As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
Community
NJ bill would reward public employees who live in poor communities
New Jersey’s state government is moving forward on a bill that would encourage police officers, firefighters, teachers, and sanitation workers to buy homes in the poor communities they serve. The bill hopes to foster a stronger sense of community between low-income residents and public servants, which in turn would make towns safer. »
Poverty cripples Pine Ridge Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation epitomizes the failure of the reservation system and is home to some of the worst poverty in America. Census data shows that Pine Ridge has the lowest per capita income in the entire country. Up to two-thirds of adults may be alcoholics and one-quarter of children are born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Tuberculosis... »
Comparing the Residential Origins of Homeless Families and Homeless Individuals in Miami-Dade County, Florida
This study compares the residential origins of homeless families with those of homeless individuals, and finds significant differences in their spatial distribution. The results clearly suggest that homeless individuals are more highly concentrated in neighborhoods of high poverty than homeless families. The study suggests the possibility that drift effects (how persons with mental disability... »
San Francisco’s scavengers: A story of gangs, poverty and recycling
Poor and homeless people have taken advantage of the bottle bill provision of California’s Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction measures to earn income by collecting beverage containers for redemption at the Haight-Ashbury Neighbourhood Centre (HANC) in San Francisco. As the recession worsened, middle class and retired individuals, as well as organized gangs, took... »
Failed Adoptions Create More Homeless Youths
Lamar West has lost his parents twice during his life, first when he was 4, then again just before his 18th birthday. This article details the young man’s life and how the adoption system has left more teens homeless when adoptions “fail.” »
Recent Trends in Neighborhood Poverty
This article focuses on neighborhood poverty rates as a way to understand the impact of recession on communities. Based on data from American Community Surveys for 2005-2009, the fraction of Americans living in more affluent neighborhoods decreased, while the proportion living in areas with higher poverty rates rose. From Economic Trends http://ezproxy.wlu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=70084936&site=ehost-live »
In Alabama, a county that fell off the financial cliff
Jefferson County, home of Birmingham, declared bankruptcy last fall. Since then, government and civil services have completely broken down: Dead cows lie in the roads, prison inmates sleep on the floor, roads remain unpaved, municipal elections are cancelled. The causes and implications of the Jefferson County debacle are unprecedented, but serve as a chilling warning to... »
Social pathologies contribute to growing underclass
OPINION: Behavior does indeed contribute to poverty. Drug abuse, single parenthood, and high incarceration rates all contribute to a cycle of poverty that leaves families devastated and communities debilitated. Solutions, however, remain complex and elusive. The United States needs a forthright discussion of the social causes of poverty and various measures that are—and are... »
The Empowerment Zone in Boston 2000-2009: Lessons Learned for Neighborhood Revitalization
This 10-year study of Boston’s empowerment zone suggests that this initiative was successful in revitalizing some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Its successes include the first black-owned hotel in New England in decades; assisting small and neighborhood-based businesses, and helping expand the capacity of local nonprofits. These accomplishments increased the level and quality of... »
Blacks hit hardest by recession
Middle-class African-Americans have been hit hardest by layoffs and unemployment in the last two years, according to economists and recent government data. Jobless rates for blacks have consistently been double that of whites, in part because of continuing discrimination and generally lower education levels. Additionally, blacks are one-third more likely than whites to work... »