Disconnected

Disconnected from reality or just from the poor?

... those of us who grew up in Texas remember what the border looked like when we were kids, and it was really poor. And you go down to that border today, it is prosperous on both sides of the river...



Today, President Bush held a press briefing to argue for a number of things that he wants from Congress including the right to spy on Americans, but in the course of answering questions from reporters, he showed how little he understands the economy. Either he is disconnected from reality and does not know that his own administration has done little to meet the requirements of NAFTA in support of a stronger Mexican economy that would support Mexican workers with jobs that offer a decent life on the Mexican side of the border or he has chosen to lie to us in hopes that we will think that the boarder region of the southern United States is prosperous because of NAFTA.

Excerpt from President's White House Press Briefing (02-28-08) ...

John.

Q Thanks, Mr. President. There's been a lot of criticism on the campaign trail of free trade policies and even talk about the U.S. opting out of NAFTA. And it doesn't seem that you want to discuss the prospects of Republican candidates on the campaign trail this year, but --

THE PRESIDENT: Not yet.

Q Not yet. But just given all the concerns about the economy that people have, do you feel like you could win in a state like Ohio if you were running again for President?

THE PRESIDENT: Landslide. (Laughter.) Look, I am a big believer in free trade. And the reason why is I firmly believe that free trade is essential to the formation of high-paying, quality jobs. In other words, people who work for industries that export goods to overseas are likely to be paid more than their -- other workers.

Secondly, if you look at the -- our economic growth recently, particularly last year, a major portion of that growth came as a result of exports. It's an essential part of our economic picture.

Yes, I heard the talk about NAFTA. One statistic I think people need to know is I think there's roughly like $380 billion worth of goods that we ship to our NAFTA partners on an annual basis. Now, $380 billion worth of goods means there's a lot of farmers and businesses, large and small, who are benefiting from having a market in our neighborhood. And the idea of just unilaterally withdrawing from a trade treaty because of trying to score political points is not good policy. It's not good policy on the merits, and it's not good policy as a message to send to our -- people who have, in good faith, signed a treaty and worked with us on a treaty.

Thirdly, those of us who grew up in Texas remember what the border looked like when we were kids, and it was really poor. And you go down to that border today, it is prosperous on both sides of the river, to the credit of those who proposed NAFTA, and to the credit of those who got NAFTA through the Congress. If you're worried about people coming into our country illegally, it makes sense to help a place like Mexico grow its economy. Most folks would rather be finding a job close to home; most folks would rather not try to get in the bottom of an 18-wheeler to come and put food on the table.

This agreement has meant prosperity on both sides of our borders, north and south. And I believe it's in the interests to continue to seek markets for our farmers, ranchers and businesspeople. I also know it's in our interest to insist that when people sell products into our countries [sic], that we get treated fairly. In other words, if we treat a country one way, people in a country one way, we expect to be treated the same way -- like Colombia.

The Colombia Free Trade vote is coming up. Many of their products come into our country much easier than our products go into theirs. It makes sense to be treated equally. But on this vote, there's an additional consequence. If the Congress rejects the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, it will sorely affect the national security interests of the United States. It will encourage false populism in our neighborhood. It will undermine the standing of courageous leaders like President Uribe. And I strongly urge the Congress, when they bring this -- when the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is brought to a vote, to seriously consider the consequences of rejecting this trade agreement.

Brownsville ranks poorest in the nation - AGAIN!

This is the city where I lived when I attended High School. Friends of mine and I recently visited there on behalf of Bread for the World Institute to learn about persistent poverty.

I am ashamed that anyone would tout a population wherein 40% are below the poverty threshold as one that is making gains. Traci Wickett who is mentioned below is right. We have to get someone's attention. I hope that you will read this and help by paying attention to this and many other places in the U.S. and around the world where persistent hunger and poverty exist. MG

Brownsville ranks poorest in the nation

By Chris Mahon/The Brownsville Herald

August 28, 2007 - 11:46PM

The Census Bureau ranks Brownsville as the most impoverished city in the nation, according to the bureau's 2006 American Community Survey released on Tuesday. More than 40 percent of the city's 171,000 residents live below the poverty line, the bureau's figures show.

The bureau's poverty threshold for an individual is a $10,294 annual income. For a family of four it is $20,614.

Despite the last-place standing, there are slight gains being made in this area. In 2005, the poverty level was 42.6 percent, compared to 40.6 percent in 2006.

Median household income in Brownsville, the fourth lowest in the nation, is also inching north — $26,017 last year, compared to $24,207 in 2005.

"We've got to get people's attention on this," said Traci Wickett, president of United Way of Southern Cameron County.

United Way aims to reduce poverty in two ways, she said. Its first strategy is to improve educational attainment through initiatives such as Success by Six, which focuses on high-quality early childhood education.

The other strategy is to getting people stable financially by accessing the Earned Income Tax Credit, and other state and employer benefits available to them.

"When we talk about poverty in our community, we're not talking about people who are unemployed. We have a lot of hard working people in our community who live below the poverty line."

In the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan statistical area the unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in June, compared to 7.4 percent the year prior. That's about 9,400 people.

Area-wide, the Census Bureau rated Hidalgo County as the poorest county in the nation, with Cameron County coming second to last.

Also on Tuesday, the bureau released another population report, titled, "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006.

According to that survey, Texas had the highest population of uninsured in the country, with 24.1 percent. That survey does not give more local data.



On the Web: www.census.gov

Disclaimer: Poverty is not really all that bad, is it?

What follows is taken directly from the Heritage Foundation website. You can find it yourself by calling up a list of all issues coverend by the Heritage Foundation and under Welfare Reform it will list Poverty and Inequality. This is just the disclaimer. It was clearly not enough for the Heritage Folks to claim that poverty is "more limited in scope and severity than one might think." No, they then list a series of articles and lectures published over the past few years, each with some other bombastic claim:

Performance Based Pay is Driving Increase in Inequality and that claims of growing hunger in the U.S. are wildly exaggerated... Published in 2004, the paper intended to discredit the reality of hunger experienced daily by millions of Americans has been proven wrong, year after year as hunger and poverty continued to increase. Now who's exaggerating?

Poverty & Inequality: "ISSUES > Welfare > Poverty & Inequality

Poverty and Inequality

For most Americans, the word poverty suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food , clothing, and reasonable shelter. Advocates of the welfare state often urge large expansions of welfare spending to combat allegedly widespread poverty in America, yet only a small portion of the 37 million persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau fit that description. While real material hardship certainly does occur, it is much more limited in scope and severity than one might imagine." ~ The Heritage Foundation