Blog Action Day – Let’s Talk About Poverty
October 15, 2008 by Lauren Fairbanks
Photo by glvtx
Like many other financial bloggers, we’re using this Blog Action Day to address poverty, as it’s an important and frequently overlooked issue in our country. Politicians pander to the middle class, but rarely make mention of those that are truly in financial black holes. To fully understand what poverty is, we should take a look at what constitutes poverty in the U.S.
According to Wikipedia, poverty is defined as the “deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life, including food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, and may also include the deprivation of opportunities to learn, to obtain better employment to escape poverty, and/or to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens.” The U.S. Government sets the poverty level, and the current per capita income for being below the poverty line is around $21,200 for a family.
Below are the top 5 cities with the highest poverty level in the U.S. as determined by the 2008 Statistical Abstract from the U.S. Census Bureau. Also listed is the percentage of individuals living under the poverty line and nonprofits in the area that focus on low-income housing development and community/social issues. The scale is based on the number of individuals living below the poverty line and the per capita income of each city.
5. St. Louis, MO
25.4% of individuals living below the poverty line
Per capita income of $19,153
4. El Paso, TX
27.2% of individuals living below the poverty line
Per capita income of $15,248
3. Miami, FL
28.3% of individuals living below the poverty line
Per capita income of $17,531
2. Detroit, MI
31.4% of individuals living below the poverty line
Per capita income of $15,042
1. Cleveland, OH
32.4% of individuals living below the poverty line
Per capita income of $14,825
Related posts:
hy, Do something for help those hungry people from Africa and India,
I made this blog about them:
at http://tinyurl.com/6bz6t7