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    The Poorest States in the “Greatest Nation on Earth”

    By oldenGoldenDecoy on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 10:28am |

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    For general information and discussion…

    We have a whole lot of work cutout for us over the next decade while the disparate political factions, both within the states and at the national level whistle in the wind…

    US Census | Poverty: 2008 and 2009 | Issued September 2010

    American Community Survey Briefs

    www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-1.pdf

    This report is one of a series produced to highlight results from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). It presents poverty estimates based on data from the 2008 and the 2009 ACS. The report compares national and state level poverty rates and summarizes the distribution of income-to-poverty ratios for each state and the District of Columbia.

    The ACS also provides poverty estimates for counties, places, and other localities.

    HIGHLIGHTS

    • In the 2009 ACS, 14.3 percent of the U.S. population had income below their respective poverty thresholds. The number of people in poverty increased to 42.9 million.
    • Thirty-one states saw increases in both the number and percentage of people in poverty between the 2008 and the 2009 ACS.
    • No state had a statistically significant decline in either the number in poverty or the poverty rate.
    • In the 2009 ACS, 18.9 percent of people in the United States had income less than 125 percent of their poverty threshold, compared to 17.6 percent in the 2008 ACS.
    • The percent of people with income less than 50 percent of their poverty threshold increased from 5.6 percent in the 2008 ACS to 6.3 in the 2009 ACS.

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    http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/LarrytheDuck/TPM_Castaways/1abd754b-2.jpg

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    To view the entire report:

    www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-1.pdf

    As individuals, the best we can do on the short term is to reach out locally to those you see as in need, no matter where we personally stand financially.

    And as I was taught, “A helping hand up is better than a handout…”

    ~OGD~

    cross-posted from: TPM Café Castaways > here

    also posted at:Once Upon a Paradigm > here

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    Comments

    The repubs do not give one goddamn about the poor.

    The dems feel they lose votes even talking about the poor.

    We live in extremely selfish times.


    by Richard Day on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 3:14pm

    It was all over the news here yesterday. Milwaukee has risen to number 4 in the country in the number of families living in poverty. Public radio interviewed somebody from the School system who said there are 5,000(!) additional children who qualify for the free meals program.

    And we have DEMOCRATS who can't decide if it's "good politics" to stand in the way of giving an additional $700 billion dollars per year in tax cuts to those who make over $250,000 per year.

    It's Class Warfare, and we're losing, folks. Where it counts in Washington, we don't even have anybody in the fight, anymore. And these piss-ants in Congress have the nerve to wonder at the "enthusiasm gap!"

    I'll be fighting like hell here in Wisconsin to get Feingold reelected. But I then wonder why he'd want to even be associated with such a class of inept prostitutes such as those who presently populate the Democratic Party.


    by SleepinJeezus on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 5:35pm

      Hey I dare you ...

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    There... If you're now reading this maybe it's because that "I dare you" got your attention in the latest comment queue.

    While you read this, you may wish to listen to this YouTube in the background. From a young man with a very old soul.

    It's so nice to see that at least a couple of folks here at Dag found this subject meaningful enough to have taken the time to drop in and leave their thoughts.

    It doesn't surprise me in the least that it's DD and Sleepin'Jeezus. Two of my Café favorites and long time travelers and astute observers of life viewed from the level of the curb. hahahaha

    You guys have made my day. Thanks for dropping by.

    I was surfing around the WordPress site and stumbled upon this blog site by an individual named Michael in San Luis Obsipo, California:


    As Michael explains, it is "One man's insights into the ups and downs of homelessness."

    This is from his "About" link:

    About Me

    My name is Michael and I was one of San Luis Obispo’s homeless from November 2005 through January 2008. My homelessness was a result of an accident which left me with permanent spinal injuries.

    During the time I was homeless, I was blessed to have met a number of compassionate people, and through their direct intervention and help was able to reacquire the tools necessary to rebuild my life again.

    During the time I was homeless, I was blessed to have met a number of compassionate people, and through their direct intervention and help was able to reacquire the tools necessary to rebuild my life again.

    The particular title of the article that caught my attention was this:


    A short snippet:

    Over the last few months it seems as though there has been an increase of news articles about communities that are placing some types of bans on homeless activities. Some of communities are even placing bans and restrictions on “regular” folks feeding the homeless in public places.

    Most homeless advocates refer to these types of legislative practices as “criminalizing the homeless.” Community politicians and officials, on the other hand, are quick to counter that they are not criminalizing homelessness, but are just trying to keep the peace.

    Regardless of how it’s labeled, the end result is ultimately the same: it punishes a segment of a community’s local population for not having a place to call home.

    I found the entire article to be a very very insightful piece that caused quite a few thought provoking comments.

    It's well worth the time to take a read and maybe add the site to your WordPress subscriptions list and/or a bookmark in your favorites.

    And if you haven't, go watch that YouTube video ...

    Paddlin' on...

    ~OGD~


    by oldenGoldenDecoy on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 11:13pm

    Thanks for the mention...

    - m -


    by - michael - (not verified) on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 7:09pm

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