Clarion Ledger on poverty

If you have not read today's Clarion Ledger, you should. There are two fantastic editorials. One focuses on the increasing expectations in our schools. The one I am going to address in this post is about poverty, a favorite subject of mine.

These two articles deal with what defines us as Mississippians, poverty and lack of education. Like it or not, we are a poor uneducated state when compared to other states. Our leaders in education are working tirelessly to improve the conditions of our public schools. What we need is an effort to eliminate poverty in the same way are trying to eliminate ignorance.

The Clarion Ledger had this to say:

Now, 40 years later, a national report on poverty once again paints an ugly picture of poverty in America, and Mississippi.

The Measure of America study released earlier this month by Oxfam America and several private foundations found Mississippi last among states in most significant measures, from health care to education to the "opportunity to live a decent life."

The study was based on information collected before Hurricane Katrina struck, so conditions could even be worse now. According to the report:


Median earnings were among the lowest in the nation; figures for the Delta-based 2nd District were equivalent to the national median in the late 1960s.


School enrollment ranked nearly last.


More than one-fifth of Mississippi's adults lack a high school education.


Discrepancies were found in quality of life between genders and in ethnic and racial groups, with black males ranking lowest.

A Delta Task Force of the Mississippi Legislature found similar results and offered options for the state, but for the second time in two years lawmakers chose not to adopt the recommendations this year that could possibly help reverse the trend.

I just finished reading a book entitled "Ending Poverty in America". Sections of that book gave me hope that are things we can do that will slowly help pull people from the grasp of poverty. Too many Mississippians believe the canard that it is lack of ambition and personal responsibility that dooms people to a life in poverty. I would love to see a percentage count of those who believe that canard, who also grew up in HUD housing or on food stamps. I bet it would be less than a percentage point. The canard leads those who buy into this line of logic to think that they are somehow better than the poor, and that is the poor's fault alone for being poor.

We must help educate the poor and help them to build assets. This is not a political issue, or a social issue, but a moral issue. There are a lot of fresh ideas out there help those on the bottom to begin to create wealth. Putting the minimum wage on an index tied to inflation and the value of our currency is a good start. No one who works full time should be below the poverty line, period. Health care needs to be made available to all. Not just health care but preventative health care. If one family member becomes ill, it can bring the whole family into a downward spiral that is nearly impossible to get out of. Maybe creating an account for every child born that has $500 in it as a birthright, that cannot be touched until 18, except to add to, is another idea. There is strong evidence to show that asset creation is a major factor is transcending poverty.

I would love to see the recommendations of the Delta Task Force that our legislature rejected.

Book Excerpt from "Ending Poverty in America"

I read as many books as my friends will allow. I just finished Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine", and may I suggest it to anyone looking for a good book that will make you think. I also recommend the Obama book if you have not read it already. Reading "The Audacity of Hope" more than anything helped me transition from a die-hard Edwards supporter to a member of the Obama nation.

Currently I am reading "Ending Poverty in America" edited by John Edwards. Senator Edwards has a different expert author for every chapter. Some experts are from the political right, some experts are from the political left, but they all are united in the moral issue of ending poverty. Each chapter is its own creature, each being authored by different experts. John Edwards has a 20 page conclusion that I have not read yet.

Here is an excerpt that grabbed me...

Would this cost money? Yes, but some of the expense would ultimately be saved. The more we invest in children, the less later we have to invest in prisons. The more we invest in health insurance and preventative care, the more productive our workforce will be. The lower the dropout rate, the lower the associated costs later in life, and these savings can be substantial: compared with a high-school graduate, a dropout earns an average of $260,000 less and pays $60,000 less in taves over a lifetime...

Thank You John Edwards For Class And A Focus On Poverty And Recovery

John Edwards ended his campaign the same place he started it.

"to remind the country that we as citizens and as a government have a moral responsibility to each other and what we do together matters"

thecount said it very well in the comments:

Thank you John and Elizabeth Edwards for fighting the good fight. Thank you for speaking up for the poor. Thank you for pushing for universal health care. Thank you for keeping the discussion on these topics which are so important. I can't help but think he was doing the Lord's work. God bless him.

It is with his return to New Orleans that I go back to certain numbers:
There are 35,129 Mississippians are still living in FEMA housing and only $1.64 billion of that money had actually been spent re-building the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

John Eaves Responds to the Mississippi Economic Policy Councils Report

John Eaves:

“Mississippi has the highest grocery tax in the nation and our hardworking, God-fearing families deserve a tax cut,” said Eaves. “It is embarrassing and wrong to charge working families the highest tax rate in the country on basic food items, while I see tobacco companies preying upon our children. Barbour vetoed a cut in the grocery tax paid for by increasing our tobacco tax to help the tobacco companies who have paid him millions of dollars as a lobbyist. As governor, I’ll make it one of my top priorities to cut our grocery tax right now and pay for it by increasing the tobacco tax.”

Dowdy - "We'll Cut the Grocery Tax"

The Democratic Response to the Mississippi Economic Policy Council study:

A study released today by the Mississippi Economic Policy Council supports Mississippi Democratic Party candidates’ and leaders’ calls for a lower state sales tax on groceries.

The study says Mississippi’s sales tax of 7 cents on the dollar is especially regressive “because it fully taxes groceries – an expenditure that low-income working families cannot avoid making.” Mississippi is one of two states to fully tax food with no offsets.

“Democratic Party leaders and our nominees have been saying this for months: Reduce the sales tax on groceries and give everybody a tax break,” said Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

“Something isn’t right when the nation’s poorest state charges a 7 percent sales tax on groceries. Mississippi residents have wanted something done about this for a long time. That’s why voters need to elect Democrats in November – we’ll cut the grocery tax.”

In 2006, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed two bills during the legislative session that would have eliminated or reduced the sales tax on groceries. Earlier this year, in the 2007 session, Barbour had a top GOP ally in the state Senate kill a similar proposal.

Barbour’s ally, state Sen. Tommy Robertson, lost his re-election bid last month.

Dowdy said electing Democrats to state and legislative office will change things in January. He said voters shouldn’t believe Barbour when he says he wants to study the state tax structure before proposing any possible cuts.

“Gov. Barbour is putting up a smoke screen,” Dowdy said. “He had a chance to give Mississippians immediate tax relief in 2006 and again this year, but he chose not to. It’s more than obvious where Gov. Barbour stands on reducing Mississippi’s grocery tax.

“Let’s go to the polls in November,” Dowdy said. “Let’s support Democratic nominees for state, district, legislative and county posts. And let’s open the 2008 legislative session in January by cutting the sales tax and helping everyone in Mississippi.”

Another Study Shows That Our Tax Structure Penalizes The Poor

Take a look at the nonpartisan study yourself.

Exclusive Video: John Edwards in Canton, MS

I hope y'all enjoy my the result of my first experiment with original web video.

(Update: I think it just hasn't worked it's way through the YouTube system so give it an hour and then try again)

John Edwards in Canton (Photos)

John and Elizabeth Edwards, John Arthur Eaves, advocates for workers, and current and past poultry plant workers meet in a roundtable discussion.





They moved the press outside for questions and the light was far better thanks to the sun. :)

As others including Will Bardwell have pointed out, the lighting was bad inside so few of my pictures turned out.

Additional John Edwards Coverage

Will Bardwell provided good analysis at his blog of the event at his blog the convieniently titled WillBardwell.com

He also provided a news roundup of other stories including ours in a post titled Additional Edwards Coverage. Check out his website it has some good stuff.

He also tipped me off to an official Edwards video clip of the event:


Check out www.WillBardwell.com and then come back here later for more on the Edwards event.

Edwards In Mississippi

I'm not sure what I expected now, but it wasn't this.

After some difficulty getting in due to there being no Edwards person at the door when we got there we did get in and I was amazed to see how many journalists were there. There was already a virtual wall of television cameras in the back when we went in and I took my place behind a row of seats occupied by print journalism reporters.

I looked next to me and saw Anderson Cooper from CNN and introduced myself and Alex Scharr who came with me.

He was generally friendly and we engaged in a few minutes of conversation including Alex asking him why he'd backed out of an event at Loyola where he goes to school. Anderson Cooper gave a good reason that included international travel. I asked him when they were going to do another special on the Mississippi Coast with Kathleen Koch and he said he hoped they would soon. Our conversation was ended when a police officer came over and told Anderson Cooper that the mayor wanted a picture and he left.

Shortly after John Edwards entered with some current and former poultry plant workers and advocates for the poor and they sat down and spoke on issues of treatment in the workplace and poverty.

John Edwards mostly asked questions and listened thoughtfully with Elizabeth who looked good I think.

Afterwords the press was ushered through a side door to the rear of the Church where they waited for John Edwards to answer questions. We waited a while and I overheard the Fox News cameraman remark to another news person that John Edwards was giving a one on one interview with Anderson Cooper. Looking around I didn't see Anderson Cooper or John Edwards so I assume that was correct.

John Edwards then did come out and answered a half a dozen questions from the press. He started by saying that he wanted the press to focus on the poverty part of the Road to One America Tour and not him saying that he wasn't the point.

He then went and shook hands and signed the shirts of a few folks who had gathered from the community to see what was happening and then got in the van to head to the next stop in Marks, Mississippi.

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I'll put up selected video clips and photos starting tomorrow.

I'm Going To See John Edwards Today!

The Edwards Campaign is all about some new media so I've got press credentials.

I'll have photos, video, and a report from the Edwards event in Canton by this evening.

The trip is part of "The Road To One America" tour which began in New Orleans this morning with a town hall meeting on Good Morning America.