Dallas’ Poverty Crisis (middle-class, credit, loans)

[MissLizzie85]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Lack of what services other than Medicaid?

Public transit, for one. I know someone who had to spend 2.5 hours round trip every day on a bus to get to and from a minimum wage job - and the job wasn't even all that far away. The lack of public transit is very limiting for many people who can't afford a car.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Lack of what services other than Medicaid?

Public transit is a great example. Cars are very expensive to own and very stressful if you have an older one you depend on for your livelihood.

Let's say your apartment in Chicago is 15%-20% more expensive than Dallas, but you have the ability to take transit to it. For a working poor person, it is well worth the 20% to not have to stress about car ownership or to have a viable option of taking the train to work if their car breaks down to save up to repair it.

The more money you have the less of a big deal this is, but for the working poor it is a huge deal.

A decent sized minority of working poor in Dallas have to rely on transit and for them, it can be very hard.


Another Example is how poorly mental healthcare is funded in our state.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by MissLizzie85

Public transit, for one. I know someone who had to spend 2.5 hours round trip every day on a bus to get to and from a minimum wage job - and the job wasn't even all that far away. The lack of public transit is very limiting for many people who can't afford a car.

That's a decent one but what would you have the area do? DART has spent/committed somewhere around $20 billion on buses and light rail that are both woefully underused?

Further, most poor people in The US have a car or easy access to a car.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Public transit is a great example. Cars are very expensive to own and very stressful if you have an older one you depend on for your livelihood.

Let's say your apartment in Chicago is 15%-20% more expensive than Dallas, but you have the ability to take transit to it. For a working poor person, it is well worth the 20% to not have to stress about car ownership or to have a viable option of taking the train to work if their car breaks down to save up to repair it.

The more money you have the less of a big deal this is, but for the working poor it is a huge deal.

A decent sized minority of working poor in Dallas have to rely on transit and for them, it can be very hard.


Another Example is how poorly mental healthcare is funded in our state.

The vast majority of the very poor through the working poor do not decide where to live due to statewide per capita mental health spending. Even the states that spend a lot do not spend much.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

That's a decent one but what would you have the area do? DART has spent/committed somewhere around $20 billion on buses and light rail that are both woefully underused?

Further, most poor people in The US have a car or easy access to a car.

idk, have you ever actually ridden Dart?

Lots of things about DART suck.

First and Foremost, they built way too far out into the suburbs along the cheapest right of way they could get instead of connecting areas that could have used it the most.

The system design itself is a total joke. Amature hour. Again, mostly because they wanted the cheapest tracks.

The bus system is trash and most routes are not frequent enough. We could really look at Houston and Seattle as great examples of cities who have good bus service.

Seattle isn't fundamentally that different from Dallas, at least compared to legacy cities back east. Most of Seattle isn't that much more dense than Dallas, they just made better transit decisions.

Most working poor do have access to a car. They have no other choice. They also finance them at very high rates or spend a much bigger chunk of their income repairing them than more affluent people. Believe me, they cause a lot of stress.

I worked for a car rental company right out of college and you wouldn't believe how many working poor people were regular renters in Arlington when their car was in the shop or between cars. They couldn't afford to rent, but they could they couldn't afford not to rent either.

Then there is the 10% or so of southern Dallas residents who can't afford to own a car or can't drive for whatever reason. They aren't the majority but it's a big chunk of people.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

The vast majority of the very poor through the working poor do not decide where to live due to statewide per capita mental health spending. Even the states that spend a lot do not spend much.

Of course not, they are just trying to survive.

[TGentry]

Originally Posted by MissLizzie85

Public transit, for one. I know someone who had to spend 2.5 hours round trip every day on a bus to get to and from a minimum wage job - and the job wasn't even all that far away. The lack of public transit is very limiting for many people who can't afford a car.

This person could sure get a lot of work done for a class during the daily 2.5 hour bus commute. This might lead to a better employment opportunity than a minimum wage job.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

idk, have you ever actually ridden Dart?

Lots of things about DART suck.

First and Foremost, they built way too far out into the suburbs along the cheapest right of way they could get instead of connecting areas that could have used it the most.

The system design itself is a total joke. Amature hour. Again, mostly because they wanted the cheapest tracks.

The bus system is trash and most routes are not frequent enough. We could really look at Houston and Seattle as great examples of cities who have good bus service.

Seattle isn't fundamentally that different from Dallas, at least compared to legacy cities back east. Most of Seattle isn't that much more dense than Dallas, they just made better transit decisions.

Most working poor do have access to a car. They have no other choice. They also finance them at very high rates or spend a much bigger chunk of their income repairing them than more affluent people. Believe me, they cause a lot of stress.

I worked for a car rental company right out of college and you wouldn't believe how many working poor people were regular renters in Arlington when their car was in the shop or between cars. They couldn't afford to rent, but they could they couldn't afford not to rent either.

Then there is the 10% or so of southern Dallas residents who can't afford to own a car or can't drive for whatever reason. They aren't the majority but it's a big chunk of people.

DART is terrible for the working poor. I remember I had a job right out of high school and it took me an hour to go LITERALLY 5 mins up the street. From that point, I saved up every check that I made to get myself a car. Luckily, I did and never used DART again. It’s extremely inefficient for people who are trying to get to work or employment centers.

[Soonhun]

Five minutes up a street? Could just walk at that point. I worked part-time jobs, working 30+ hours while in college full-time and walked to work most the time, five minutes by car and twenty or so by foot.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by Parhe

Five minutes up a street? Could just walk at that point. I worked part-time jobs, working 30+ hours while in college full-time and walked to work most the time, five minutes by car and twenty or so by foot.

I should have been more specific, it was 5 mins by car. It’s probably more like 40 mins on foot.

It was during the summer too and the only way to get there is walking along a frontage road. It had no sidewalks and there are signs prohibiting pedestrians. One time I did walk to work. I was drenched in sweat due to our oppressive summers. I smelled like a wet puppy when I arrived to work.