A New Plea for the Separation of the South
24
A New Plea for the Separation of the South Gavin Wright Legacy of the War on Poverty Conference University of Michigan June 12-13, 2012
description
A New Plea for the Separation of the South. Gavin Wright Legacy of the War on Poverty Conference University of Michigan June 12-13, 2012. Main Points. South has the highest U.S. poverty rate ~40 percent of the poor since 1979 South had greatest poverty reduction 59-78 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of A New Plea for the Separation of the South
A New Plea for the Separation of the South
Gavin Wright
Legacy of the War on Poverty Conference
University of Michigan
June 12-13, 2012
Main Points• South has the highest U.S. poverty rate
~40 percent of the poor since 1979
• South had greatest poverty reduction 59-78–More through Civil Rights than War on Poverty
• Voting Rights Act promoted two-party competition and moderate policies
• Despite progress, continued relevance of race and region for poverty policy
Poverty Rates by Region
Shares of US Poor
Poverty Rates
USA SOUTH BLACK SOUTH
BLACK RURAL
1959 22.0 35.4 68.5 77.7
1969 12.1 17.9 40.8 54.3
1978 11.4 14.7 34.1 37.2
Poverty Numbers (000)
USA SOUTH BLACK SOUTH
BLACK RURAL
1959 38,766 19,166 7,505 4,925
1969 24,147 11,090 4,850 3,089
1978 24,497 10,255 4,429 2,202
Change 1959-1978
14,269 8,911 3,076 2,723
Mississippi: Post-Neonatal Infant Death Rate from diarrhea and pneumonia
Post-Neonatal Mortality Rates by Race and Region 1955-75
Cohort-Specific AFQT Gap Between South and “Rustbelt”
SOURCE: Chay, Guryan, Mazumder (2010)
EEOC Occupational Shares
Conditions for Poverty Progress
• Growth of Job Opportunities– Especially for those with limited schooling
• Interests of the Poor linked to interests of larger groups– Racial exclusions & black middle class– Biracial coalitions for economic growth
• Federal authority exerted over state/local
• Better schools
American Chickens: 1929
American Chickens: 1992
% of County Population Black
Black Elected Officials
% BEOs/% Population 2001
County Commission
All Elected Officials
Alabama 0.979 0.717
Mississippi 0.749 0.565
SOUTH 0.375
NON-SOUTH 0.095
Michigan 0.150
New York 0.079
U.S. Senators by Party
Southern Governors by Party
A Prom Divided
020
040
060
0C
ons
tan
t Do
llars
1980 1990 2000 2010Year
State/Local Sales Tax Liability for Family of 3 at Poverty LineNortheast 1982-2008
Tax Liability at Poverty Line:NORTHEAST
020
040
060
0C
ons
tant
Dol
lars
1980 1990 2000 2010Year
State/Local Sales Tax Liability for Family of 3 at Poverty LineSouth 1982-2008
Tax Liability at Poverty Line: SOUTH
Source: Newman and O’Brien, Taxing the Poor (2011)
