Poverty is codified as the crime of abuse and neglect. Poverty is the failure to provide for the necessary needs of the child. So, as Michigan shall have it, the cutting of assistance is nothing more than an elaborate spectacle to shift the funding streams of social assistance to the uncapped, free for all spending of Targeted Case Management.
I would only consider this to be positive policy if the state would just recognize that it has no mechanisms for grievance or fraud. Anything dealing with child welfare is constructed on the premise that one is guilty until proven innocent.
More in Michigan will into foster care.
More in Michigan fall into poverty
U.S. census data finds 16.8% of state's residents are poor
Just as the nation was declaring the recession officially over last year, the landscape in Michigan was far from rosy: The poverty rate in 2010 was its highest in at least four decades, and incomes continued to fall as the economic shift away from manufacturing continued, new census data released this morning shows.
The data reveals problems that could grow worse with plans to cut aid to the poor while also slashing spending on higher education, one of the surest ways to avoid poverty.
Poverty in the state — earnings below $22,314 for a couple with two children — crept up from 16.2 percent to 16.8 percent of the population, with the percent of children under 18 in poverty rising from 22.5 percent to 23.5 percent.
In Detroit, 37.6 percent of all people were in poverty and 53.6 percent of all children, both increases from 2009, according the results from the 2010 American Community Survey.
Median household income also fell, to $45,413, a drop of 1.2 percent from 2009 and a stunning 19.3 percent from 2000.
"The trends are pretty obvious that it's been a decade of loss," said William Testa, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago who studies the Midwest and has written frequently about Michigan.
Underlying the statistics are other indicators the pain will linger: More people now work in the lower-pay service industry than in manufacturing, and though there was a slight increase in factory jobs in 2010, the number is 200,000 fewer than five years ago.
"Unemployment and underemployment are such a big problem and barrier in our state now," according to a statement released from Gov. Rick Snyder's office. "More and better jobs are at the heart of the governor's plan to improve and strengthen our economy so all can prosper and benefit.
"Michigan's families are among the poorest in the nation with per capita income. The Governor's overall plan aims to help address and reverse that trend. He's also worked hard to ensure essential safety net services that lower income individuals rely on, like protecting Medicaid access and services."
Gregory Witherspoon has always had to hustle to find work, mostly in the hospitality industry, but usually stayed afloat, relying on temp agencies and filling out job applications in person. But since the recession hit, his grit has been worn some.
"Before, you could call your agency and tell them your assignment ended and they could call you back by 4:30 that day and say they had another assignment for you starting the next Monday," he said. "Those days are long gone."
As the pain continues, the state Legislature has been dealing with less money from tax revenues, prompting serious spending cuts. The Legislature has passed bills limiting long-term cash assistance starting next month, and new asset tests for food stamp recipients could curtail the number getting that aid.
"We are creating policies that are chipping away at the safety net in Michigan," said Gilda Jacobs, chief executive of the Michigan League for Human Services.
Education funding cut
The latest data also reveals difficult challenges. In Michigan, the poverty rate among college grads is 4.3 percent, well below the 11 percent for those with some college and just a fraction of the 15 percent for high school grads.
Yet funding for higher education also was cut, potentially slowing the rise in the percentage of residents with a college degree; 25.2 percent of adults over 25 have a college degree, well below the 28.2 percent nationally.
Statistics released last week hinted at a rise in the number of poor in Michigan. But demographers prefer to use state-level data from the American Community Survey, which has replaced the so-called long form that used to be sent out every 10 years.
What the ACS shows is a story well known to Michigan residents who have spent much of the decade worried about their future. It was the only state in the nation to lose population in the last decade as thousands sought refuge elsewhere.
"There's been no wage growth and more importantly, there's not expected to be any wage growth over the next five years," said Sheldon Danziger, director of the National Poverty Center and a University of Michigan professor.
Wage disparity increasing
As jobs have disappeared and workers have been forced to accept pay cuts, it's created an ever increasing wage disparity. The 2010 median earning for a person with a bachelor's degree, at $46,000, are triple those of a high school dropout and nearly double those of a high school graduate. Those with an advanced degree make 42 percent more, on average, than someone with a bachelor's.
"We need more people to be able to afford to go to (college)," Danziger said.
Yet because of the state's fiscal woes, higher education cuts were substantial, too. Danziger would like to see a "Michigan Promise" to mirror the privately funded effort in Kalamazoo to get all public high school grads a free college education.
But he knows the limits. "The question is: Where's the money going to come from?"
Witherspoon's routine is similar to most getting ready for work: Wake up early, put on a suit and hit the pavement. The only difference is he clocks much of his time at the Michigan Works office in downtown Detroit, where counselors help him find open positions in the service industry. He also hits the public library to use its free Internet service to send out resumes.
Though Michigan Works has helped him land more than 10 interviews and secure at least two jobs since 2008, Witherspoon said shaking the vicious cycle of poverty has proven difficult.
In 2008, Witherspoon was hired at a hotel in Southfield, worked the front desk and did housekeeping, and lived there until last year when the business closed. Last year, he worked for a five-star hotel in downtown Detroit but was laid off, he said.
"It's like discrimination, it's like you can't work here unless you have a car, but you can't have a car unless you can find work to save money to buy a car," he said.
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