Systemic Poverty in Memphis is Difficult to Overcome

March 22nd, 2023. Daily Helmsman

According to experts, Memphis has been suffering from poverty for decades. But since when has the Bluff City had this social problem? The answer to this question is longer than you think.

"Memphis has been in poverty since we started measuring it in 1964," said Elena Delavega, a professor at the UofM that started her research in 2011. Delavega explained that poverty was not defined before 1964. Economist Mollie Orshansky came up with a formula to measure poverty. This formula was three times the cost of the thrifty diet for a family of four. At that time, it was estimated that a family of four spent a third of its budget on food. Mollie Orshansky went to some tables that the Department of Agriculture had published in 1955, detailing the cost of four types of diets. The cheapest one is called the Thrifty Diet. Today, Delavega said the diet is $977.70 for a family of four. The Johnson Administration ceased this formula in War on Poverty and applied it, being the formula we still use today.

"And this is problematic because today, a family of four spends about a seventh of its budget on food because there are other costs that have gone up much higher, and there are other needs for modern life," said Delavega. Housing has gotten more expensive than housing would have cost back then.

Several reasons try to explain these poverty levels. The research leads, August Benzow, from the Economic innovation group, a nationally focused organization that fights against poverty, began by saying that many factories closed in the 60s and 70s, which put many people out of work. The second problem is that the municipal areas do not pay taxes to support the city. Delavega thinks the mayor is doing the best he can with his resources, but people from the suburbs who come to work in Memphis every day do not pay taxes into the city. "They use Memphis services every single day, they wouldn't be here if Memphis didn't exist, but they don't contribute in any way," Delavega said.

The third problem is low wages. "However, the minimum wage cannot be increased because Nashville doesn't allow us to," said Delavega, "Memphis would need to set the minimum wage to $15 an hour at least, but it has been 7.25 since 2009." Although, as Benzow suggested, raising minimum wages will not make a huge difference if we don't have places for people to go and be employed at. "That's why we also need more local, federal, and state investment, giving the communities more money," he said.

Although white people are in poverty, there is a great difference between races, with African Americans being the most affected. These disparities arise from the history of slavery, racism, lack of opportunities, and unfunded schools. "Two identical houses, one in a black neighborhood and one in a white neighborhood. The one in the white neighborhood is assessed at a much higher value. The only difference between these two houses will be the location, either surrounded by white people or black people," Delavega said.

There are also racial differences in child poverty; the rate of African American children in poverty is almost ten times the rate of white child poverty.

In general, poverty among older adults in the United States is about 10%, thanks to the Social Security government program. However, in Memphis, the data is higher. African American poverty for older adults is 20%. Delavega said that part of it is because many of these older adults are women who work as domestic workers in places where they were not enrolled in Social Security.

Comparing Memphis with big cities, we tend to be at the top in poverty. Benzow's report ranks Memphis in second place, just behind Detroit. However, when we look at other smaller cities with less population, Memphis is not the poorest, nor nearly. "A important point is that poverty tends to be a rural and small city phenomenon rather than a large city phenomenon," said Delavega.

Benzow and his group found that poverty increased from 1980 to 2018, which is the most recent data they have. "It was 30% in 1980 and then 43% in 2018. So, in 2018 almost half of the city's population was living in a high-poverty neighborhood versus less than a third in 1980," he said. On the other hand, Delavega's research said that child poverty had decreased in the past two years when the federal government started giving a stimulus of $300 per child to each family in 2021, although since some families no longer receive it, we may see an increase in poverty levels.

It's no secret that Memphis suffers from much crime, and Delavega thinks poverty is partly to blame. "Inequality causes anger, and when people are in tremendous poverty and need, there is an incentive for crime," she said. "Being poor doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to be either the perpetrator or the victim of violence, but when there's a lack of economic opportunity, there's also an increase in violence," added Benzow.

The University of Memphis has a clothing closet for students and many resources that the Office of Student Support Services provides. On the third floor of the University Center, there is a food pantry where students can get food. They are open Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.