2008 Woodie Awards
Milwaukee poverty rate 8th-highest in nation
Down a notch from previous spot, but one in four in city still below federal line
By Christopher Placek
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Milwaukee ranks eighth on the list of large American cities with the highest poverty rates in 2006. The data estimated 26.2 percent of city residents, or about 143,000 people, live below the federal threshold.
"Previously we were (ranked) seventh," said MacCanon Brown, executive director of Repairers of the Breach, 1335 W. Vliet St., the city's only daytime homeless shelter located just north of campus. "Eighth is still an atrocity, of course."
Brown said about 150 homeless people visit the shelter each day, many of whom are "like people you see in ads for missions in Africa."
The federal poverty line for a single person is $10,294 in income. For a family of four, it is $20,444.
Marquette philosophy professor John Jones, who teaches a class on poverty and the human condition, said the official Census Bureau measure of poverty developed by social science research analyst Mollie Orshanky in 1963, adjusted for inflation, may not be the most accurate picture of poverty in America today.
"There has been a lot of criticism of this approach both in how it measures poverty and in the kinds of income and other resources it includes and does not include," Jones said in an e-mail. "I'm inclined to think the poverty line is too low - it is effectively a minimal subsistence budget that does not reflect the costs that people have today."
The national poverty rate dropped to 12.3 percent in 2006 from 12.6 percent in 2005. National median household income rose to $48,201.
Students who participate in service opportunities like Midnight Run "put a face to the statistics" of poverty, said Gerry Fischer, assistant director of University Ministry.
The volunteer service program, which has included more than 130 student volunteers per semester, encompasses 10 sites in Milwaukee, including Repairers of the Breach, Fischer said. Volunteers serve meals and work in shelters every Saturday during the program.
Published: 9/4/07 Section: News
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
sharon thomas
posted 9/04/07 @ 12:59 PM CST
We're drenched in poverty and crime because Milwaukee no longer has the manufacturing base that it once had. Also, there have been other companies such as AT&T, Delphi, A. (Continued…)
Barbara Taylor
posted 9/10/07 @ 4:30 PM CST
I am familiar with the Repairers of the Breach. McCannon is up there with Mother Therese. I help out with their mailings and donate clothes, etc. Wish time wouldn't prevent me from doing more. (Continued…)
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