From Where I Left Off...
November 6, 2007
Here is one more item that underscores what I wrote about in my last blog concerning the impact that almost any difficult issue presents for lower wealth communities. That is, what is hard on people of means is even harder for those without.
Here is an article about road safety, or the lack thereof. It looks like, to no surprise, the poorest counties in our state suffer the greatest number of road deaths per capita. A study by the Birmingham News reveals that, “Rural areas with lower populations have lower tax bases, so county engineers have less money to maintain their roads, much less improve them. The sheriff still has lots of miles of roads to cover, but not as many staff members.” Conversely, the counties with the highest populations, and therefore a greater tax base for maintaining roads, and patrolling them, have lower per capita death rates.
The Tuscaloosa News also editorialized about this issue. Read it here. They call for more attention to the matter and – guess what? – tax reform.
Southern Education is Unique
Well, and not in the way we would like. According to a study by the Southern Education Foundation, “The South is the only region in the country where low-income children make up a majority of the students enrolled in public school.” For Alabama, the percentage is 54%, but for other southern states, it’s as much as 84%. In any case, the south lags behind as a region.
Interesting…a friend sent this to me from the Birmingham Business Journal, an indication that such problems are of great concern for people in the business community. Take a look at the article here.
The Case in Morgan County
“The top 20 percent of income producers in Morgan County earn 15 times as much as the bottom 20 percent, and the number of people in between is shrinking.”
This article from the Decatur Daily goes on to say that the average family income has remained stable in recent years because of this disparity. But the median income has nose-dived by $4200 in one year.
I can’t quote chapter and verse on this (though I admit I likely should be able), but I suspect these numbers reflect a truth statewide, at least in areas with larger populations and dynamic economies.
This makes at least one very profound reality plain – the concerns about poverty extend beyond those who are currently of low wealth and are becoming more and more about those who are currently in the middle class. They are losing ground too, and at perhaps a faster rate. In Morgan County, the poverty rate has increased by half in the last six years and the median income dropped by half.
These are disturbing numbers that not only reflect the number of citizens who are struggling to maintain their standards of living, but are an indication of a trend that threatens the fabric of our community’s society as a whole. As we become more and more polarized, how will we be able to hold ourselves together?
Hearing the Right Voices
One answer to the above question comes from Lukata Mjumbe, executive director of the Community Action Association of Alabama.
In a recent editorial published in the Montgomery Advertiser, Lukata responds to the work of the new House Task Force on Poverty. He insists that for the work of the committee to be successful, the voices of low-income folks must be a part of the conversation.
He’s right.
No one knows the situation of any human being better than that human being. For those of adequate income this is true. Those of us who can be described this way do well to listen to those of low income in order to learn best how to respond to their concerns. Lukata suggests we listen to the wisdom that comes from those folks. I agree with him, and my ears are wide open.
So as members of the same statewide community, let’s make open and welcome communication the first matter in our efforts to change things for the better.
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