Top Ten Cities With High Poverty Rates

[bobblehead]

don't statewide policies from the governor, senators, house majority, etc impact poverty ratings? It seems like the city mayor wouldn't have anything to do with with enacting and effecting policy change.

What a quirky coincidence then.......

[bobblehead]

don't statewide policies from the governor, senators, house majority, etc impact poverty ratings? It seems like the city mayor wouldn't have anything to do with with enacting and effecting policy change.

What do you think they do? Crosswords?

The mayor is essentially the most powerful member of the city council, the figurehead if you will. The mayor's responsibilities essentially are to carry out the wishes of the city council and the larger governmental agencies. They are not instrumental in writing or implementing policy decisions for the city. The don't even have veto power. If you read below, you'll see several examples and broader definitions of what a mayor's job is.
Mayoral Duties:
The direction and management of executive branch departments, including Public Works, Human Services, and Community and Support Services, but not including the executive activities of the independent elected officials.
Carrying out and enforcing the programs and policies established by the Council.
Enforcing the regulations, policies, and procedures of the County.
Faithfully executing the laws and ordinances of the County.
Assigning employees and work in the executive branch.
Appointing persons to serve on commissions and boards, with advice and consent.
Controlling County assets, funds, and property; preparing and presenting a budget to the Council.
Reviewing County books, accounts, and funds necessary to the executive function.
While mayors and city managers often develop and propose policies, their basic authority is to carry out the council's directives and to implement the policy adopted by councils. Commissioners serve both legislative and executive roles. The relationship of the executive to the legislative body varies by form of local government.
Negotiating and executing contracts.
Considering and adopting long-range planning.
Acting as intergovernmental relations liaison, exercising power of veto and line item veto, and attending and participating in Council meetings

I had to forward this to my wife to see what she thought.

Additionally, there are so many other factors that go into why a city is rated in the top 10 for poverty. One question to ask is, how do they define poverty, and is this the ratio of people in poverty or just the cities with the most people in poverty? If it's cities with the most people, it stands to reason that that would be true because impoverished people tend to live in the largest cities where they can find cheap housing and manual labor.

I just don't think that whoever wrote this about the mayors knows anything about how government and policy works, or even what the job of a mayor of a major city does/can't do. If anything it is the federal and state government who are most influential in policy decisions when it comes to poverty. I wonder what the national poverty rate is under our current administration versus the Clinton administration? It's just not as simple as the party the mayor of a city belongs to!

Funny this little spew....it would seem that these mayors, who have been democrats for as far as the eye can see simply oversee a bunch of republicans who are actually responsible for said poverty...but what do I know, I don't have a PHD.

[bobblehead]

Keep in mind that political affiliations at the local level are not always in line with political affiliations at a national level. In DC, for instance, two of the most progressive city council members run as Republicans. It's true, of course, that Republican mayors tend to run on pro-business platforms, but you can't just equate a Democratic or Republican mayor with national party objectives either.

This makes this whole anomally even more confusing....I mean the statistical quirkiness of dems running poverty stricken citys year after year when there is in fact no correlation boggles my mind. But again, I have no PHD, so I'm probably not interpretting things correctly.

[GoPackGo]

Funny this little spew....it would seem that these mayors, who have been democrats for as far as the eye can see simply oversee a bunch of republicans who are actually responsible for said poverty...but what do I know, I don't have a PHD.

I think you missed the point of the rebuttle. Mayors don't have the power to cause poverty. Both Democratic and Republican run federal and state governments (who are most influential in policy decisions when it comes to poverty) are responsible for the failure in these cities. I agree the fact that Democratic mayors have been running these cities is very intriguing but the definition of mayoral responsibilities doesn't support it.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

The fact that something like 85-90% of those who haven't graduated high school support democrats tells me everything that I need to know.

ah, the non elitist repub rears his head.

[Freak Out]

What was poverty like in Detoilet in the 50s and 60s when one would assume the auto industry and manufacturing was going gangbusters? Has it gone south starting in the 70s? Did a Dem come in and just fuck things up because of corruption and incompetence or did the overall economy just suck?

[Tyrone Bigguns]

What was poverty like in Detoilet in the 50s and 60s when one would assume the auto industry and manufacturing was going gangbusters? Has it gone south starting in the 70s? Did a Dem come in and just fuck things up because of corruption and incompetence or did the overall economy just suck?

I look at that list and see a bunch of rust belt cities that use to have manufacturing...guess that mayor is responsible for high state taxes or jobs being shipped overseas. I see at least two cities with high influx of poor immigrants (legal or illegal).

[Freak Out]

What was poverty like in Detoilet in the 50s and 60s when one would assume the auto industry and manufacturing was going gangbusters? Has it gone south starting in the 70s? Did a Dem come in and just fuck things up because of corruption and incompetence or did the overall economy just suck?

I look at that list and see a bunch of rust belt cities that use to have manufacturing...guess that mayor is responsible for high state taxes or jobs being shipped overseas. I see at least two cities with high influx of poor immigrants (legal or illegal).

I have no idea and am curious to know if someone has some data. One would assume a big downturn in the economy played a big part in it and people never migrated the hell out.....to places like Miami.

[SkinBasket]

Does that mean your wife is the mayor?

Did you even read it? My wife has a PHD and her father is a city manager for what its worth.

Whoa there. I was just asking because you kind of made it sound like she might be. Nothing meant by it.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

What was poverty like in Detoilet in the 50s and 60s when one would assume the auto industry and manufacturing was going gangbusters? Has it gone south starting in the 70s? Did a Dem come in and just fuck things up because of corruption and incompetence or did the overall economy just suck?

I look at that list and see a bunch of rust belt cities that use to have manufacturing...guess that mayor is responsible for high state taxes or jobs being shipped overseas. I see at least two cities with high influx of poor immigrants (legal or illegal).

I have no idea and am curious to know if someone has some data. One would assume a big downturn in the economy played a big part in it and people never migrated the hell out.....to places like Miami.

Nobody (ok, 99%) from up north ever migrates to miami....north of the city, yes. But, the miami propah..not a chance. You gotta be bilingual to live in that city.

When i lived in Fl, i considered a move to that area...and quickly realized that without speaking spanish you were essentially a tourist in that town.

[mraynrand]

Unions had a hand in it too - Ford recently bought out a large number of workers in Ohio to the tune of 150K each. That was cheaper than continuing producing cars that are too expensive because wages and compensation were $72/hour (Toyota was 50 or less at the same time). Unions have a strangle hold on many of the cities listed - and won't budge. Cuyahoga county (Cleveland) has one of highest tax rates in the nation - a lot of it is due to expense of services and loss of business. And it's been a bit of a self-perpetuating downward spiral - tax rates go up, businesses leave or fold, reducing tax revenue, causing an increase in tax rates, and so on.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

THe whole things is just stupid. So many factors come into play that have nothing to do with city gov't, state gov't, etc.

That is regardless of political party.

To present this as logic..is to insult the intelligence of most people.

But, then again, if you are using Glenn Beck to formulate your arguments..perhaps you don't have much intelligence to begin with.

[texaspackerbacker]

THe whole things is just stupid. So many factors come into play that have nothing to do with city gov't, state gov't, etc.

That is regardless of political party.

To present this as logic..is to insult the intelligence of most people.

But, then again, if you are using Glenn Beck to formulate your arguments..perhaps you don't have much intelligence to begin with.

Yeah, you're probably right ..... but it is just so-o-o-o-o interesting how well the poverty thing correlates with the Democrat thing. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which came first, the poverty or the voting Democrat? Does it really make a difference?

[Tyrone Bigguns]

It is interesting....soooo interesting to me that the stock market performs better and tends to be less volatile when Democrats are in power.

returns are on average about 5 percent higher when the White House is run by a Democrat than during Republican rule.

[texaspackerbacker]

It is interesting....soooo interesting to me that the stock market performs better and tends to be less volatile when Democrats are in power.

returns are on average about 5 percent higher when the White House is run by a Democrat than during Republican rule.

Very interesting. What is the percentage if you leave out the Clinton years with the residual effects of the Reagan/Bush I tax cuts, the dotcom tech boom, and the Republican Congress keeping Clinton's tax and spend tendencies in line?