Here is an intriguing report from Brookings: "Black incomes outpace the national average in 124 majority-black cities." The survey looks at cities, mostly small, and independent suburbs in which African-Americans are the majority of the population. It sounds like good news--and it is.
BUT...the kicker is in the subhead: "So where's the investment?"A national map of majority-black cities, ranked by median household incomes of black families, shows that 124 communities outpace the national median household income for all races ($53,889), according to data from the 2015 American Community Survey. Black families are especially thriving in various city/suburbs in the state of Maryland, which hosts more than half of the top 124 majority-black cities.
The author of the report Andre Perry points out that these 124 cities, as prospering, stable place, deserve more attention and investment by government, investors, and developers. The fact that half are in Maryland is intriguing though the author offers no explanation: proximity to Washington? proximity to the Old South? Some of the 124 cities have historically black colleges and universities within their boundaries which he believes contributes to this "prosperity" through stability and education.
He admits that median household income is an imperfect measure of economic well-being. It doesn't include economic assets--a measure that has shown that black families fall far behind whites because of segregation and discrimination. But his major point is valid, places with stable, middle-class families in places that have educational resources deserve more attention from the economic powers that be as well as from African-American families planning to relocate.
Fascinating. I am not sure what it means. But it is timely because only yesterday a Trumpoleon, the Rev. Jamie Johnson, had to resign from his job as director of the Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security. It seems someone turned up his views from old tapes of visits to right-wing radio talk shows, where he, inter alia, blamed black Americans for turning "major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity."
ReplyDeleteThat's a kindly outlook on the people he was partnering with to make America great again. He also quoted and agreed with Dinesh D'Souza's proposition that "all Islam has ever given us is oil and dead bodies..." That probably made him a folk hero in immigrant neighborhoods.
Surely Mr. Trump can find someone with similar views off the record to replace the Rev. Jamie. Meanwhile, research like Andre Perry's goes unread and unknown in the highest levels of government.
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DeleteI live in the suburbs of DC, in Maryland. At least half of the communities listed in Maryland are in the DC suburbs, with even more within commuting distance, but closer to Annapolis and Baltimore. It is very likely that a significant portion of their populations work for the federal government or federal contractors. The federal government pays quite well, offers excellent benefits, and is without equal for job security. Private companies that are contractors for the feds also pay very well, but usually don't have as good of benefits and far less job security. Those who don't work for the Federal govt directly often work for one of the private contractors, as my husband and I and most of the people we know have done. In Prince George's County, MD, where many of the listed towns are located, there are numerous large federal agencies - ie - Greenbelt has a huge Dept of Agriculture facility, as well as one of NASA's spaceflight centers (Goddard). The FDA and HHS also have big suburban facilities. There is a large military presence in DC also - Andrews AF Base is in Prince George's County also, not far from Fort Meade, host of the National Security Agency (NSA) - a huge facility and both are big employers. Also, the growth of some of the towns during the last 15-20 years has been due to the gentrification of many neighborhoods in DC that were predominantly black. As the redevelopment continued, the cost of housing skyrocketed, and many moved to Maryland for more affordable housing. Although Maryland is below the Mason Dixon line, it is not the "old south" in the way parts of Virginia remain "old south". The northern Virginia area is now quite "blue", because most of the people have moved in from elsewhere. Northern Virginia has some of the wealthiest counties in the country. As does Maryland, when measured by median family income. Every Virginia and Maryland county on this Business Insider list is a suburban DC county except St. Mary's. But St. Mary's is the home of the Patuxent Naval Air Station. It is a huge employer of people in St. Mary's (actually a small, fairly rural area) and Calvert County. But many in Calvert County commute to DC also. It used to be completely rural, it is now very suburban.
DeleteWe don't have as many of the 1%-ers as one might think from this list. They mostly live in the NYC suburbs. ;) But we do have a very comfortable, well paid upper-middle-class professional population without the extremes seen in some parts of the country (such as the greater NYC area).
Of course, our housing prices reflect the relatively high median incomes of the DC area and we will be totally slammed by the tax bill the Republicans are pushing. A $100,000/year salary here does not buy a whole lot of house unless you go way, way out from the city. This has spurred the development of Loudon, Stafford, Howard, and Calvert counties especially - people want more than a 70 year old shoebox on 1/6/acre and can't afford it on their seemingly generous salaries unless they undertake a horrendous commute. We have some of the worst traffic in the country also - often exceeding that in LA, according to the folk who measure these things.
http://www.businessinsider.com/where-the-one-percent-live-the-15-richest-counties-in-america-2012-2?op=1/#e-richest-county-in-america-loudoun-county-va-15
Thanks for the info... Make America Great Again by making the government bigger!
DeleteMargaret, I came here as a 20 year old, new college graduate, to go to grad school. I grew up in California, and planned to return there - but I met my husband here (he is one of the very rare native-born Washingtonians) and have been here ever since - almost 50 years. I have NEVER seen govt grow smaller no matter who was in charge. Ironically, it may happen with Trump - he is gutting the staffs of State Dept, plus the agencies he wants to get rid of completely such as Education, HHS, HUD etc, largely by not filling vacancies. Essentially no new federal employees are being hired. If he starves them of funding (everyone might get starved of funding except defense), they will also not hire private corporations. It will be interesting to see what happens to the local population - will people move away from the DC area?
DeleteWashington may not have many billionaires (except for the new crowd in town), but it does have a highly educated, well-paid workforce. More college degrees/capita than any other US metro area.
One thing that should be noted about red states/blue states and federal taxes/benefits. The blue states (targeted by the tax bill) already pay far more in federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits. The reverse is true of most red states - they receive far more benefits funded by federal tax dollars than they send to Washington.
We blue staters earn more on average, but we have higher costs of living, and we already pay far more in federal taxes, partly because our higher salaries put us in higher tax brackets - not adjusted for cost of living. The current tax bill, if passed, will make that situation even worse, as we will no longer be able to deduct our high property and state income taxes from our federal tax returns.
But others should not be complacent - it will impact towns everywhere - not just in the high tax blue states. Could it be that some of the red states cheering about this might end up killing the federal tax goose that lays their golden eggs?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-towns-and-cities-nationwide-fears-of-trickle-down-effects-of-federal-tax-legislation/2017/11/17/d72b6164-c957-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_taxlocal-710pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.21130d923f96
This op-ed from the NYTimes reinforces your blue state/red state point. It also points out that there are Republicans in blue states who may or may not suffer blowback in eliminating state and local tax deductions, and finally alludes to the fact that the blue states are the engines of economic growth who may not be so thrilled to share with the regions that cut off their deductions.
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/opinion/tax-plan-states-gop.html
"Of course, the remaining Republican legislators in blue states face cross-pressures. But many come from deep-red areas and feel more vulnerable to primary challenges than to a general election opponent. They also fear the wrath of Republicans’ increasingly assertive big-money donors, who often reside outside a politician’s district. As Chris Collins, another New York Republican who is conflicted about the tax bills, admitted, “My donors are basically saying, ‘Get it done or don’t ever call me again.’ ”
Republican leaders are betting that enough blue-state Republicans will put loyalty to party ahead of the prosperity of their state — or at least recognize that the first part of the Republican two-step (big tax cuts for rich people in blue as well as red states) may redound to their benefit even if the second (pay-fors aimed at blue states) doesn’t.
But if their bet pays off, it isn’t just blue states that will suffer. Red America may hold the key to Republicans’ control of government, but blue America holds many of the keys to our nation’s economic future. Indeed, among the blue-state pay-fors, the most troubling may be those that will bleed institutions of higher education, particularly in the House bill. In their zeal to extract revenues from blue states, Republicans are threatening our nation’s ability to excel in a global knowledge economy."
"One thing that should be noted about red states/blue states and federal taxes/benefits. The blue states (targeted by the tax bill) already pay far more in federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits. The reverse is true of most red states - they receive far more benefits funded by federal tax dollars than they send to Washington."
DeleteThis may explain Michigan's reverse from longtime blue to red. Interesting that those who need social assistance most are the most anti gummint.
En route to looking up something else, I came across the term "gerontocracy." Rule by old people is nothing new in history, but given that the average age in Congress is 57-64, you'd think that we would have a Cadillac system for of people. We don't. So our reps don't identify with age as much as some other demographic marker when they're making legislative decisions.
Perhaps it's ethnicity in some cases. But I am guessing socioeconomic status (real or hoped for) drives a lot of these people.
No one seems to understand that the rent is too damn high. We need some poor, sick people in Congress.
"We need some poor, sick people in Congress."
DeleteAt least they'll good top-notch medical care! I notice that taxpayers also pony up for their sex abuse settlements!
The Brooking Report may have a certain aspirational tone, but I thought it was great news.
ReplyDeleteAlso interesting: this story from the NYTimes (Nov. 3) about the Atlanta mayoral race. The incumbent is term-limited. The leading candidates in a very large non-partisan field were Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood. No one got the majority on Nov. 7, so there is a run-off between the two in December. Atlanta has had a black mayor since the Ford Administration, so the news here is can a white woman (Norwood) win? or will Atlanta stick with the tradition of a black mayor and choose Bottoms? In any case, it will get it's first woman mayor.
It's the tripping over stereotypes and categories that make this story and the Brookings report encouraging and enlightening. Pace and Pox on Trump and his minion, Jamie Johnson!
The NYTimes story: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/us/atlanta-mayor-race-civil-rights.html
DeleteInteresting articles (both of them), thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAn AP story analyzing the percent of tax payers who itemize their deduction, and how that will affect an increase or decrease under the current messy tax deform bills. Blue state taxpayers will be hit the hardest, but some red staters will also have to deal with the loss of deductions and higher taxes.
ReplyDelete"ATLANTA (AP) — A popular deduction targeted in the GOP’s overhaul of the tax code is used by more than a quarter of all filers in a majority of states, including many led by Republicans where some residents eventually could see their federal tax bills rise.
"The exact effect in every state isn’t known, in part because of differences in the Senate and House versions of the bill. But the change to the deduction for state and local taxes could alter the bottom lines for millions of taxpayers who itemize.
"Residents in high-tax, Democratic-led states appear to be the hardest hit. But some filers also could be left paying more in traditional Republican states, such as Georgia and Utah where about a third of taxpayers claim the deduction."
https://www.apnews.com/f025deb2c7444f338c600ba5a67a09b0/Deduction-targeted-by-GOP-used-by-tax-filers-in-most-states
Speaking of the tax bill, it appears that it may be in trouble in its present form. There are at least some Republicans who won't support it unless the health insurance markets are stabilized. And some of them recognize other problems. Nice to know everyone hasn't been Stepfordized.
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