Suburban Poverty Has Sharply Increased

Traditionally, poverty has been thought of as an inner city problem. The suburbs has been thought to be inhabited by those in the middle class. But things are changing fast. Poverty is now a serious suburban problem. Since 2000, poverty has increased in the suburbs nationwide by an average of 64%, and there are currently 16.4 million suburban residents that are living in poverty (about 3 million more in poverty than live in the inner city), and the problem is still growing.

And the problem is a nationwide one. The chart above shows the five cities from across the country where poverty in the suburbs has grown the most -- but they are far from the only cities with a growing poverty problem in the suburbs. Here in Texas, the Dallas-Ft. Worth suburbs have seen poverty grow by 111%, and poverty in Houston suburbs has grown by 103%.

Americans are going to have to revise their attitudes about poverty. It is no longer just a problem of those "others" in the inner city (although too much poverty still exists there). The fact is that your neighbor could be among the poverty-stricken, and if you live in the suburbs, it's a pretty sure bet that one or more of the families living on your street are in that number.

Right-wingers would like for working Americans to think that poverty is mostly among the minority population -- but that has never been true. Most poor people are white, and that has always been true. And now, it is more true than ever (since the loss of millions of jobs in the Bush recession). And the austerity measures being forced on this country by congressional Republicans will only increase those living in poverty (and most of that new poverty will be in the suburbs).

How long are we going to ignore the growing poverty problem in this country -- just so we can give rich people more tax cuts, and corporations more subsidies so they don't have to pay taxes? The failed GOP trickle-down economic policy, which this government still clings to, has been a ridiculous failure -- throwing the country into recession, costing the nation many millions of jobs, and increasing poverty to a record level. It has benefitted no one but the richest Americans.

Isn't it time to return this country to a sane economic policy -- a policy that looks out for ordinary Americans? Of course it is. But that can only happen when Republicans (who have been bought and paid for by Wall Street) are voted out of power. Let's make that happen in 2014, because this country can't take much more of the silly GOP austerity for everyone but the rich.