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穷则思变，变得了吗？
今天看了一则关于美国最富有和最贫穷的十个州的名单，让我有点小吃惊：有些州竟然是意想不到的富有，像阿拉斯加、明尼苏达。而那些贫穷的州，已经贫困了很久，在我们的意识中则变的自然而然了，倒是没有什么新鲜感。不过，让人难以理解的是：穷则思变的人类本性，好像对于在这里生活的很多人，不起作用。不然，为什么多数贫穷的族裔，世世代代的满足于停留在一个个贫穷的地区生活和繁衍？特别是在美国这样一个流动性很强也很容易流动的国度？
阿拉斯加、夏威夷富有，得益于其所拥有的自然资源，东北部州的富有，则得益于那里的科技、文化和厚实的教育资本，也是因为资源的丰富。
让来自贫困州的普通贫穷人家的年轻人，向夏威夷这样的地方去寻找机会，“似乎”有点难，或许是因为启动的生活成本较高。但是，为什么就少有人，特别是那些世世代代生活在一个地方一直贫穷的普通人，乐意向气候条件差些，但却有更好的机会改变命运的阿拉斯加移动呢？
恐怕，问题还是得从我们的社会保障系统和其它的政治因素来找：我们的系统更多的是在鼓励人们懒惰和满足于自我“堕落”，世世代代。
生活中接触了不少的普通年轻人，她们/他们的生活理念，确实和我们这些来自第三世界国度的人们很不同。我们工作，不仅仅是为了当前的生活开支应付，更多的还有很长远的打算：早点买房、置业，积累些财富，后让后代过的好些。很多普通的美国人好像不是这么想的，至少我接触的大量的普通美国年轻人不是这么想的。她们/他们工作，只是不得已，多满足于当前的收支平衡！够了就是够了！哪怕这个标准就是很小的数字！值得庆幸的是，这里有一个一定年龄之后就得自立的社会“风气”和习惯。
如果这里的穷人，有一天能够有当年中国古人闯关东的胆量和胆识，如果那一天，你能够看到成批的普通人去阿拉斯加寻找机会，就像当年到加州淘金的成群结队和络绎不绝，美国的未来，恐怕就绝对不是现在这样的样子。如果有一天，有些族群不是满足于通过政治途径，在再分配领域获得更多的优待，而是立足于一个个的自我奋斗，他们的子子孙孙，也不会一直生活在贫困线附近挣扎。到了那个时候，也可能不会有人，再乐意用这样使用了百年的借口，来解释一个族群的子子孙孙贫困的主因：因为我们当初是以奴隶身份被你们白人强行拉入美国的！
最近几年，几乎经常看到和听到贫困区发生的犯罪案件。生活在那里的年轻人，似乎不知道，在这个世界上还有另外一种活法，一种不是很难，就可以通过奋斗和付出改变未来的途径。什么时候，美国生活的普通人，也能有我们当初闯美国的无畏勇气。
贫穷，很多的时候是自己造成的！
悲哉！美丽的美利坚！如果生活在美利坚的普通穷人，多数的，有中国年轻人敢于跨省“流浪”到富士康打工的气派，美国继续称霸世界，会将是。。。
America’s Richest (and Poorest) States
September 18,
2014 by 247alex
TheUnited Statesadded more than 2.3
million jobs in 2013, the most in any year since 2005. Despite this, income
levels and poverty rates did not improve in most of theUnited Stateslast year, according to recently released figures from the Census Bureau’s
American Community Survey.
While many American households
continue to struggle to make ends meet, those in the richest states continued
to earn far more than households in the poorest states.Marylandwas the wealthiest state in theU.S.again last year, with a median income of $72,483.Mississippi,
in turn, was yet againAmerica’s
poorest state, with a median income of just $37,963.
States with relatively low median
incomes typically had poverty rates that were much higher than the national
rate. In fact, all but one of the nation’s 10 poorest states also had among the
10 highest poverty rates.Mississippi,
the nation’s poorest state, had a poverty rate of 24% last year, the highest in
the nation. By comparison, when surveyed, 15.8% of Americans said they lived
below the poverty line at some point in the last 12 months.
One of the most important
determinants of income is employment because most Americans rely on their jobs
as their largest source of income. Several states with high incomes also had
low unemployment rates. These includeHawaii,Minnesota, andNew
Hampshire, all of which had unemployment rates that
were at least two percentage points below the national unemployment rate of
7.4% in 2013. But this was not the case in all high income states.California, for
instance, had an unemployment rate of 8.9% last year, among the highest in the
country.
A strong labor force matters,
David Cooper, economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, told24/7 Wall St. When
the labor market improves, “that tends to disproportionately help low income
folks,” Cooper said. “When there’s less unemployment, when employers are maybe
having to raise wages in order to attract new workers.”
Still, unemployment rates do not
tell the full story. In fact, by some measures, the job market remains
distressed. The total number of jobs only surpassed pre-recession levels this
year. Also, the percentage of Americans in the workforce — either working or
looking for work — has fallen considerably since the recession.
The types of jobs available in a
state also play a major role in determining income levels. For example,
low-paying manufacturing jobs as well as jobs in the retail sector were
generally more common in states with low median incomes. In the nation’s
richest states, by contrast, high-paying jobs in the financial, information,
and professional services sectors were more common.
Cooper added that “there are good
jobs and bad jobs,” and that clearly some industries pay better than others.
“Obviously, things like the sciences, and information technology, health care.
Those tend to be sectors that pay better,” he noted. One major reason for this,
Cooper said, is the educational background need for such jobs. Residents in the
nation’s richest states
Although wealthy states tend to
have lower poverty rates, they don’t necessarily have the most equitable
distribution of income. In fact, the distribution of incomes was especially
imbalanced in a number of the wealthiest states.California,Connecticut, andMassachusetts, all among the states with the
highest incomes, were each among the states with the most top-heavy income
distributions.
The states with the lowest
incomes, however, also did not perform especially well in income equality.
Notably,Louisiana, which had a median
household income more than $6,000 below theU.S.median, was also the
third-worst state for income inequality.
To identify the richest and
poorest states with the highest and lowest median household income,24/7 Wall St.reviewed state data on income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American
Community Survey (ACS). Median household income for all years is adjusted for
inflation. Data on health insurance coverage, employment by industry, food
stamp recipiency, poverty, and income inequality also came from the 2013 ACS.
Income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient, which is scaled from 0
to 1, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect
inequality. We also reviewed annual average unemployment data from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2012 and 2013.
These areAmerica’s
richest and poorest states.
The Richest States inAmerica
10.California
> Median household income: $60,190
> Population: 38,332,521
(the largest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.9%
(4th highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 16.8% (16th highest)
A typicalCaliforniahousehold earned more than
$60,000 last year, higher than the national median of $52,250. WhileCaliforniaincomes have
yet to return to 2009 levels, they have — just as nationwide income levels have
— risen from 2012 levels. Although the state has some of the wealthiest
residents nationwide, nearly 17% lived in poverty last year, the only rich
state with a poverty rate above the national rate of 15.8%. The disparity is
likely due to severe income inequality among the state’s more than 38 million
residents.California’s
Gini coefficient was higher than that of all but three other states last year.
The state’s unemployment rate of 8.9% last year, despite declining from the
year before, remained among the highest nationwide.
9.Minnesota
> Median household income: $60,702
> Population: 5,420,380
(21st largest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.1%
(9th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 11.2% (7th lowest)
WhileMinnesotais the ninth-richest state in theU.S., just 4.9% of households
earned more than $200,000 annually, roughly in line with the percentage
nationally.Minnesota’s
income distristribution was less skewed towards the wealthy than that of most
states. Its Gini coefficient was lower than that of 39 other states last year.
The percentage of residents without health care was 8.2% last year and also
among the lowest. However, the state’s insurance exchange, set up under the
Affordable Care Act, has been rife with problems, including software glitches
during the exchange’s rollout and the recent withdrawal of its most popular,
and lowest-cost, insurers.
8.Virginia
> Median household income: $62,666
> Population: 8,260,405
(12th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.5%
(13 lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 11.7% (9th lowest)
Nearly 8% ofVirginiahouseholds earned more than
$200,000 last year, more than in all but a handful of states. Like many wealthy
states,Virginiaresidents’ incomes remained effectively unchanged last year compared to 2012.
Like a number of wealthy states,Virginia’s
unemployment rate of just 5.5% last year was much lower than the national rate
of 7.4%.Vermontwas also home to a large number of particularly wealthy households. Last year,
7.8% of all households in the state earned $200,000 or more, the fifth-highest
rate in the nation.
7.New Hampshire
> Median household income: $64,230
> Population: 1,323,459
(9th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.3%
(10th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 8.7% (the lowest)
New Hampshire’s household median income in 2013
remained unchanged from 2012, reflecting little improvement in the residents’
standard of living. In other areas, however,New Hampshire’s economy showed improvement.
Only 8.7% of the state’s roughly 1.3 million people lived below the poverty
line in 2013, the lowest proportion in the country and down from 10% in 2012.
High median incomes and a low poverty rate demonstrate howNew Hampshirehas one of the most equitable
income distributions in the country. High median incomes likely also drove up
home values. The median home value of $233,300 last year was among the higher
levels nationwide. Just 10.7% of residents did not have health insurance in
2013, one of the lower rates in the country.
6.Massachusetts
> Median household income: $66,768
> Population: 6,692,824
(14th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.1%
(21st highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 11.9% (11th lowest)
Massachusettsis one of the wealthiest states in theU.S.and also
among the nation’s most unequal. While 8.3% of state households had an income
of $200,000 or more in 2013, the fourth highest percentage in the nation, 6.5%
of households earned less than $10,000 last year, higher than in most of the
other wealthiest states. Additionally, 12.9% of households relied on food stamp
benefits last year, also higher than in most of the richest states. This figure
is up considerably from 2009, when 9.4% of households relied on food stamps. On
the other hand, perhaps no state, no state has a stronger track record of
providing health coverage to residents thanMassachusetts. Just 3.7% of the population
was uninsured last year, the lowest rate nationwide.
5.Connecticut
> Median household income: $67,098
> Population: 3,596,080
(22nd smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.8%
(38)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 10.7% (4th lowest)
Connecticutis both one of the richest and most
unequal states. The state is often depicted in the media as the poster child
forAmerica’s
growing inequality.Connecticut’s
Gini coefficient of 0.499 was the second most highest in the nation. A typical
household earned roughly $67,000 last year and nearly one in 10 earned more
than $200,000 in 2013, second only toNew
Jersey. Yet, unlike many of the richest states, the
unemployment rate inConnecticutwas above theU.S.rate and only changed slightly from the year prior.Connecticutis also home to a
disproportionate amount of financiers. Roughly 9% of employed workers were categorized
as working in finance, insurance or real estate by the Census Bureau, the
second highest among all states.
4.Hawaii
> Median household income: $68,020
> Population: 1,404,054
(11th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.8%
(8th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 10.8% (5th lowest)
In addition to paradisal scenery
and tropical weather,Hawaiiresidents are also among the nation’s wealthiest. A typical household earned
more than $68,000 last year, considerably higher than the national household
median income of $52,250. High incomes, as well asHawaii’s own requirements for employers to
provide workers with health coverage, have made health insurance more
accessible in the state. Only 6.7% of residents did not have health insurance
in 2013, less than half the national proportion of 14.5%. The cost of living inHawaii,
however, was higher than in every other state last year, most because many
goods need to be shipped from the mainland.
3.New Jersey
> Median household income: $70,165
> Population: 8,899,339
(11th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.2%
(10th highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 11.4% (8th lowest)
Offering easy commuting access toNew Yorkfrom the northern part of the state
and toPhiladelphiafrom the south,New Jerseyhouseholds
had the third highest median income in the country last year at $70,165.
Additionally, nearly 10% of households had incomes of $200,000 or more , the
highest rate in the country. In the midst of high incomes, however, there is
also poverty. More than 11% ofNew
Jerseyresidents lived in poverty in 2013, an
increase from the year before. The portion of residents without health
insurance also rose 0.5 percentage points between 2012 and 2013, one of the
larger increases in the nation.
2.Alaska
> Median household income: $72,237
> Population: 735,132
(4th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.5%
(18th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 9.3% (2nd lowest)
While Alaskans were among the
nation’s wealthiest as of last year, 18.5% of state residents didn’t have
health insurance last year, one of the highest rates in the nation. Every other
wealthy state, by contrast, had exceptionally low proportions of residents
without health insurance. It remains to be seen whether the Affordable Care Act
will improve health coverage in the state. Otherwise, Alaskans seem to be very
well off. Fewer than one in 10 residents lived below the poverty line last
year, lower than in every state except forNew Hampshire. Income is also distributed
relatively evenly across the state’s 735,132 residents. The state’s Gini
coefficient was the lowest in the country last year.
1.Maryland
> Median household income: $72,483
> Population: 5,928,814
(19th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.6%
(22nd lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 10.1% (3rd lowest)
Marylandis the wealthiest state in the nation. The median
household income was $72,483 in 2013, more than $20,000 higher than the
national median income of $52,250. Additionally, few states had a higher
proportion of high income households thanMaryland, where 8.9% earned $200,000 or more
in 2013. The state also had among the lowest poverty rates in the nation last
year at just over 10% of the population. But despite their relative affluence,Marylandhouseholds have
not been immune to the struggles most Americans have faced in recent years.
From 2009 to 2013, the state’s poverty rate and the percentage of households on
foodstamps rose, while the inflation-adjusted median household income fell.
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The Poorest States inAmerica
10.Oklahoma
> Median household income: $45,690
> Population: 3,850,568
(23rd lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.4%
(11th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 16.8% (16th highest)
Oklahomais one of the poorest states in the nation, with a median
household income of $45,690 last year. However, this figure was notably higher
than in 2012, when the median income, adjusted for inflation, was $44,903. The
percentage of residents with health insurance coverage also improved. In 2012,
18.4% of residents did not have health insurance, the fifth highest percentage
in the nation. Last year, that number fell to 17.7%, better than six other
states. This figure could decline even further in the future. Data from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as private entities such as
Gallup andRANDcorporation, indicate a
substantial decrease in the percentage of Americans without health insurance so
far in 2014.
9.Tennessee
> Median household income: $44,297
> Population: 6,495,978
(17th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.2%
(10th highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 17.8% (12th highest)
Tennesseehad one of the nation’s lowest household median incomes as
well as one of the nation’s higher poverty rates last year. Also, 17.2% of
residents relied on food stamps last year, more than in all but a handful of
states. Like in many other poor states,Tennesseeresidents were more likely than most Americans to work in the retail industry,
a traditionally low-paying sector. Income was more unevenly distributed inTennesseethan in all but
a handful of other states last year. However, more residents were covered by
health insurance in 2013 than in a number of much wealthier states.
8.Louisiana
> Median household income: $44,164
> Population: 4,625,470
(25th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.2%
(15th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 19.8% (3rd highest)
Nearly one in five Louisiana
residents lived in poverty last year, more than in all but two other states,
and considerably higher than the national poverty rate of 15.8%. While the
poverty threshold for a one-person household was an annual income of as little
as as $11,490 in 2013, many multi-member households inLouisianaearned considerably less than
that. More than one in 10 households earned less than $10,000 last year, more
than in every state except forMississippi.
Also, only two other states had worse income distribution in 2013.
7.South Carolina
> Median household income: $44,163
> Population: 4,774,839
(24th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.6%
(16th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 18.6% (8th highest)
South Carolinahad one of the nation’s largest declines
in unemployment rate in 2013, as the percentage of workers without a job fell
from 9.0% in 2012 to 7.6% last year. Like many other states with low median
household incomes, a high percentage ofSouth
Carolinaresidents lived in poverty last year.South Carolina’s poverty
rate was 18.6% in 2013, up considerably from 2009, when 17.1% of the state’s
population lived below the poverty line. The percentage of households utilizing
food stamp benefits also rose from 12.4% to 15.5% in that time.
6.New Mexico
> Median household income: $43,872
> Population: 2,085,287
(15th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.9%
(24th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 21.9% (2nd highest)
Nearly 22% ofNew Mexicoresidents lived in poverty last
year, the second highest percentage in the country and an increase from 2012.
The state was among the worst for income inequality, which may help explain its
high poverty rate, as well as its wide variation in home values.early one in
seven New Mexican homes were valued below $50,00. And while the unemployment
rate was 6.9% in 2013, below the 2013 national rate, nearly 17% ofNew Mexico’s labor force
was employed in the trade, transportation, and utilities sectors, which are
historically low paying. In 2013, those sectors had an average hourly wage of
$20.98.
5.Kentucky
> Median household income: $43,399
> Population: 4,395,295
(25th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.3%
(7th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 18.8% (6th highest)
The typicalKentuckyhousehold earned just $43,399 last
year, roughly $10,000 below the national median. Additionally, 18.8% ofKentuckyresidents lived
in poverty last year, a rate that has remained unchanged since 2009. Like many
of the poorest states, home values in the state were quite low. The median
value of a home inKentuckywas $120,900 as of 2013, the sixth lowest value in the country.Kentucky’s unemployment
rate was 8.3% in 2013, well above the national rate of 7.4%. This was also
unchanged from 2012, makingKentuckyone of a small minority of states where the unemployment rate did not improve.
4.Alabama
> Median household income: $42,849
> Population: 4,833,722
(23rd largest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.5%
(18th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 18.7% (7th highest)
Alabamawas one of just a few states where more than 10% of the
population reported a household income of less than $10,000 last year.
Additionally, the state’s median income — already low — dropped significantly
between 2009 and 2013, from $44,000 to $42,840. However, relative to residents
in other poor states,Alabamahad a relatively low percentage of residents without health coverage at just
13.6%. By comparison, 14.5% of Americans nationwide lacked health insurance
last year. However,Alabamais one of the 24 states that elected not to expand Medicaid under the
Affordable Care Act due largely to concerns about costs being shifted from the
federal government to the states in the long-run.
3.West Virginia
> Median household income: $41,253
> Population: 1,854,304
(38th largest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.5%
(18th lowest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 18.5% (10th highest)
Unlike some states with low
median incomes, relatively fewWest
Virginiaresidents worked in manufacturing. Instead,
these residents mostly found employment in agriculture or mining, as nearly
5.4% of workers were employed in those industries as of 2013, well above the
national average. While the state’s unemployment rate decreased 0.7 percentage
points between 2012 and 2013 to 6.5% — notably better than theU.S.rate last
year — median household income remained low and unchanged. Low incomes also
likely affect the housing market of the state. The median home value was only
$103,200 in 2013, lower than all but one other state
2.Arkansas
> Median household income: $40,511
> Population: 2,959,373
(19th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 7.5%
(18th highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 19.7% (4th highest)
The typicalArkansashousehold earned $40,511 last year,
well below the national median of $52,250. Like in many of the poorest states,
the state’s poverty was also a major problem.Arkansashad the fourth highest poverty rate
in the country last year, at 19.7%. The state’s unemployment rate remained
unchanged between 2012 and 2013, a major indication of a weak job market. Low
incomes and a weak job market may contribute to low real estate values as well.
Statewide, homes were valued relatively low, at just under $110,000, or more
than $60,000 below the national benchmark. Additionally, nearly one in five
homes were valued at less than $50,000, the third highest rate in the country.
1.Mississippi
> Median household income: $37,963
> Population: 2,991,207
(20th smallest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.6%
(6th highest)
> Pct. Below poverty line: 24.0% (the highest)
Mississippi, the poorest state in the nation, had a
median household income of just $37,963 last year. In fact, no other state had
a median income of less than $40,000 in 2013, andMississippi’s
median income was barely half that of top-ranked statesMarylandandAlaska.
Further, no state had a higher poverty rate thanMississippi, where more than 24% of people
lived below the poverty line. The next-closest state,New
Mexico, had a poverty rate more than two percentage points lower
thanMississippi.
Other problems the state faced were a high jobless rate and a high proportion
of households on food stamps. Last year, 8.6% of workers were unemployed, the
sixth highest rate nationally, while 19.4% of households relied on food stamps,
the second highest rate.
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