Poverty in our Neighborhood
29/01/12 05:40
Each year the U.S. Census Bureau releases a variety of different statistics. In January, they release the list of the counties in the country with the highest poverty rates. There are no real surprises on the list this year. Once again Ziebach County, South Dakota is the county in the nation with the highest poverty rate. That has been the case every year since it first topped the list in 2004. South Dakota has plenty of poverty, with four counties making the nation’s top ten: Ziebach, Todd, Shannon, and Corson. Ziebach, Todd and Shannon are the three most impoverished counties in the nation. Corson comes in at 9th.
There are a couple of surprises in the statistics, however, at least for me. The first surprise is just the arbitrary nature of the number chosen by the statisticians to determine the poverty rate. That number is $22,314 for a family of four. With a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, it takes 62 hours a week to earn enough for a family of four to rise above the poverty level. That means that there is no way that a single person can support a family. It takes a minimum of two wage earners for a household if workers earn only minimum wage. I do not know how the number is determined, but I know that there are plenty of families with hard working breadwinners who aren’t making it.
The second surprise is actually a positive one. Ziebach County has a poverty rate of 50.1 percent. That means that just over half of the residents of the county have incomes that are below the official government poverty rate. It is an alarming number, but it is down from the 62 percent rate of 2009. If we can sustain the programs and projects that work to reduce poverty, it is possible that by next year we will have achieved the goal of no county in the nation with more than half of its citizens living below the poverty rate.
That is an admirable goal, but far from the elimination of poverty. All of the counties on the list of the ten most impoverished counties have poverty rates above 40 percent. And there are really eleven counties on the list this year because Lake County, Tenn. And Allendale County, S.C. tied for 10th place on the list.
There is nothing new about poverty in Indian country. It has been the story ever since the reservation system was established and tribes were forced to abandon their traditional ways and occupy much smaller territories than had been the case prior to European settlement of the continent.
My wife’s mother grew up in Isabel, in Dewey County. Dewey is to the east of Ziebach and south of Corson County. It isn’t on the list of the ten most impoverished counties this year, but it has made the list in the past. In the Great Depression of the 1930’s her father, who ran a drug store and supplemented it with a wide variety of other services, including working as the town’s funeral director, died. He left his family with barely the means to survive. They took in laundry and did whatever work was possible. There was no money for any extras and there were more than a few hungry times. In later years, her husband would say, “We didn’t really notice poverty in the ‘30’s. Everyone was poor. But their family wasn’t just poor, they were REALLY poor.
The entire northwest quarter of South Dakota is comprised of land where it is hard to earn a living. The soil and weather will support a little small grain production, primarily wheat, barley and a few sunflowers, but the land really isn’t much for traditional farming. Ranchers do a bit better, raising sheep and cattle if they have access to sufficient pasture. Ranching is a tough game in those areas as well, with tiny margins favoring larger operations, and larger operations struggling with shortages of labor because they cannot support enough families to cover the miles and get the work done.
The solutions to poverty are not simple. The reality is that there are not enough jobs in these counties to provide for the population. There are more people than there are jobs. Add to that the simple fact that in Ziebach County, for example, more than half of the population is under the age of 18. Either the youth who are becoming adults right now have to leave the county or the poverty rate will increase simply because the number of people competing for too few jobs will increase.
Another dynamic to consider is that compared to many counties, these counties have small populations. The 2010 Census recorded 2801 people in Ziebach County. That is up from 2542 in 2008. The birth rate is relatively high, but the totals remain relatively low. That means that statistical variations are common. The decrease in the poverty rate between 2009 and 2011 may not indicate a trend. It will take time to know the impact for sure.
The poverty in our state raises some serious concerns for those of us who live in more affluent conditions. Our County, Pennington, has a poverty rate of only 15.2%. And there are plenty of us who are in the remaining 84.8% who have the means to share. Economies are complex and there are plenty of people who will give plenty of arguments as to why sharing is not the solution to the problem of poverty. But the vision of the Biblical prophets is clear. We are called to work towards the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity for none.
Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” It is recorded in three of the Gospels. I am drawn to Mark’s version in which Jesus goes on to say, “and you can help them anytime you want.” The pervasiveness of poverty is not given as an excuse to ignore it or to refrain from helping those who are impoverished.
So we do what we can. And we know our efforts are inadequate. And some of us look at the statistics each year, longing for some signs of hope. So I am going to take the decrease of poverty in Ziebach County for what it is and not spend too much time trying to over analyze the numbers.
Our neighbors continue to suffer under the weight of poverty. We can do some things to help. That is enough information for today. Now it is time to get back to work to do what we can.
There are a couple of surprises in the statistics, however, at least for me. The first surprise is just the arbitrary nature of the number chosen by the statisticians to determine the poverty rate. That number is $22,314 for a family of four. With a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, it takes 62 hours a week to earn enough for a family of four to rise above the poverty level. That means that there is no way that a single person can support a family. It takes a minimum of two wage earners for a household if workers earn only minimum wage. I do not know how the number is determined, but I know that there are plenty of families with hard working breadwinners who aren’t making it.
The second surprise is actually a positive one. Ziebach County has a poverty rate of 50.1 percent. That means that just over half of the residents of the county have incomes that are below the official government poverty rate. It is an alarming number, but it is down from the 62 percent rate of 2009. If we can sustain the programs and projects that work to reduce poverty, it is possible that by next year we will have achieved the goal of no county in the nation with more than half of its citizens living below the poverty rate.
That is an admirable goal, but far from the elimination of poverty. All of the counties on the list of the ten most impoverished counties have poverty rates above 40 percent. And there are really eleven counties on the list this year because Lake County, Tenn. And Allendale County, S.C. tied for 10th place on the list.
There is nothing new about poverty in Indian country. It has been the story ever since the reservation system was established and tribes were forced to abandon their traditional ways and occupy much smaller territories than had been the case prior to European settlement of the continent.
My wife’s mother grew up in Isabel, in Dewey County. Dewey is to the east of Ziebach and south of Corson County. It isn’t on the list of the ten most impoverished counties this year, but it has made the list in the past. In the Great Depression of the 1930’s her father, who ran a drug store and supplemented it with a wide variety of other services, including working as the town’s funeral director, died. He left his family with barely the means to survive. They took in laundry and did whatever work was possible. There was no money for any extras and there were more than a few hungry times. In later years, her husband would say, “We didn’t really notice poverty in the ‘30’s. Everyone was poor. But their family wasn’t just poor, they were REALLY poor.
The entire northwest quarter of South Dakota is comprised of land where it is hard to earn a living. The soil and weather will support a little small grain production, primarily wheat, barley and a few sunflowers, but the land really isn’t much for traditional farming. Ranchers do a bit better, raising sheep and cattle if they have access to sufficient pasture. Ranching is a tough game in those areas as well, with tiny margins favoring larger operations, and larger operations struggling with shortages of labor because they cannot support enough families to cover the miles and get the work done.
The solutions to poverty are not simple. The reality is that there are not enough jobs in these counties to provide for the population. There are more people than there are jobs. Add to that the simple fact that in Ziebach County, for example, more than half of the population is under the age of 18. Either the youth who are becoming adults right now have to leave the county or the poverty rate will increase simply because the number of people competing for too few jobs will increase.
Another dynamic to consider is that compared to many counties, these counties have small populations. The 2010 Census recorded 2801 people in Ziebach County. That is up from 2542 in 2008. The birth rate is relatively high, but the totals remain relatively low. That means that statistical variations are common. The decrease in the poverty rate between 2009 and 2011 may not indicate a trend. It will take time to know the impact for sure.
The poverty in our state raises some serious concerns for those of us who live in more affluent conditions. Our County, Pennington, has a poverty rate of only 15.2%. And there are plenty of us who are in the remaining 84.8% who have the means to share. Economies are complex and there are plenty of people who will give plenty of arguments as to why sharing is not the solution to the problem of poverty. But the vision of the Biblical prophets is clear. We are called to work towards the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity for none.
Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” It is recorded in three of the Gospels. I am drawn to Mark’s version in which Jesus goes on to say, “and you can help them anytime you want.” The pervasiveness of poverty is not given as an excuse to ignore it or to refrain from helping those who are impoverished.
So we do what we can. And we know our efforts are inadequate. And some of us look at the statistics each year, longing for some signs of hope. So I am going to take the decrease of poverty in Ziebach County for what it is and not spend too much time trying to over analyze the numbers.
Our neighbors continue to suffer under the weight of poverty. We can do some things to help. That is enough information for today. Now it is time to get back to work to do what we can.