Income Distribution, Unemployment, and Poverty Increases

I was reading the Commercial Appeal today and it had a story about povery increasing here in Memphis. Anyone who has been here over the past few years is well aware of this, but here is some data about Memphis.

The overall median household income in 2000 was $32,285. In 2006, it was $37,676. Non adjusted for inflation.

For whites:

2000- $41,112

2006- $49,453

For Blacks:

2000- $26,850

2006- $26,058

Read that part about black household income again. It dropped. If you adjust $26,058 in 2006 dollars to year 2000 dollars, it is $22,372. In actual purchasing power, Black people in Memphis are only able to buy in 2006 83% of what they could in 2000. I'm 99% sure that the situation has continued to decline.

Here is what that median household income breaks down on the map of Memphis. I think it is safe to say that poverty is decentralizing. the disturbing problem is that the poorest areas will continue to fall further and further behind if things do not change.

I it looks like over 80% of the city will not even keep up with inflation over the next four years. Those folks in the poorest areas will only get poorer.

Look at the concentration of unemployment in the poorest areas of the city. (note the airport, President's Island, and Shelby farms are data quirks) We as a city and a nation have to re-evaluate education and employment policies. Are we going to continue to wharehouse these unemployed people in prisons and slums? In Memphis' case, we have to think about what is coming over the horizon in terms of economic opprotunity. Our only hope is to become a center for alternative energy manufacturing, wind, hydro, and solar. If we don't pursue this we will not be able to address this fundamental economic problem and we'll become the Detroit of the South.