Poverty Tipping Point?

[Joanne98]

One key theme of Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point is that "ideas and behaviors and new products move through a population very much like a disease does," as he notes at his website, gladwell.com.

Reading between the lines of the following Reuters report, "Poverty Spreading in Suburbs: Study," I wonder if we might be seeing a similar pattern developing in terms of those who suddenly find themselves at the bottom of the economic ladder?

Poverty in the United States is spreading from rural and inner-city areas to the suburbs, according to a study, a situation that can worsen as the economy confronts what may be a protracted recession.

http://www.financialarmageddon.com/

[Warpy]

1. I think we'll see exurbs experiencing the worst drop

and close suburbs experiencing the least as people try to minimize their commutes. I think the message has gotten through that the drop in gas prices we've seen over the last 3 months is only temporary and that the best long term strategy is to live as close to work as possible.

I can see cities returning to the former pattern of a wealthy center ringed by poorer and poorer people who work to service it, even if we do move toward a more rational economy that addresses the demand side.

Exurbs with transportation, especially rail, will probably manage to hang on. Exurbs that rely on hour plus commutes to employment centers will probably cease to exist within the next 20 years or revert to farming centers with far lower population.

[ben_meyers]

2. Is it poverty spreading to the suburbs or is it

the impoverished spreading to the suburbs. There might be a difference.

Maybe the poor among us have moved to the suburbs, enticed by the last 8 years of Bushco's failed financial scheme of sub-prime mortgages to take part in what has become the American nightmare of the "ownership" society.

[AndyTiedye]

3. A Lot of Poor People Have Been Forced Out of the Cities by Gentrification

All this ranting about how EEEEVIL the suburbs are has had an impact.
Quite a few people have moved into the city. The city is full.
If you move in, someone else has to move out. Someone with less money than you have.
They will now have to drive to work, because public transit in the suburbs is poor to non-existent.

[Hannah Bell]

6. wasn't ranting about "evil" causing the poorer folk to leave the city.

1. run-up in real-estate prices = rent increases & destruction of low-income urban housing. & in some cases deliberate destruction & relocation of low-income housing (i.e. new orleans, seattle, new york).

[FirstLight]

4. So, all you are talking about is the Geography of it ...?

Let's look at that "downward spiral" effect poverty and lack of capital in people's pockets is causing on ALL fronts. It isn't just about car loans or home loans, as the pundits speak of...it is about food and rent and shoes for your kids and everything else.

I have kids in school and they are always coming home with another school 'fundraiser' for the PTA or some such nonsense. I dipped into rent money to go to the stupid BookFair and get $10 worth, just so the kids wouldn't feel left out, because they ccame jhoome every day talking about it...they had a canned food drive and my kids wanted me to give them more than one can of fod from our pantry, I told them WE were the ones who needed some help - and I wasn't gonna empty OUR pantry so they coul win a prize for being the best classroom to collect stuff...

This is the CONSTANT cost of LIFE that is always affecting you when you are living in poverty...it is the gnawing feeling that you are somehow not good enough to do for your family like others, it is the hoping that noone notices you are wearing hand me downs when you go for that job interview, it is the knowing that you will NEVER exceed 15K a year, because the luxury of "going back to school" can't be worked in between 3 jobs and 3 kids and trying to survive...

POVERTY is MORE that who lives where - it moves with you wherever you go. it is a social disease that may have a cure, but you can't afford it....

EDIT; KICK ...because this needs to be addressed...

[Morpheal]

5. POVERTY AND SOCIAL CONTROL / POLITICAL OPPRESSION

When a government is insecure, feels threatened, is becoming unstable, it always
seeks to make as many people as possible as poor as possible to take away their
strength to protest and fight against it.

When people are so involved in the struggle to exist that they have all their time,
energy, and resources, completely expended, used up, in that struggle, they don't
tend to pose as much of a threat. They have had much of the fight kicked out of
them by the day to day struggle.

Often when that type of poverty expands very significantly beyond its previous
boundaries, a society is about to fall under the sway of totalitarian dictatorship.
Quite often what becomes the puppet "democracy" of superficially visible
political figure, dancing from their invisible strings, held in invisible hands, are
then merely the figureheads for the real regime that remains largely invisible
as did the real regime behind Adolf Hitler, figurehead of Germany during the
time of the Third Reich. The fact that some visible officials are elected by vote
of the people does not prove freedom and democracy. Far from it.

Quite often the apparent powerlessness of the elected government and of the
presidency, ultimate figurehead, in a time of increased economic or other severe
crisis is not what it seems. It is instead a deliberate attempt to render more of
the population disempowered and defenseless against the rise of totalitarianism.

Is that what is happening ?

It remains for the government, whichever government, to prove it isn't.
Government is never innocent until proven guilty. Don't be fooled by that one
either. Government is guilty until it proves itself innocent.

Cheers.

Robert Morpheal

[Hannah Bell]

7. Agree. Wise to question the memes being distributed in these times,

e.g. "We'll have to get used to having less," "We can't afford to..." etc.