U.N. Official Shocked at Poverty In Rural Alabama

[mountaineer]

We took a road trip last year..all the back roads. Drove through southern W.va  w..wow

Place like this were everywhere.   Many were worse than this.  Not my photo.

Parts of southern and central WV are particularly horrendous. But notice they have a "quad" and a dirtbike, and they'll also have smartphones.

Sorry to generalize, but I'm here all the time and have seen far too much of this behavior.

[txradioguy]

Absolutely.  So many have no understanding of how much of the world's poor live.

I've been in countries where people ply trash dumps to find materials to make huts from in which to live.  Rural Alabama isn't really in "poverty" in the real sense of the word...not when you've been some of the places I have...and that have received "help" from the U.N.

[mirraflake]

As I live on the edge of Appalachia in a state decimated by the so-called opioid crisis, I'm going to have to agree with Applewood's comment, "(M)ost of them end up that way because they refuse to get the education needed to have a career that provides for them.  They would rather drink, do drugs, make babies and collect food stamps and other government benefits."

I see it in my county. They can't do many of the jobs that allegedly are shipped overseas because they're uneducated (by choice) and can't pass drug tests. It's a lot easier to collect welfare and SNAP - and I see that every time I'm in Kroger - than work.

US Pipeline was trying to hire workers in W.Va. for gas line work.  Out of 25 they narrowed it down to only 3 out of the 25 passed the mandatory drug test

@mountaineer

[240B]

Parts of southern and central WV are particularly horrendous. But notice they have a "quad" and a dirtbike, and they'll also have smartphones.

Sorry to generalize, but I'm here all the time and have seen far too much of this behavior.

Yep. And plenty of cigarettes and beer too. Also, if you talked to those guys, they would tell you that there is nothing at all wrong with the way they live. There're in God's country, living the way God intended.


We look at it as a problem. Most of them do not. It is totally normal to live like that, for them.

[Restored]

Parts of southern and central WV are particularly horrendous. But notice they have a "quad" and a dirtbike, and they'll also have smartphones.

Sorry to generalize, but I'm here all the time and have seen far too much of this behavior.

That's a "four-willer", not a quad bike. They use that to get to their tree stand for "dur huntin". They got plenty of time to hunt because they went on The Disability after seeing that lawyer on TV.
Welcome to my life
 

[Applewood]

I'd just like to know what is the ulterior motive behind this UN study.  What kind of "suggestions" or "recommendations" are they going to come up with?  Is fhis going to be another attempt to discourage  tourism and investment in America?  As we know, the vast majority of member countries in the UN hate America, so anything they can do to destroy or damage America would make them all happy. 

We had better hope and pray we don't end up with another Democrat president and a Democrat-controlled congress, or this country will be run by the UN and income redistribution will be accelerated.

[mirraflake]

Yep. And plenty of cigarettes and beer too. Also, if you talked to those guys, they would tell you that there is nothing at all wrong with the way they live. There're in God's country, living the way God intended.


We look at it as a problem. Most of them do not. It is totally normal to live like that, for them.

I live in Appalachia.  They live off the land, sell roots, collect junk steel, do an odd job cash under the table every so often etc. whatever it takes. No health insurance or on medicaid.

Live in a old house that was paid off years ago via their parents or grandparents-several generations living in the house. , Property tax $350 yr.  Woodburners for heat.. off the grid. 1992 4x4  pickup with 2 more in the yard for parts.

As you said they were brought up this way and their kids will live this way.

A woman friend of mine literally lives in an old barn.

@240B

@Restored

[Restored]

The only people I know living off the grid are the Amish and hippies over in Floyd County Va or the Amish in Whitegate Va although the Amish store in Whitegate has refrigeration. We did see a 2bd house for sale in Giles County for $55k on 40 acres. It got gobbled up pretty quickly but you can do close to that over there. We have been surfing Zillow for a house with land over there for some time. We are talking way back in the hills "How did they get that trailer up there?" places. We can rent the land for hunting.

My feminist daughter after riding through an Amish Farm in Whitegate "I'm so tired of looking at testicles".

[jmyrlefuller]

As I live on the edge of Appalachia in a state decimated by the so-called opioid crisis, I'm going to have to agree with Applewood's comment, "(M)ost of them end up that way because they refuse to get the education needed to have a career that provides for them.  They would rather drink, do drugs, make babies and collect food stamps and other government benefits."

I see it in my county. They can't do many of the jobs that allegedly are shipped overseas because they're uneducated (by choice) and can't pass drug tests. It's a lot easier to collect welfare and SNAP - and I see that every time I'm in Kroger - than work.

Even then, though, you can't guarantee that education is going to help them when the jobs aren't actually anywhere near them. Maybe there are natural gas companies willing to work in that area—for a little while, until the pipeline's finished and they move on. They'll hire out-of-towners that are more mobile and better-trained (why restrict yourself to locals when you can put an ad on Indeed and get the "perfect" candidate? To Heck with the jacks-of-all-trades, we can get specialists!). The fact is, you see the way of life in much of Appalachia, and most of the good jobs aren't there. You're not going to find an office job. Most office companies aren't going to hire an Appalachian, since they'll have to pay for moving expenses, and besides, the rent for an apartment in the city is higher than most minimum wage salaries. You're not going to find the kind of work that will let you have a life with your family. Even farming is a losing proposition now.

When the government's the only one willing to pay, that's what the dirt-poor have to accept.

[Free Vulcan]

"I think it's very uncommon in the First World. This is not a sight that one normally sees. I'd have to say that I haven't seen this," Philip Alston, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, told Connor Sheets of AL.com earlier this week as they toured a community in Butler County where raw sewage flows from homes through exposed PVC pipes and into open trenches and pits.

In the rural areas these are called lagoons. They've been used for decades and were the standard until the EPA tightened the regs. These homes are probably grandfathered. They are not a sign of extreme poverty.

A whole lot of hype and drama to paint the picture they desire.

[INVAR]

If the UN wants to see poverty, I'm sure there are dozens of other countries where it's a helluva lot worse.

No kidding.  They should try spending time in rural southeast India.  Then they will see REAL environmental degradation and poverty on a scale most Westerners cannot even wrap their minds around.

Why isn't the UN going to those countries to do their meddling?

Because they cannot guilt-trip them into forking over huge sums of ransom money to keep them off UN 'lists'.

[mirraflake]

In the rural areas these are called lagoons. They've been used for decades and were the standard until the EPA tightened the regs. These homes are probably grandfathered. They are not a sign of extreme poverty.

A whole lot of hype and drama to paint the picture they desire.

All of the ex coal mine company houses(now private ownership)  in my area are along creeks. Built back in the teens 1915-1920 era. Raw sewage runs right into the creeks. A friend of mine works for the township and had to clear some creek sof debris. He was grossed out. None have septic tanks.

Not sure if grandfathered or just no one cares.

@Free Vulcan

[Suppressed]

I've been in countries where people ply trash dumps to find materials to make huts from in which to live.  Rural Alabama isn't really in "poverty" in the real sense of the word...not when you've been some of the places I have...and that have received "help" from the U.N.

Hookworm, a disease of extreme poverty, is thriving in the US south. Why?
Exclusive: in America, the world’s richest country, hookworm, a parasitic disease found in areas of extreme poverty, is rampant, the first study of its kind in modern times shows
by Ed Pilkington in Lowndes County, Alabama
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-lowndes-county-alabama-water-waste-treatment-poverty

Children playing feet away from open pools of raw sewage; drinking water pumped beside cracked pipes of untreated waste; human faeces flushed back into kitchen sinks and bathtubs whenever the rains come; people testing positive for hookworm, an intestinal parasite that thrives on extreme poverty.

These are the findings of a new study into endemic tropical diseases, not in places usually associated with them in the developing world of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but in a corner of the richest nation on earth: Alabama.

Scientists in Houston, Texas, have lifted the lid on one of America’s darkest and deepest secrets: that hidden beneath fabulous wealth, the US tolerates poverty-related illness at levels comparable to the world’s poorest countries. More than one in three people sampled in a poor area of Alabama tested positive for traces of hookworm, a gastrointestinal parasite that was thought to have been eradicated from the US decades ago.

[...]

[Suppressed]

They got plenty of time to hunt because they went on The Disability after seeing that lawyer on TV.

And the doctor who will put you on Dis'bilty if you don't have an education.  (Have you seen that one?)  Don't get an education or you might have to work!

[mountaineer]

Maybe there are natural gas companies willing to work in that area—for a little while, until the pipeline's finished and they move on. They'll hire out-of-towners that are more mobile and better-trained (why restrict yourself to locals when you can put an ad on Indeed and get the "perfect" candidate?

Not entirely true. I'm right in the middle of a major natural gas region. The extraction companies do hire locals, as long as they meet educational qualifications and can pass the drug test. I knew one young man in this town who had no particular job training, but still got a good job with a drilling company - and then lost it when they found drug paraphernalia in his work truck.

Because of natural gas availability, a brand new gas-powered power plant is due to be constructed in my county within the next few years. That plant will hire locals for good-paying jobs - if they can pass basic educational tests and not do drugs. There are plenty of job opportunities, even here. It's just a matter of pursuing them and not screwing up. This isn't necessarily true for other parts of WV, Alabama, Mississippi, etc., however, I will admit.

[Suppressed]

All of the ex coal mine company houses(now private ownership)  in my area are along creeks. Built back in the teens 1915-1920 era. Raw sewage runs right into the creeks. A friend of mine works for the township and had to clear some creek sof debris. He was grossed out. None have septic tanks.

Not sure if grandfathered or just no one cares.

@Free Vulcan

@mirraflake

I think there was a huge federal grant program to get all of those fixed up, about 15 years ago(?).  Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal region built a bunch of little treatment systems in towns that used to directly discharge raw sewage.  I wonder why these didn't get upgraded.

[driftdiver]

That's a "four-willer", not a quad bike. They use that to get to their tree stand for "dur huntin". They got plenty of time to hunt because they went on The Disability after seeing that lawyer on TV.
Welcome to my life

@Restored
And why are those people still living like that?   Part of its drugs but I think drugs are more a symptom and not the true cause.  For decades economic policy has forced jobs to centralize in the cities.  Along with it went most of the people.  Without something to give people hope then most people end up giving up.   With welfare they don't need to work, with drugs they are happy with it.

Not that the cities are immune, plenty of welfare and drug addicted people there.  But people in the city are easier to control and easier to manage.  Plus they are more used to looking to the govt as big daddy warbucks who has all the solutions. 

There is a reason economic policy has driven people into the cities and why the poverty in rural america is ignored.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Hookworm, a disease of extreme poverty, is thriving in the US south. Why?
Exclusive: in America, the world’s richest country, hookworm, a parasitic disease found in areas of extreme poverty, is rampant, the first study of its kind in modern times shows
by Ed Pilkington in Lowndes County, Alabama
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-lowndes-county-alabama-water-waste-treatment-poverty

Children playing feet away from open pools of raw sewage; drinking water pumped beside cracked pipes of untreated waste; human faeces flushed back into kitchen sinks and bathtubs whenever the rains come; people testing positive for hookworm, an intestinal parasite that thrives on extreme poverty.

These are the findings of a new study into endemic tropical diseases, not in places usually associated with them in the developing world of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but in a corner of the richest nation on earth: Alabama.

Scientists in Houston, Texas, have lifted the lid on one of America’s darkest and deepest secrets: that hidden beneath fabulous wealth, the US tolerates poverty-related illness at levels comparable to the world’s poorest countries. More than one in three people sampled in a poor area of Alabama tested positive for traces of hookworm, a gastrointestinal parasite that was thought to have been eradicated from the US decades ago.

[...]

with 40 million people illegally here, don't you think that this has some bearing on this situation?

The US is importing poverty, as is most of Europe

[driftdiver]

with 40 million people illegally here, don't you think that this has some bearing on this situation?

The US is importing poverty, as is most of Europe

Illegals and unchecked refugees have brought in a lot more  than hookworm.

[mountaineer]

@And why are those people still living like that? 

[Restored]

@Restored
And why are those people still living like that?   Part of its drugs but I think drugs are more a symptom and not the true cause.  For decades economic policy has forced jobs to centralize in the cities.  Along with it went most of the people.  Without something to give people hope then most people end up giving up.   With welfare they don't need to work, with drugs they are happy with it.

Lazy runs in families. My wife, who was raised in it,  refers to them as "no count".  They are always look for free stuff and money. When someone dies, they offer to clean out the medicine cabinet for the family. If you ever give them money, "you take them to raise" which means they now feel entitled to your money.
The drug thing has always been around but Appalachia was devastated by Oxy when they were handing it out for everything. People got addicted. Now Meth and Heroin are epidemic.

[roamer_1]

Hard to imagine how far we've fallen.  Now conservatives are knocking people who won't take public assistance.

It is an amazement - what most folks are cussing on this thread, I'm trying to get back to.

[mountaineer]

I don't know about the folks in Alabama, but West Virginians used to be a proud and self-sufficient lot. After a few decades of Sen. Bobby Byrd's largesse, they've become dependent on gubmint for everything. No one is knocking those who decline assistance. Quite the contrary.

[truth_seeker]

Orange County California is a well known suburban area, of Lost Angeles metro area.

A colony of homeless has grown up, along the Santa Ana River, next to Anaheim Stadium.

A survey was recently conducted of about 1,000 of them. Of that number, about 900 turned down offers of "help."

Help comes with strings attached, like structured living with rules, drug treatment, etc.

Historically studies revealed about 2/3 of homeless were alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill or combinations thereof.

Recent thinking is that figure is now way too low.

Authorities recently moved them away. A deep spot in the water was dredged, and 1,000 (stolen) bicycles were found there.

The local populace is not happy, that "authorities" have allowed this situation to occur, fester, continue, etc. Crimes are rising. Home and vehicle thefts.

[goatprairie]

While there is an element of truth to what you say there is plenty of poverty in America.  Plenty of people starving, homeless, unable to find a job.    America is becoming a third world country with all of our wealth and knowledge being shipped out of the country.

Care to give a number...some statistics? Where are they starving....show me the starving people please?