Sprawling and Struggling: Poverty Hits America's Suburbs

[Purveyor]

Like many Americans who move to the suburbs, Tara Simons came to West Hartford, Conn., because she wanted her daughter to grow up in a nice, safe place with good schools.

Her fall from a more financially secure suburban life to one among the working poor also happened for the same reason it's happened to so many others. She had a bout of unemployment and couldn't find a new job that paid very well.

As a single mother, that's made it hard to hold on to the suburban life that is, in her mind, key to making sure her daughter gets off to the right start.

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The number of suburban residents living in poverty rose by nearly 64 percent between 2000 and 2011, to about 16.4 million people, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of 95 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. That's more than double the rate of growth for urban poverty in those areas.

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http://www.cnbc.com/id/100582664

[99Forever]

1. Please pay attention America.

This is happening to far too many of us. Don't kid yourselves, it can happen to any one of us. This crisis is not getting better, it's just plain being ignored and covered up.

[OneGrassRoot]

3. Exactly. n/t

[bvar22]

2. If you live in the suburbs, get out now.

If you own property in the suburbs, sell now.

Move to:
*either the City or 1st ring, close enough to access easy public transportation and food distribution
OR
*a rural area with a mild Winter, fertile land, and access to abundant clean water

Just my opinion.

[aristocles]

9. Move west.

Buy land in one of the Western states. Buy guns and ammo. Grow your own food. Know your neighbors.

The cities are dead or dying. Gentrification is a short term fools game.

Back to the land, folks, back to the land.

[bvar22]

12. Most places west of East Texas and the Great Plains,

...if they don't already have water problems, are going to have water problems in the near future. The Pacific North West may be OK, but east of the Cascades/Sierras to the Rockies will have problems, and east of Missoula to Minnesota will be uninhabitable.
From LA to East Texas....forget about it.

The Old South, inland from the coasts, may be the best place to look for inexpensive, fertile property with abundant clean water, long growing seasons, and mild winter energy demands.

[Hestia]

16. But (always a but) in a article I read about 15 years ago, the south will become

more arid with a slight desertification. About the only places with good fertile soil is river bottoms, the rest is mostly clay. Good soil, hotter than hell temps. Northern Canada is almost starting to look good. Where there is snow, there is good levels of nitrogen in the soil.

[OneGrassRoot]

4. K&R & bookmarked. Thank you n/t

[n2doc]

5. She needs to face reality

America doesn't care about her anymore. She is still trying to act like she is middle class:

She is behind on her electric and gas bills and owes nearly $400 to her daughter's club lacrosse team, which has her worried that her daughter won't be able to play this spring.

I think she needs to drop the facade, be honest with her kid and drop everything except the necessities. That is the new life the Reagan- Bush-Bush economic world has brought her.

[YoungDemCA]

6. Many core cities are becoming increasingly desireable for the rich...

..while in the process, poorer people are pushed out to the suburbs.

[Horse with no Name]

7. Gentrification is happening everywhere.

And of course, the poor lose out.

[xchrom]

8. Du rec. Nt

[HiPointDem]

10. another reason that poverty is increasing in the suburbs in urban gentrification, with the

poor being pushed out into the suburbs.

[loudsue]

11. And probably about 3/4 of them voted for republicans, locally & nationally,

in 2010 and 2012.

[h2]THE POWER OF PROPAGANDA![/h2]

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

13. This is the future the corporations are giving us.

How to go about changing it is the question.

[RainDog]

14. This is why I would've spit in the faces of Mitt and Ryan

with their talk about takers and makers.

They shit on mothers every single day of their lives and don't care.

fuck them, and fuck ANY politician who does not address what is happening in this nation

When the middle class can't survive - you can bet that you're looking at a revolution that won't end well for the 1%.

I prefer evolution to revolution b/c too many people get hurt. But when our elected representatives PRETEND they cannot keep a minimal social safety net in place - they're sociopaths.

[RB TexLa]

15. And she's doing it to herself now. She still lives there because she thinks she deserves?

Typical greedy American who thinks she is by God entitled to live above her means.

[kylie1]

17. It's all getting pretty scary

My neighbors in an outlying town that is part of the city of Los Angeles just lost their house. The bank came in, tore off the wood siding and stuccoed it. They left huge piles of trash in the front yard. The neighbors we lost were wonderful.

Even though I am a teacher, I also still struggle. My rent is high- I'm subsidizing my landlord's crappy loan and gas is crazy. I belong to a food co op but still can't make ends meet. I have no microwave and no tv and a 7 year old car. I had to take my dog to the emergency clinic last night. I could not afford the whole bill so they did some stuff for free. There are still angels out there....If I did not have health insurance, I would not be making it.

I consider myself lucky because I live in a pretty area in a safer neighborhood but poverty is masked. My next door neighbor relies on a weekly food meal from a church and is on food stamps. Education continues to be privatized. We are headed down an ugly, ugly road.

I agree with whoever said moving out further is best.