poverty

Stateside for Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Stateside Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:45:25 +0000

There's a three story pile of black petroleum coke big enough to cover an entire city block piling up in Southwest Detroit. It's a by-product of oil sands drilling from Alberta, Canada.

On today's show: we asked why is this high-sulfur, high-carbon waste piling up along the Detroit River?

And, the Board of State Canvassers met today in Lansing. We got an update on ballot initiatives that you could be voting on.

Where poverty lives in Michigan

Stateside Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:43:12 +0000

When one thinks of poverty in America, or in Michigan, what image comes to mind? Where are poor people living?

Chances are, an image of an inner-city neighborhood flashes in your mind.

Well, that would be wrong.

The Brookings Institute this week released its study called "Confronting Suburban Poverty in America."

Bottom line: poverty is moving into the suburbs.

Both here in Michigan and across the country, the suburbs are home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country.

Scott Allard is an associate professor at the University of Chicago and a research affiliate of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan.

He joined us in the studio to talk about what this study means in terms of how we think about poverty in our state.

Listen to the full interview above.

How do we react when kids make mistakes?

Mark Brush — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:24:30 +0000

The State of Opportunity team found this short animation put together by a campaign called "Mistakes Kids Make."

The campaign is described as a "storytelling project to remind us that the mistakes we make as kids should not ruin the rest of our lives." It's funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Take a look at the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y45RismalUw

Getting kicked off cash assistance, a personal story

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:30:00 +0000

As part of our State of Opportunity project, we’re following parents as they struggle to get off public assistance and make a better future for their children. This is an update on one of those families.

I first interviewed Keisha Johnson on a steamy summer day last June. Johnson, 25, grew up poor and is still poor to this day. But she has three reasons she wants to climb out poverty, and their names are Kaleb, Jurnee, and Alan, Jr.

Commentary: Where's the outrage?

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:57:20 +0000

The Michigan League for Public Policy released its annual Kids Count data book yesterday. Unfortunately, it didn’t get a lot of attention in most of the media.

To the extent that I did hear or read about the Kids Count report across our state, the coverage emphasized two things:

Much of it focused on how kids were doing in a particular area, since for the first time, the report ranked individual counties on a wide variety of indicators. Beyond that, we did hear that the overall well-being of our children got significantly worse in the years two thousand and five to two thousand and eleven. That’s something you might expect, given the Great Recession.

But to me, that’s not the real news, and none of the media gave this report nearly the attention it deserved. This report, which anyone can read online, reveals that more than half a million Michigan children are living in poverty. Half a million!

A 'nail in the coffin' for efforts to stop welfare changes in Michigan?

Mark Brush — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:39:19 +0000

Bridge Magazine's Ron French reports on legislation that could be "a nail in the coffin" for efforts to halt welfare rule changes in Michigan."

The effort to remove 15,000 families from cash assistance in Michigan was billed as a cost-cutting measure. A necessary step for a state "that can no longer afford" to pay the benefits.

Commentary: Income Inequality

Jack Lessenberry — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:55:29 +0000

Years ago, I put together a series of panel discussions on the American dream. The people involved differed a good deal as to what the dream really meant, but they agreed on some things.

Everybody thought part of it meant that America was a place where if you worked hard, you could get ahead. And that America was a place where a decent life was available for all.

Tragically, that’s not as true as it used to be. Today, the Michigan League for Public Policy, formerly known as the League for Human Services, unveiled a new national study on incomes.

Five things to know about early childhood brain development

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

There's a lot of research that shows just how important the first few years of a child's life are to their cognitive development. But for those of us who aren't medical doctors the information can be rather confusing.

Stateside: Poverty simulations

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:20:22 +0000

To better inform those unfamiliar with the challenges faced by the impoverished and homeless, Julie Steiner will host a poverty simulation tomorrow night at the Michigan Theater.

Steiner, the director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, spoke with Cyndy about Washtenaw County’s poverty problem.

One woman's fight to end the cycle of poverty

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Economic mobility for Americans at the bottom of the income scale seems to be fading. Today more than 40 percent of children born into poverty stay in poverty as adults.

State of Opportunity's Jennifer Guerra profiles one woman trying hard to be on the right side of that statistic.

What this election means for low-income families

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:00:00 +0000

After months of political rancor and over $2 billion raised, the 2012 presidential race is almost over. Yet with only six days left until Election Day, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have largely ignored the issue of poverty.

Census data shows higher poverty, lower median household incomes in Michigan

Lindsey Smith — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:04:33 +0000

Household incomes are down while the number of people living in poverty is up. That’s according to new data from the US Census Bureau. Michigan’s numbers mirror national trends.

State of Opportunity: Special call-in show today at 2 p.m.

Jennifer White and Mercedes Mejia — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:53:22 +0000

Join us this afternoon at 2 p.m. for a special call-in show. We'll examine the disparities that exist in our society, and how they make it more difficult for children to break out of the cycle of poverty.

Michigan Radio reporters are working on a new three-year initiative to explore the issue of children living in poverty here Michigan. State of Opportunity captures the stories of children and families struggling to make ends meet. We’re going beyond the statistics and exploring what it takes to make Michigan a place where our every kid have a chance to build a positive future.

“Our project kind of has two ways at looking at these issues. We look at statistics, we look at data, and we look at trends. But then when we talk to the individuals, the individual stories don’t always match up with those trends,” reporter Dustin Dwyer said.

Reporter Jennifer Guerra is currently working on a documentary about the infant mortality rate in the state. She says the information she found was staggering. “Infant mortality is still a big problem in Michigan. We’re above the national average for the past twenty years,” she said.

Four ideas for dealing with poverty, from the man who inspired the welfare reform movement

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:08:59 +0000

Libertarian author and commentator Charles Murray sat down with State of Opportunity's Dustin Dwyer yesterday to discuss his new book, Coming Apart, which highlights the growing stratification of wealth in America.

9-year-old Leah Rice is "Live from the kitchen!"

Mark Brush — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:18:33 +0000

Today, the State of Opportunity team turned their microphone over to 9-year-old Leah Rice.

She reflects on her family, highlights of her summer and her thoughts on going back to school.

(She was placed in an advanced class, to which she says "uh, Boo-yah!".)

You can hear Leah's story here.