Rural Poverty in America circa.1965 (2/2)

[Charleston Chew]

Run time: 14:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSexCWHBJo   Posted on YouTube: November 23, 2010 By YouTube Member: thefilmarchive Views on YouTube: 68   Posted on DU: November 28, 2010 By DU Member: Charleston Chew Views on DU: 583

 
Rural Poverty in America Documentary: The United States and the War on Poverty (2/2) (1965)

There are numerous factors related to poverty in the United States. Income is directly related to educational levels. In 2007, the median earnings of individuals with less than a 9th grade education was $16,615 while high school graduates earned $31,337, holders of bachelor's degree earned $56,826, and individuals with professional degrees earned $100,000. In many cases poverty is caused by job loss. In 2007, the poverty rate was 21.5% for individuals who were unemployed, but only 2.5% for individuals who were employed full time. In 1991, 8.3% of children in two-parent families were likely to live in poverty; 19.6% of children lived with father in single parent family; and 47.1% in single parent family headed by mother. Income levels vary with age. For example, the median 2009 income for households headed by individuals age 15-24 was only $30,750, but increased to $50,188 for household headed by individuals age 25-34 and $61,083 for household headed by individuals 35-44. Although the reasons are unclear, work experience and additional education may be factors. Income levels vary along racial/ethnic lines: 21% of all children in the United States live in poverty, about 46% of African American children and 40% of Latino children live in poverty. What is unclear is why so many minorities live in poverty. The poverty rate is 9.9% for black married couples and only 30% of black children are born to married couples (see Marriage below). In 2007,11% of black women aged 30--44 without a high school diploma had a working spouse. The poverty rate for native born and naturalized whites is identical (9.6%). On the other hand, the poverty rate for naturalized blacks is 11.8% compared to 25.1% for native born blacks suggesting race alone does not explain income disparity. Not all minorities have low incomes. Asian families have higher incomes than all other ethnic groups. For example, the 2005 median income of Asian families was $68,957 compared to the median income of white families of $59,124. Asians, however, report discrimination occurrences more frequently than blacks. Specifically, 31% of Asians reported employment discrimination compared to 26% of blacks in 2005. The relationship between tax rates and poverty is disputed. A study comparing high tax Scandinavian countries with the U. S. suggests high tax rates are inversely correlated with poverty rates. The poverty rate, however, is low in some low tax countries such as Switzerland. A comparison of poverty rates between states reveals that some low tax states have low poverty rates. For example, New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate of any state in the U. S., and has very low taxes (46th among all states).It is true however that in those instances, both Switzerland and New Hampshire have a very high household income and other measure to levy or offset the lack of taxation. For example, Switzerland has Universal Healthcare and a free system of education for children as young as four years old. New Hampshire has no state income tax or sales tax, but does have the nation's highest property taxes. The conservative Heritage Foundation speculates that illegal immigration increases job competition among low wage earners, both native and foreign born. Additionally many first generation immigrants, namely those without a high school diploma, are also living in poverty themselves.

Much of the debate about poverty focuses on statistical measures of poverty and the clash between advocates and opponents of welfare programs and government regulation of the free market. Since measures can be either absolute or relative, it is possible that advocates for the different sides of this debate are basing their arguments on different ways of measuring poverty. It is often claimed that poverty is understated, yet there are some who also believe it is overstated; thus the accuracy of the current poverty threshold guidelines is subject to debate and considerable concern.

There have been many governmental and nongovernmental efforts to reduce poverty and its effects. These range in scope from neighborhood efforts to campaigns with a national focus. They target specific groups affected by poverty such as children, people who are autistic, immigrants, or people who are homeless. Efforts to alleviate poverty use a disparate set of methods, such as advocacy, education, social work, legislation, direct service or charity, and community organizing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865690146?ie=UTF8&tag=doc06-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0865690146

Watch the full film:http://thefilmarchived.blogspot.com/2010/11/poverty-in-rural-america-1965.html

[Charleston Chew]

1. Rural Poverty in America circa.1965 (1/2)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x528277

[Charleston Chew]

2. Is anyone watching this?

[cynthia]

3. The people who made a difference

were the ones who went out to these communities and reached out to the high school drop outs, the illiterate, and gained their trust and explained the possibilities. Those were probably hired by a government agency - possibly a "stimulus" act of the early 60s.

We rebuild our communities when we invest in them. We need more stimulus money, not less.

[Charleston Chew]

4. History of SSA 1993-2000