Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released the first of two rounds of data on the poverty rate, median incomes and health insurance. In Mississippi, the data revealed a sobering snapshot of working families over the last ten years.
The poverty rate in Mississippi rose from 15.6% at the start of the decade to 22.9% in 2009 / 2010. Mississippi was the only state with a poverty rate above 20% at the end of the decade and experienced the second largest increase in poverty of 7.3 percentage points.
Incomes also declined substantially. Adjusting for inflation, median incomes declined $6,142 from $42,963 in 1999/2000 to $36,821 at the end of the decade. The data reflect the harsh effects of the recession on Mississippians.
As we prepare for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee hearings next week, we could receive information that Mississippi’s economy is slowing and that revenue projections could be similar or lower than last year. Over the past few years, similar news has elicited a cuts only response.
The poverty and income data, however, raise questions about the wisdom of this approach. Should we underfund K-12 education for the fifth year in a row? Should we continue to make college or post secondary training less attainable by putting the community colleges and Institutions of Higher Learning in the position to have to raise tuitions? Should we make it harder for families to make ends meet by reducing access to health care?
Mississippi can do better. Now, more than ever, the state must take a balanced approach that includes raising revenues instead of the cuts only approach that fails to preserve education, access to health and ultimately opportunity.
Author: Ed Sivak, MEPC Director
Source: United States Census Bureau Current Population Survey
As a counselor in a Career and Technical school, I can tell you people are not taking advantage of the free training and skills. So why do parents not get serious about how their child offered all over MS. How will they make a living after they have left public school with no skills and fail out in College? Students are missing out on obtaining 21st century skills because they believe and their parents believe a BS/BA is the only way to make a living. Hey have you tried to hire a plumber lately? Have you had your automobile’s computer go out on you? People need to wake up and realize Career and Technical education is a place to learn skills that will feed and house themselves.
Comment by Judy Graham — September 13, 2011 @ 2:29 PM
To put just how underfunded Mississippi Education is into perspective, the number 1 school district in the United States operates on the same budget as the entire state of Mississippi.
Comment by Theresa Wheeler — September 16, 2011 @ 11:55 AM
[...] in personal income may be needed among many Mississippi households. As noted in a previous post, median household income across the state has fallen over the decade. Adjusting for inflation, [...]
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