- This writer's earlier articles addressed greater social
misery in America than since the Great Depression, because of unemployment,
homelessness, hunger, bankruptcies, despair, and rising poverty levels.
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- According to the National Academy of Science, 47.4 million
Americans were impoverished in 2008, 15% of the population, but the true
number is much higher since the government's income threshold is $22,000
for a family of four, way short of what's needed throughout urban America
where even half again as much is too little.
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- Illinois is a microcosm of the nation. Facing the largest
per capital budget deficit in America, equal to half its operating budget,
it's in deep crisis, one of many problems being poverty, the issue the
Heartland Alliance addressed in its May 5 report titled, "2010 Report
on Illinois Poverty," deepening under budget-balancing social safety
net cuts, making a bad situation worse for growing numbers throughout the
state, suffering under dire economic conditions, exacerbated by bad public
policy.
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- The Heartland Alliance "advances the human rights
and responds to the human needs of endangered populations - particularly
the poor, the isolated, and the displaced (in search for) a more just global
society" - no easy task in today's environment, in Illinois or throughout
the nation, given that 32 states are officially insolvent, including Illinois,
and nearly all of them are severely challenged.
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- Years of Mismanagement Pushed Illinois Over the Edge
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- The state's budget crisis threatens vital services like
food stamps and unemployment insurance, besides healthcare, education,
and various programs for the needy, under consideration for cuts or elimination.
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- The combination of material hardship and high unemployment
threatens to impact Illinois' economy for years, yet will worsen from draconian
counterproductive measures, the very policies earlier enacted with new
ones being considered.
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- Illinois Poverty in 2008
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- Based on US Census poverty guidelines, over 1.5 million
Illinoisans are impoverished (44% of them in extreme poverty), or 12.2%
of the population. Another 16% are at risk, a potential 28.2% total, or
over 3.5 million people, and those numbers are conservative. Among them
are over half a million children and one-third of the state's Blacks, another
half million.
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- Given the woefully out-of-date federal $22,000 threshold
for a family of four, the true problem is far greater, likely double the
official numbers or higher, showing dire Illinois conditions that reflect
the state of the nation - worsening, not improving.
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- Other Heartland figures show:
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- -- nearly one million Illinoisans unemployed or underemployed,
and many more have stopped looking altogether;
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- -- in the last decade, offshoring cost thousands of high-paying
manufacturing and other jobs, replaced with lower-paying service ones;
from 2000 - 2008 (before the economic downturn's full impact), 168,500
service jobs replaced 203,000 manufacturing ones, a trend very much evident
nationwide;
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- -- nearly one in five working age Illinoisans live in
extreme poverty;
-
- -- workers with less than a high school diploma are nearly
four times more likely to be unemployed; 54% of working age adults in extreme
poverty have a high school degree or less;
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- -- despite their known benefits, early childhood programs
are being eliminated, likely when the Illinois Preschool for All program
expires in summer 2010;
-
- -- one in eight adults avoided doctor visits in the past
year because of cost;
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- -- 52% of Illinois school children qualify for free or
reduced cost school lunches, an indication of impoverished families; the
2008 number was 42% higher than in 2000, and today it's much higher still;
-
- -- impoverishment means doing without health insurance
and doctor visits when needed;
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- -- 50% of Illinoisans choose between paying for food
or utilities like heat in winter;
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- -- 44% decide between buying food or paying rent or mortgages;
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- -- for 36%, the choice is between food and medicines
and medical care;
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- -- in March 2010, one of every 371 Illinois homeowners
got a foreclosure notice; a far larger percentage is at risk;
-
- -- residents with disabilities face severe cutbacks in
benefits; many can't meet expenses for rent, mortgages health care, and
other essentials;
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- -- from mid-2006 - mid-2008, the number of homeless children
enrolled in public schools increased 32%;
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- -- nearly one-fourth of state residents have no savings,
checking or money market account;
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- -- the average Illinoisan is over $11,300 in debt;
-
- -- one of every seven state households is in extreme
asset poverty, having zero or negative net worth and no ability to handle
emergencies;
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- -- over 20% of Chicagoans are impoverished, another 21%
at risk; suburban areas are also heavily impacted, though less than the
city proper;
-
- -- around 40% of region households earn less annually
than $50,000; given the area's high cost of living, they're effectively
impoverished based on a September 2009 University of Washington School
of Social Work Research Center & Center for Women's Welfare Social
IMPACT study showing the minimum family need, in the eight regional counties,
to make ends meet is $52,000 in Chicago; in suburban DePage county, it's
nearly $62,000;
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- -- metropolitan Chicago has been hard hit by job losses,
declining incomes, and increased home foreclosures and bankruptcies, the
same pattern common nationally; and
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- -- 52% of regional residents in extreme poverty aren't
employed, including seniors, the disabled, and children.
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- Hearland noted that its project began earlier when America
was prosperous and future prospects looked favorable. Their recent annual
reports caution that earlier good times haven't continued, nor were all
boats lifted while they lasted.
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- Today's situation is dire. "The Great Recession
has crumbled economic stability for millions of families" though loss
of jobs, incomes and benefits, homes, businesses, savings and futures.
And as always, those hardest hit will be slowest to recover, and many won't
ever make it.
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- Most study data was the latest available through 2008,
so didn't fully capture today's conditions. Nonetheless, "the magnitude
of hardship reflected here is staggering," and suggests much worse
ahead next year.
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- For growing numbers in need, what's coming "will
be nothing short of devastating" because lawmakers are fighting hard
times counterproductively, cutting back when stimulus is needed. The result,
of course, is predictable - hard times for years to come. Perverse governance
is the problem, harming millions of the most vulnerable, their numbers
growing exponentially because nothing is being done to help them - in Illinois
or nationally.
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- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
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- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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