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''Idaho has effectively made itself the worst place in the nation to be poor,'' said John T. Cook, the research director at Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy. A recent study by the center ranked Idaho as the state whose policies were most likely to worsen the economic condition of the poor.
I have visited Idaho and it would appear to me to be one of the best places in the USA to live. There is spectacular natural scenery and many places to go for outdoor recreation, which one can't find in most other places in the USA. It would be one of the top places in the USA for me to relocate to if I moved to another state.
While this article is nearly 14½ years old, I am wondering if this is still true about Idaho. I prefer living in a state where there is little or no crime or poverty. I dislike criminals and poor people. I prefer to associate with law-abiding citizens who are productive, hard-working, and can earn a high standard of living.
I can only tell you what I've seen from my personal experiences coming here from California 6 years ago. Poor people here get a LOT more assistance from the community, a ton more acceptance socially, and there just isn't the stigma placed on income that there was in SoCal.
Quite literally EVERY community sports and theater and music program I've seen my kids be part of in North Idaho has a HARD CORE "no kid will ever be denied because of money" policy up here. And I'm even talking about seriously competitive club soccer...something you'd never see in SoCal. And it would be easy to say "well, SoCal has this huge population so the large number of economically poor makes that impossible there"...but I would say that up here we have a DRAMATICALLY lower number of people offsetting the scholarships for the kids who can't afford the dues, but we still make it work.
And people aren't just handed free money...people who can't pay dues are expected to donate their time to the program, and what I've seen is that people here (WAY more than SoCal) have a sense of pride about "not taking charity" and wanting to work for what they're being given. Most of the parents who are getting assistance that I've seen (and I've helped monitor these programs) have been some super hardworking above-and-beyond people.
From a "government giving out freebies" standpoint I'm sure California is probably a better place to be poor. But from a "fitting into society and feeling a sense of value and worth" standpoint I'd take Idaho any day based on how I've seen poor people being treated in both places.
But if you "dislike poor people" and you judge people by their ability to earn a high standard of living...well, I don't think you'll be very welcome here in North Idaho. To be quite frank....I don't want you here and the people in my sphere of influence wouldn't want you here either with that sort of viewpoint. And I actually fit the criteria of the people you claim to want to be around...
There is some validity to the sentiment though. I (and I'm sure most of us) would much rather live in an area that doesn't have homeless people on every street corner, or ghetto, run down, generally poor areas of town. And Idaho doesn't really have much of that. Even here in Boise, while there are some homeless people, and definitely more than there were before the economic crash, there still aren't that many. And the crime is still comparatively very low.
I have no idea whether it is or is not the worst place in the nation to be poor. As a landlord, I see a lot of people on city/county assistance, and half the people I see in line at the grocery store are using food stamps. Also, we have a relatively large LDS presence here, and whatever you think of their religion, they are a generous organization. We had one month that 5 tenants' rent was paid by the church. And one tenant had their rent paid for around 6 months before they got back on their feet. And one of those 5 tenants wasn't even LDS, they just asked for help and received it. So there is definitely assistance for people who are having difficulty. The thing that may be different here than in California, is that to a larger degree, people are generally expected to make short term use of the assistance to get back on their feet, rather than living on generational welfare (although we still have some of that too).
I understand your point, but nobody is suggesting that this poster moves to a poor neighborhood or ghetto. This person is talking about evaluating whole REGIONS by dint of economic level. And this poster's extremely poor choice of words and reinforcement in the following sentence seems to confirm their social viewpoint.
People like the "idea" of Idaho and its low crime but they should bear in mind that for a LONG TIME this state has had a relatively low standard of living except around some of the resort areas and city centers, and most of the "working poor" and (lower-to-middle) middle class here are the populace that were forming the basis for those very low crime stats year in and year out that over the past decades have made Idaho a place that seems so attractive.
I'm sure southern Idaho is the same way. Farmers and ranch hands and average folk aren't by default out there looting and pillaging every weekend just because they're not earning a high standard of living....
I can only share my experiences. When my husband graduated from university 15 years ago he was at the top of his class, but took one of the lowest starting wage jobs because he liked the area...which happened to be CDA. We were able to buy a house and cars and I stayed home with the babies, which is a testament to the low cost of living that draws so many to Idaho. However, we knew a lot of poor and struggling people. In fact, we knew more people who lived below the poverty line than above it. Some of it was their own doing (couldn't hang on to a job, got bored and quit every job, too lazy to find a job) and others really struggled despite their best efforts. I don't believe the opportunities with theater or sports existed then; hopefully they would have taken advantage of it. Despite the economy, there are some very prosperous and successful people who call north Idaho home and these are some of the most generous people I have ever met. I wonder if the community support and greater social acceptance stems in part because it is such a high percentage of the population. If you have any community involvement at all in CDA then you know some seriously poor people. There are more community programs today than 15 years ago and I have many friends on the giving end who have made it their mission to help out those who have come into hard times. As for all the people we knew those years ago, I don't know where any of them are today. Life took us in different directions, but I hope they have been able to dig out to provide a brighter future for themselves and their families.
I don't think anywhere is a good place to be poor, but I do remember thinking many times when we first moved to CDA that it was a particularly bad place to be poor. Despite more community help, the economy is even worse today.
I can only share my experiences. When my husband graduated from university 15 years ago he was at the top of his class, but took one of the lowest starting wage jobs because he liked the area...which happened to be CDA. We were able to buy a house and cars and I stayed home with the babies, which is a testament to the low cost of living that draws so many to Idaho. However, we knew a lot of poor and struggling people. In fact, we knew more people who lived below the poverty line than above it. Some of it was their own doing (couldn't hang on to a job, got bored and quit every job, too lazy to find a job) and others really struggled despite their best efforts. I don't believe the opportunities with theater or sports existed then; hopefully they would have taken advantage of it. Despite the economy, there are some very prosperous and successful people who call north Idaho home and these are some of the most generous people I have ever met. I wonder if the community support and greater social acceptance stems in part because it is such a high percentage of the population. If you have any community involvement at all in CDA then you know some seriously poor people. There are more community programs today than 15 years ago and I have many friends on the giving end who have made it their mission to help out those who have come into hard times. As for all the people we knew those years ago, I don't know where any of them are today. Life took us in different directions, but I hope they have been able to dig out to provide a brighter future for themselves and their families.
I don't think anywhere is a good place to be poor, but I do remember thinking many times when we first moved to CDA that it was a particularly bad place to be poor. Despite more community help, the economy is even worse today.
I thought you moved to Georgia and don't live in Idaho anymore? People who are poor likely made life decisions that made them poor. It's mostly a choice. If you're lazy, an alcoholic, uneducated, unskilled, overly indebted or had too many kids, you're probably poor by choice.
I thought you moved to Georgia and don't live in Idaho anymore? People who are poor likely made life decisions that made them poor. It's mostly a choice. If you're lazy, an alcoholic, uneducated, unskilled, overly indebted or had too many kids, you're probably poor by choice.
Don't underestimate the role of bad luck, Joryjim. Especially with health matters.
Location: A Very Naughtytown In Northwestern Montanifornia U.S.A.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Highpointer
I dislike criminals and poor people. I prefer to associate with law-abiding citizens who are productive, hard-working, and can earn a high standard of living.
We are so glad you have such high standards Try a visit to Idaho and you will see that Idaho is a fine place to live with many wonderful folks including those awful poor folks. While you are at it, compare the crime stats for Idaho and compare them to the other states. Idaho is a good place to live, I know because I have lived there and travel in Idaho very often.
I can only tell you what I've seen from my personal experiences coming here from California 6 years ago. Poor people here get a LOT more assistance from the community, a ton more acceptance socially, and there just isn't the stigma placed on income that there was in SoCal.
Quite literally EVERY community sports and theater and music program I've seen my kids be part of in North Idaho has a HARD CORE "no kid will ever be denied because of money" policy up here. And I'm even talking about seriously competitive club soccer...something you'd never see in SoCal. And it would be easy to say "well, SoCal has this huge population so the large number of economically poor makes that impossible there"...but I would say that up here we have a DRAMATICALLY lower number of people offsetting the scholarships for the kids who can't afford the dues, but we still make it work.
And people aren't just handed free money...people who can't pay dues are expected to donate their time to the program, and what I've seen is that people here (WAY more than SoCal) have a sense of pride about "not taking charity" and wanting to work for what they're being given. Most of the parents who are getting assistance that I've seen (and I've helped monitor these programs) have been some super hardworking above-and-beyond people.
From a "government giving out freebies" standpoint I'm sure California is probably a better place to be poor. But from a "fitting into society and feeling a sense of value and worth" standpoint I'd take Idaho any day based on how I've seen poor people being treated in both places.
But if you "dislike poor people" and you judge people by their ability to earn a high standard of living...well, I don't think you'll be very welcome here in North Idaho. To be quite frank....I don't want you here and the people in my sphere of influence wouldn't want you here either with that sort of viewpoint. And I actually fit the criteria of the people you claim to want to be around...
Great post. The OP and liberal media such as the NYT equate government handouts with quality of life for the poor. Much like they try to make it sound like those who support government programs are caring, and those who oppose them are heartless. The truth is conservatives give more to charity because they care about the poor too, just don't think the government is the vehicle for helping, communities are. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/op...21kristof.html
[MOD NOTE: While this post includes some political commentary, it leads to the article which is specific to reasons why Idaho could be a much better place for people in need to receive benefits from local charities, community groups, and churches.]
Last edited by Sage of Sagle; 09-24-2012 at 04:43 PM..
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Try a visit to Idaho and you will see that Idaho is a fine place to live with many wonderful folks including those awful poor folks. While you are at it, compare the crime stats for Idaho and compare them to the other states. Idaho is a good place to live, I know because I have lived there and travel in Idaho very often.
