E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSLearn more about suburban poverty in America as featured in the Dateline report America Now: Lost in Suburbia from Sunday, June 24th, at 8pm/7c. The data and excerpts below have been compiled from the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C. You can read the full report here, "The Suburbanization of Poverty", by the Brookings Institute.
…
"Significantly, the 2000s also marked a turning point in the geography of American poverty. The 2010 data confirm that poor populations continued their decade-long shift toward suburban areas. From 2000 to 2010, the number of poor people in major-metro suburbs grew 53 percent (5.3 million people), compared to 23 percent in cities (2.4 million people). By 2010, suburbs were home to one-third of the nation’s poor population—outranking cities (27.5 percent), small metro areas (20.5 percent), and non-metropolitan communities (18.7 percent)." (see full article: 'The Rapid Growth of the Suburban Poor")
"Along with increases in total number of poor, the rate of poverty - or the share of the total population living below the poverty line - also significantly increased between 2000 and 2008, both nationally and across community types. Among community types, primary cities experienced the smallest, though still significant, increase in the poverty rate over this time period (0.3 percentage points). Continuing a trend that began in the 1990s, large suburbs experienced an above-average increase in their poverty rate (0.9 percentage points)."
"While poverty increased on the whole for cities and suburbs in the nation's 95 largest metro areas, wide variation exists within these aggregate trends. Clearly, certain parts of the country have faced relatively greater economic strain over the course of this decade than others. Midwestern metro areas have seen the largest growth in poverty by far since 2000, and this growth has been shared across city and suburban lines."
"Poverty trends within individual metro areas bear out these larger regional patterns. Between 2000 and 2008, primary cities in 54 metro areas experienced a significant change in their poverty rates. Fully 44 of them saw poverty increase over this time period, with the majority located in the Midwest and South. A smaller number of metro areas (33) saw suburban poverty rates change over this time period, with all but two experiencing increases. Again, the greatest increases in suburban poverty were seen in Midwestern metro areas."
"In 2008, 91.6 million people - more than 30 percent of the nation's population - fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. There has been a greater concentration of low income residents who now find themselves between 100 and 200 percent above the poverty line. This trend signals the diminishing middle class."
Read the full report, "The Suburbanization of Poverty", by the Brookings Institute here and visit the following online resources for more information about basic needs and services in your area:
- Food Pantries Locator Site:
http://foodpantries.org/
- Department of Health & Human Services:
http://www.hhs.gov/
- Boulder County Housing & Human Services: http://www.bouldercounty.org/dept/housinghumanservices/pages/default.aspx
Leave a Comment:
Layoffs and Corporate restructuring, financial weapons of mass destruction. If each of those circles were nuclear detonations, the results would be the same, except instead of charred and shadowed bodies, you have the slow and miserable economic strangulation of a population. How will you maintain your edge in a post-Armageddon economy?,...
It is really upsetting to me that you feature white people who make or have made more in one year than 99% of what most AFRICAN-AMERICANS make in five to ten years.African -Americans have been living in poverty for years.I'm 51 and there is no one reporting my plight or the plight of most African-Americans.We dont go on vacations we dont have bank accounts,we dont have anything for most of our living days to put in a bank account .You make it an American issue when it falls on white people.You choose to share what you want to, that is a large portion of the Afican-American population have no faith in anything you have to say.I'm sure this will not be aired or even accepted.White people have a habit of running from the truth and leaving lies in there trail.
My husband lost his job in 2008, he got another job not making anything like the 6 figure income we were use to. thank goodness our kids were grown and out of college. No help at all from our mortgage lender and we lost 2 houses to foreclosure, at 60 my husband had an affair and left me. We are now divorced. We lived in Denver. I feel so sad for the people in this story from Boulder it breaks my heart. Please do not let this set back destroy your family like it did mine. Although my kids are grown adults it all started when my ex husband lost his 6 figure income. We were married for 40 years and are both in our 60's.
My prayers are with you. I'm so sorry for what you have been through. However, life isn't all about money and what we "have" but what we can give. May you find peace in finding your life and move forward.
You said it Lisa! Life isn't about money or what we have. We need more like you in this Country and less of a sense of Entitlement!
"We (the collective 'long term unemployed' in America) applaud NBC for shedding light on a well-hidden (and rarely publicly discussed) reality for millions of once hard working, formerly middle class Americans.
But there is an imporant point to make before we go futher. A call to the Boulder County Housing and Human Services Department confirmed what the Denver Unemployment Examiner has suggested many, many times before: there is no safety, no additional assistance (as noted in the Dateline NBC story about families which children) for adults without dependent children - a much forgotton population of unemployed and formerly middle class American workers..."
There are a lot of people who need help, but don't understand that food pantries and financial assistance is there to help in the the name of God. That's what we are all here for. There is nothing to be ashamed of and no need not to hold your head high. Going to a food pantry means you want to feed your family and asking for financial assistance to keep your home means you care. Pride is a sin, when you think you are above asking for help, that's when you need to humble yourself and say your prayers. May God bless all that are in need.
What the real shame is, I live in the Northeast and we see the most expensive vehicles in the low-income neighborhoods. They get most (if not all) of their rent paid, Utilities are usually paid, medical and food stamps are also included. They also get cash assistance at times. You normally see them putting their free food in Escalades, Navigators, BMW's and even Jaguars. Think I'm kidding?
Isn't it sad though klst21655 that people who were solidly in the middle class--those with good educations and those who have done everything right, the way we were told to be responsible--those people are finding themselves without jobs, without insurance, without homes and without support of the rest of us? Where is our safety net now? What kind of country do we want for ourselves? Do we want a few rich people and everybody else is extremely poor? In a country where most of us have so much hope for ourselves and our children--is it right that only a few have such excessive wealth and nobody else can even feed their children or afford healthcare for these children? Is this okay?
I applaud NBC for shedding light on a well-hidden (or not discussed) reality for millions of once hard working, formerly middle class Americans.
While the story made the point of falling from middle class to poverty relatively well, it is, in some ways a slap in the... face to many of those former middle classers now living in - stuck in - poverty for the last 2-3 years. Dateline picked familes who lost their jobs just over a year ago, in 2011 - and the families profiled are from (what appears to be lower income area w/in) Boulder County and the town of Superior, CO. Let me make this clear: it costs a LOT of money to live in Superior and is an affluent community (hence the name, 'Superior'?) - and the woman from Superior is nothing less than a snob. Why Dateline chose to profile people who lost their jobs a relatively short time ago (and from such an obviously affluent community) rather than profiling someone who has truly been out of work for a prolonged period and fallen from middle class to absolutely poverty on a sustained basis is to me, makes this effort to profile long term unemployment in America almost laughable - but some of the people in the segment did portray an honest picture of what it's like (at least in the first year of unemployment) - it does nothing to portray what happens in the 2nd and 3rd year of unemployment.
My comments are not intended to downplay or in any way disregard/dismiss the plight of the families portrayed in this segment - but I am saying that there are millions who were laid off at the TOP of this recession, exhausted their UI benefits (yes, all 99 weeks) and contrary to politicians and others who claim employment is found as soon as UI runs out, are STILL unemployed and living in absolute, abject poverty - with absolutely zero safety net (particulary for those who are classified as 'adults without dependent children' [AwDC] and are denied any assistance in Colorado and elsewhere not because they don't demonstrably need the help, but soley because they have no minor children.
To complete this series NBC and 60 Minutes must do a story on any one of the tens of thousands in Colorado who was laid off early in this recession, exhausted all UI benefits and is now living with friedns, family or Lord knows where.
Denver Unemployment Examiner
unemployment-in-denver
I completely agree with you, Denver Unemployment Examiner. I was shocked by how little these families in some cases had cut back--still keeping their SUV, wearing their diamond wedding ring, the one family still had cable and were getting rental assistance to pay a very expensive mortgage. It also seemed like people were saying that they couldn't find a job, when the truth was that they couldn't find a job in their field making a comparable amount of money. It seemed like public assistance was helping them to maintain appearances. I feel like that segment last night was on the denial of the middle class or the crumbling of the American dream.
After watching that episode, I was left dumb founded. I really feel that you could have found families that were much more in need of help. The families you showed were a joke. You had one who did not want to settle for anything less then a Executive job as she is ragging on her husband who has a job to find a better job. Really? Then you have the other married couple who is making $2000/month in unemployment...and you are still struggling??? come on!!! To his wife, why don't you get a job yourself if you are struggling so bad? I feel that these families are not struggling half as bad as most families are!!!
This is on the news like it is something new...Really? It took people in suburbia to feel the effects of the financial crisis before the news starts reportiing. There are so many people that I know that have lost their jobs and are working for less money, and no benefits. It is amazing that no one is saying REVOLUTION because the government has done nothing to help. The banks have not help anyone reorganize their mortgages while CEO makes Millions. Government workers will get paid and have paid private contractors to be overseas and do NOTHING for the average person. Now, take this information to the local senator and ask what are they doing to make this better? They will have no answer because the issues that were covered on the news are not even a consideration in their lives!!!
I've been watching these families on Dateline just now, and while my heart goes out of them, I'm sure there are thousands of families out there derisively snorting at the couple who refuses to give up their gas guzzling SUV while they are driving vehicles wired together with rusty coathangers, or at the lady who's so relieved her diabetic daughter will be getting insurance help as we watch the daughter strumming a HARP! And I'm curious as to how many of them ever gave a second thought for those hungry, destitute people who rely on food banks for a decent meal ever made a contribution to one?
And they think they're embarrassed! This is just a minor glimpse into the world of the poverty stricken and no amount of my beating my head against the wall will ever get people to think about something other than their own needs. These surbanites are oblivious for the most part to the needs of others and are now getting a taste of what the real world is for our nation's poor and starving.
They'll get back on their feet again. I know because it happened to me. How quickly will they forget the tough times or will they remember others and make a contribution? I just wonder...
I work in two schools in a far less affluent than Boulder, Colorado and the free lunch program is covering over 40% of kids in both schools. This didn't used to be the case. It is very difficult for these families. These families are both professional families (who have lost their jobs) and the working poor. All of us need to try to be compassionate.
My husband and I had a really difficult time having any feelings go out to the two familie who were not willing to downsize. I am a professional with a doctorate. My husband owned his own business and lost it 6 years ago. We live check to check, sometimes having only $8.00 in our account for a week until I get paid. We would be so grateful for those services and these people scoffed and were embarrassed instead. There are far more important issues in our society to report on than winy middle class people who refuse to downsize and stop being snobby. I can't believe I wasted my time watching this.
>the free lunch program is covering over 40% of kids
Yep, just the way Oblamer wants it. What a country!
Well hate to break it to you, OUr Government/ DOD do it to sick soldiers all the time. Now they might know how it feels.
One thing all these folks have in common is a sick child. One can overcome job loss, try diffrent businesses or work to survive, downsize one's living standard and housing. But no one can keep up with a greedy medical establishment, over billing for medical expenses and over prescribing expensive medical drugs that may or may not be needed with the insurance companies all in favor to justify much higher premiums. No European, Canadian, Australian or Japanese have to worry that their would fall into these circumstances. I pray for all these folks for their kids to get better as the only way to come out of poverty as the system will leave them behind. To get the help for their kids they have to go bankrupt. That sucks!
Really, You don't live in my world. I live paycheck to paycheck and sometimes 50 % goes out in medical bills while those that are receiving assistance get there kids Free Braces, Free eyeglasses, Free surgery's. The cost affects those that work. I agree about the cost of medical coverage and the eyes are opening, requiring that everyone have coverage will just drive rates up not down. Look at Car insurance compared to when it was optional and the companies had to make good deals for your business.
Until the U.S. has major tort reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket. Health care costs are high because of ambulance-chasing lawyers and astronomical malpractice awards by juries. Health care providers do all the testing conceivable to avoid, if not defend against, lawsuits. There should be a cap on the "pain and suffering" portion of jury awards (out-of-pocket medical expenses are a different issue). For its part, the AMA needs to aggressively pursue physicians who, through their action/inaction, should not be practicing medicine.
I feel real sorry for this country, have we become so full of ourselves that a cleaning position that would feed the family and put a roof over our heads is worse than taking free money? And where does that money come from? The Free money comes from that same taxpayer cleaning person that is not getting free anything,and is supporting their family. So many people have not seen real struggles or faced real challenges where help is not there and you have to pull yourself up and out. I was taught no one will do it for you!(seems like that value is almost gone in this country) Loosing your $500,000 home is not the same as having no home to go to. I truly believe those that appreciate it and need it, should have it available to them but those like Dian took money from someone who would have appreciated it and could have used it to live not just because they wanted to keep there Cadillac. All I can hope for is that those people who have the means to get back at the top of the pool will have learned something and when they are back ahead will pay it forward for those who really do not have thoes same opertunities.
Wow, could not believe what I was watching tonight on Dateline. "For Richer or Poorer" I think thats how the Vows go. SMH......So sad to see some of these women consider divorce as an "option" or maybe in escape from the life that they think they should have. How about (Ladies) getting off your rear end and putting in for jobs around town. Maybe cleaning ( YES CLEANING) after hours at the local drug store or local Walmart. Big Problem with spoiled Ameriacn women.
I agree Dactown but it's not just women! There are million's of men sitting on unemployment because they refuse to work for a wage or position that they think is below what they feel they are worth. But the the real men pull them selves up by the boot straps and the real women pull themselves up by there britches and do what they can!
Wow, Could not believe what I was watching tonight on Dateline. Things get a little rough in the Burbs and half these women are ready to bail on their husbands. Stay Classy American Women
Life can be very humbling. I lost everything in Dec of 2008 and last Christmas I found my self homeless. I found a good job and saved some money living in my car, enough to get an apartment. I was on food stamps and hated every minute of it. The worst part being no one in my food stamp office spoke English.
I would like to address comments made concerning the POOR who 'get a free ride.' You are WRONG!!! We do not get a free ride. Most of us work at least two jobs sometimes three. We take the jobs that the suffering middle and upper class frown upon, recieving low wages and no benefits. You think you are humiliated when you have to ask for help? Think about how many times you have been behind someone in a grocery store who has used that EBT card and silently thought, "you ought to get a job." Guess what, the majority of us DO have jobs!!!
We shop at thrift stores, work in community gardens for fresh vegetable. And here is a kicker for you middle classer's who now find yourself asking for help.....it is your children who mock and taunt my children because thier clothes are second hand and need to be on the free meal program.
We DO NOT go out to eat because we CANNOT afford it, we actually cook at home.
As for housing, that is difficult because people think that because you are poor or have a housing voucher you will not keep the housing clean and will damage it.....it is just the REVERSE! We do all we can to keep our homes clean and neat because it is the only place we can be that is NOT CHAOTIC!
By the way, I do have a college degree but could not find employment in my field of study, so I do work at least two jobs and sometimes three.
Also, just to make this clear, my landlord supplies internet and cable to all his renters....that is why I have internet, my computer was a gift from a friend who rebuilds them.
I just caught the last few minutes of this program. It hit me right at home. I was let go in 2006 from a $40K/year plus benefits career. After a year I was able to go back into the workplace for a $25K salary to support my family. Praise God I had a 401K to borrow from in my hardship, although zero remains today and I owe the IRS for a shortfall on the penalties. "The system" has repeatedly let me down, we were inelligible for mortgage help, food stamps, HEAP and other programs, for reasons I fail to comprehend. (We live in the automotive belt in Ohio) After that job changed and unemployment ran out, my annual income has dropped to $14K/Year. A single mom, I work multiple part time jobs to sustain us to the best of my ability. I long for "one big girl job" as my kids say that will employ me full time and offer some help with health insurance which I now pay for out of pocket for at $400/month. I was able to rent out my home to gain help with my rising mortgage which is underwater if I were to sell. With help from a dear friend I sold my 2007 car and returned to my older car with no payment. We live modestly and still go in the hole hundreds each month. We continue to do the best we can with what we have. I am in collection for routine medical bills not covered by insurance which I simply don't have the means to pay. We have been blessed by the human, caring spirit of others in our community time and again. It is exhausting without a doubt to keep up at age 55, but I am grateful for good health that allows us to continue embracing life, one day at a time. As they say hope is not a strategy, yet I continue to put my best foot forward. God will help see me through this and more. I hope others like me continue to find strength and courage in Him to walk them through these changing times of middle class America that simply aren't what they used to be. Reinventing yourself is a skill we all must possess in today's job market.
IF your husband make 6 figure why can't you live on half your income and save the rest? He will get old and tired one day. I live on one or two weeks pay most of my life. When I get married we will live on half his income so he don't stress about money..I also want to save my income and travel. You really dont need all this stuff it makes you crazy with cleaning, insurance, worry and heartache.
I just watched Lost in Suburbia, what a great show. My son was laid off 2 years ago from a long term, secure job. His family has had to face the same things that were shown. I have seen the same psychological effect on them as the participants in dateline. I am retired on a fixed income. Fortunately I was raised in a time and place where we had to make do and use it up or wear it out, etc. These lessons have come in very handy in my retirement. My heart goes out to these young families going through all this pain.
Just watched Dateline, "Lost in Suburbia", it was a wonderful segment of three family that were on the verge and then it happen, layoff, feeding the family and paying the rent. It only made it clear how the Obama administration failed the one group in America that needed the most help, middle Americans. I knew that 10 of millions of middle class Americans were just hanging on and were one step away from disaster. Obama spent $9 trillion on foreclosure programs, stimulus and bailout but it all went to the wrong group, not one of those programs actually made that much of a difference. The middle class could of put that money to better use, refinancing their homes to keep them and loosen money that could be used elsewhere, the middle class could of generated jobs by using stimulus to buy products and services which would have created jobs and kept jobs, stimulus that could of boosted tax revenues for cities, counties and states. Helping the middle class was the solution and its not too late. I hope that millions watched this program because its exactly what millions of Americans face in the next months ahead. The economy, job market and foreclosures have not gotten better, its just one step away from disaster. I hope when Americans go to vote in November they remember this program and I hope in the next rounds of help the government thinks about the middle class and that they can use the help, put that help to better use and are the backbone of this country.
It is the House of Representatives and the Senate who make the laws (the president just signs them or not). And it is the House of Representatives that allocates the funds. We could use a stimulus bill to fix our infrastructure, to fix roads and bridges and other infrastructure that needs to be fixed. And that will give many people jobs. Let's call on congress to pass the bills that would help the economy. Let's ask them to do something and not just try to as Mitch McConnell said in 2010: "Our top political priority in the next two years should be to deny President Obama a 2nd term." It appears to me that he is sabotaging all he can in order to get the president not elected for a 2nd term. And it appears that that is the priority of the republicans period. Nothing gets done because the republicans won't let it happen. They want Obama to be blamed. And it is working it appears.
Did the woman with the ill child apply for jobs? The father could care for the boy while the mother works. Even though her earning power may not be what his is, he could pursue job prospects while the mother is home from her job. My husband and I have a cerebral palsied child. He works days, I work evenings. The child is with an alternate caregiver only one hour per day.
One last question: does anyone know what the families were paid to be on this show?
I am truly disgusted with these people. They are snobby middle class people who should be grateful for wht they have. These people do not truly know what it means to be poor. Really? Couldn't the time been spent on a real issue that is dominating America.
Been in the same boat since early 2009 when I was medically retired from the military. Didn't plan on it and I couldn't land a job that paid even 40% of what I was making. Worked 2x part-time jobs until finally hired 5 months later at a decent wage, but 8 hrs away! So packed up and moved. I tried renting my hosue out for 40% of my mortgage and couldn't find a renter for almost 18 months, meanwhile I'm paying rent and a mortgage. The house was also up for sale during this timeframe. Along with this comes family drama. My father passed away 2 years prior and his will wasn't being followed by my siblings. They wanted to sell the house out from underneath my brother who had been my father's caregiver for almost 30 years. I figured he should just have the house, since we all made our families and were long gone. I assisted him in funding some much needed repairs. So went to my lender, Well Fargo on a couple occasions in regards to refinancing, any assistance, etc. Nothing. So much for that plan. Over the period my house was losing value, in fact, over 60% to date. Wells Fargo has turned down over 16 offers on my house. I actually feel raped by them. So my situation, sold my newer car, sold the antiques I inherited from my father, sold the antiques I gathered while I lived in Europe, cashed in my 401K's, still worked full-time and part-time here. I basically got rid of material things. I could have gone to food shelters and seeked assistance. But I felt there were people worse off than me that really needed that. I had this 'stuff' that I knew I could sell and get much needed money for. At first I had a hard time letting go of the antiques, but back in the 1970's my father had the idea at Christmas time of adopting a family instead of buying presents for oursleves. His thoughts were that we were blessed with so much and to give to others that didn't. So before I took anything from anyone, I was going to survive on what I had. My savings has dwindled down to about 15% of what I had a couple years ago. I figure I can survive through the year and then foreclosure will be the answer. Wells Fargo has made their money on my house and they can have it. I'm not throwing anymore money towards it. I have no plans on moving back there. Funny story...did find a renter for a couple months. She worked for Wells Fargo Investments...bounced 2 rent checks and ended up in court to get my money. How is that for irony! This life has been a crazy one.
I really enjoyed this episode of Dateline, but feel they could have done a little better job at selecting the families. There was a big point that was missed, or just not pointed out clearly. These families were obviously living WELL above their means before they found themselves in the ranks of the unemployed. That is the larger problem as far as I'm concerned. A lot of people have commented that they didn't do enough to 'cut back' or 'downsize' - but in reality, they were cutting back. But were cutting back to the 'means' they should have been living at. You had one of the families that was making over $100K a year and needed hard-core financial assistance within weeks of becoming unemployed. Another family with a husband bringing home almost a six figure income that has been renting a home for seven years. There is more to all of their stories that brought them to the point at which we met them.
My husband has been unemployed now for 1 1/2 years and we are living on my salary and his UI benefits. We are surviving because we made a conscious decision to live within our means. And to be honest, I have over the years been envious of others who were whooping it up while we were trying to be realistic. And when his job went away...we immediately cut back further. We are paying our bills and we are making it work. I feel fortunate and don't take any of it for granted.
There are people out of work much longer than these families, in much, much worse situations that tell the real story of what it means to be Lost in Suburbia. People who have worked hard, done the best they can and find themselves in a bad situation. Oh...and one more ramble...don't be ashamed to take your child to the food pantry - use it as an opportunity to teach them. And when, God willing, you are back on your feet, take them back and teach them to return the help!
I totally understand what these families were feeling but I felt so sorry for them when it came to hiding the fact that they needed to go to the food pantries. My dad was laid off his job several times over the course of my childhood and I was always aware of the stress that was caused because of that. One thing that I knew of was the shame my mom felt for having to go the local food bank. If my mom or dad would have asked me to go I would have. Because of the stress and shame that was felt I made sure that I stayed as healthy as possible and even let my dental health lack because that would have placed more stress on the situation ( I am now paying for that). As a child no matter how hard you try and shield problems, they are always discovered and you try your best to not add to it, which is not good for anyone.