church.
The_AnonymusProfit 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Blah blah blah
mcgal 7 months, 2 weeks ago
When someone embraces the needs of society and chooses to try to make a difference they tend to have more life experiences than someone who is only concerned with how much money they can make in a lifetime. People who spend all their time communicating with their thumbs miss a lot of opportunity by always looking down instead of forward.
Courseaire 7 months, 2 weeks ago
There are numerous ways to serve the needs of society, all with equal importance. Teachers directly serve the children, Social workers serve the needy or misfortunate, employees/laborers serve their employer, employers serve their clients. Owners of companies serve everyone by provide capital to provide a product or service. Even the government serves its people, though not always efficiently. The problem lies with the career Politicians, as they eventually only serve themselves. There is no reason to look down on anyone, save the Politicians. Never, ever vote for an incumbent!!
Middleman522 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Term limits and a lobbyist roundup would do a lot af good things for our system. Amendment 28 I think deals with a lot of this!!
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Do you think you would have voted for President Roosevelt for 4 terms Courseaire? If so why and if not, why not?
MarkinMiami 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Moon if you don't like the "Capitalist Pigs" then feel free to get the hell out of this country. I'll even help you move.
moonchild7 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Sorry, this is America. I can say and believe whatever I want. I guess you prefer those who think and believe only what you believe. That's called brainwashing and we have enough of that already. These evangelical church's are dishing it out in astronomical volumes. Sickening.
Middleman522 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes Moon you can believe that the Libyan Ambassador and 3 others, were killed by a protest gone bad. You can believe that Holder knew nothing about Fast & Furious, and you can believe in Global Warming, oh I forgot they renamed it because of cold weather to Climate change. You can also believe that Oblaima sat in Rev. Wright's church and never heard him spew his hate, but gave him thousands$$ and has sounded just like him since. Here's what you can believe, N Korea, Iran and China have Long Range Missile ability because of Clinton, and our banking system collapsed because of the crappy loans Clinton made Fannie and Freddie buy and sell, and you can believe that all of the $BILLIONS wasted on GREEN energy methods by Oblaima was payback for getting him elected. Just in case you needed some guidance!! God knows you do!! Count the number of deaths in Watergate and then count the deaths in Fast & Furious and Libya! How did that come out?? All Coverups!!!
teufelhunden 7 months, 2 weeks ago
That is SICKENING, MC7.