{"id":407,"date":"2012-10-17T12:28:58","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T16:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/valdosta-3rd-poorest-city.html"},"modified":"2012-10-17T12:28:58","modified_gmt":"2012-10-17T16:28:58","slug":"valdosta-3rd-poorest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/valdosta-3rd-poorest-city.html","title":{"rendered":"Valdosta: 3rd poorest city"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\nValdosta #3! Followed by Albany #4! In poorest cities in the country.\nWhat can we do about that?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMichael B. Sauter, Alexander E.M. Hess and Samuel Weigley, 24\/7 Wall St.,\nwrote for NBC News 14 October 2012,\n<a href=\"http:\/\/bottomline.nbcnews.com\/_news\/2012\/10\/14\/14372928-americas-richest-and-poorest-cities\">\nAmerica&#8217;s richest and poorest cities<\/a>,\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Valdosta_metropolitan_area\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b0168ec06e6dc970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b0168ec06e6dc970c-pi.png\"   width=\"125\" height=\"138\"  \/><\/a>\n3. Valdosta, Ga.\n<ul>\n<li>\nMedian household income: $32,446\n<\/li>\n<li>\nPopulation: 140,599 (87th lowest)\n<\/li>\n<li>\nUnemployment rate: 9.2 percent(140th highest)\n<\/li>\n<li>\nPercent households below poverty line: 27.6 percent (ninth highest)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nFrom 2007 to 2011, the unemployment rate in Valdosta increased by\n130 percent, from 4 percent of workers to 9.2 percent. The number of\nemployed workers declined by more than 6,000 during that time. Those\njobs remaining often pay a lower salary. Last year, nearly 17\npercent of the work force was employed in the generally low-paying\nretail industry, the sixth highest percentage of all metro areas. In\n2007, just 11.3 percent of the labor force worked in retail.\nValdosta, however, has an improving and active housing market. Home\nprices rose nearly 12 percent between 2007 and 2011. Despite these\npositives, 14.4 percent of housing units were vacant last year,\nhigher than the national vacancy rate of 13.1 percent. Also, 15.3\npercent of homes were worth less than $50,000 versus 8.8 percent\nnationwide.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nThe study is actually for &#8220;U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs&#8221;\nand this population is not just for Valdosta, it&#8217;s for the\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Valdosta_metropolitan_area\">\nValdosta MSA<\/a>,\nwhich includes Brooks, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes Counties.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nLook who&#8217;s next on the list:\n<\/p>\n\n<!--more-->\n<blockquote>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Albany,_Georgia_metropolitan_area\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a29f970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a29f970b-pi.png\"   width=\"125\" height=\"138\"  \/><\/a>\n4. Albany, Ga.\n<ul>\n<li>\nMedian household income: $32,775\n<\/li>\n<li>\nPopulation: 161,617 (122nd lowest)\n<\/li>\n<li>\nUnemployment rate: 10.4% (77th highest)\n<\/li>\n<li>\nPct. households below poverty line: 28.4% (7th highest)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nA stunning 11.8% of households in Albany earned less than $10,000 in\n2011, the largest percentage of any metropolitan area in the nation.\nAdditionally, 28.4% of Albany residents lived below the poverty\nlevel, a considerable increase from the 21.5% who lived in poverty\nin 2007. The area&#8217;s unemployment also jumped, doubling between 2007,\nwhen it was just 5.2% of the labor force, to 2011, when it was\n10.4%. Last year, the median home value in Albany was just $103,800,\nor nearly $70,000 less than the U.S. median, while 18.9% of homes\nwere worth less than $50,000.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nYou know, Albany, the place\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/w.html\">\nthe Industrial Authority is so concerned about they hold special sessions\nto keep projects secret from:<\/a>\nAlbany, only slightly less poor than Valdosta.\nYep,\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/minutes-online-vlcia-17-may-2011.html\">\ncompeting with Albany is why VLCIA doesn&#8217;t want to publish its minutes:<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/minutes-online-vlcia-17-may-2011.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2a4970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2a4970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nSo if we have project Dinosaur, our constituencies and our citizens\nwon&#8217;t know what project Dinosaur is, but our competitors, the\nAlbanys and the Tiftons, they&#8217;ll definitely know.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s an idea:\nhow about if we set our sights higher than competing for the\nbottom of the poverty list?\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/industrial-authority-goes-solar-broadband-and-conversational.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2aa970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2aa970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nMaybe what VLCIA was scared of in Albany was Andrea Schruijer,\nand now that\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/vlcia-hires-andrea-schuijer-from-albany.html\">\nthey&#8217;ve hired her over to be their own executive director<\/a>,\nmaybe they can get over that phobia.\nThere are some signs of change,\nsuch as VLCIA finally realizing\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/industrial-authority-goes-solar-broadband-and-conversational.html\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2ac970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2ac970b-pi.jpg\"   width=\"120\" height=\"88\"  \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/industrial-authority-goes-solar-broadband-and-conversational.html\">\nbusinesses need broadband Internet\nand solar is good business<\/a>,\nnot to mention at least trying to be more conversational\nwith the rest of the community.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe MSA ranking said:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nIn the poorest economies, there is a much higher proportion of\nlow-end manufacturing and retail jobs.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/04\/austin-solar-sunflowers.html\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b01774463c3cb970d\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b01774463c3cb970d-pi.jpg\"   width=\"134\" height=\"89\"  \/><\/a>\nSo let&#8217;s aim for better manufacturing and other jobs.\nYou know, knowledge-based jobs, in businesses that <em>expect<\/em>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/vz-4g-vs-att-dsl-lowndes-county-georgia-2012-09-08.html\">\nreal broadband Internet<\/a>\nand think\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/04\/austin-solar-sunflowers.html\">\nsolar is a good way to attract more business.<\/a>\nYeah, I know, we&#8217;re not Austin, Texas.\nBut we&#8217;ll never be better than Albany, Georgia if we don&#8217;t\nstart acting like a real MSA.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dublin,_GA_%C2%B5SA\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2b0970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3297a2b0970b-pi.png\"    \/><\/a>\nDublin, Georgia, which only has a\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dublin,_GA_%C2%B5SA\">\nmicropolitan statistical area<\/a>,\ndidn&#8217;t\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2010\/12\/mage-solar-cuts-ribbon-in-dublin-georgia.html\">\nland MAGE SOLAR<\/a> by worrying about what Albany thinks.\nThey went to a solar conference in Germany and came back with MAGE.\nSaginaw, Michigan, didn&#8217;t\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2010\/12\/suniva-went-to-solar-valley-michigan-which-has-a-plan.html\">\nlure the second Suniva solar PV plant out of Georgia<\/a>\nby worrying about what Albany, Georgia or even Albany, New York thinks.\nSaginaw did it by calling itself Solar Valley and trumpeting loudly\nwhat they wanted.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhat do you want this election season, folks?\nMore of the same that landed Valdosta MSA as #3 poorest in the country,\neven lower than Albany?\nOr some new conversations?\n<\/p>\n<p>\n-jsq\n<\/p>\n<p>\nPS: Owed to Tom H. Johnson Jr.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Valdosta #3! Followed by Albany #4! In poorest cities in the country. What can we do about that? Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E.M. Hess and Samuel Weigley, 24\/7 Wall St., wrote for NBC News 14 October 2012, America&#8217;s richest and poorest cities, 3. Valdosta, Ga. Median household income: $32,446 Population: 140,599 (87th lowest) Unemployment rate: [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,40,263,14,49,8,18,558,2,19,132,88,267,21,22,23,24,1569,3,54,178],"tags":[8736,205,8717,271,8704,8721,272,8701,8708,8781,8699,8709,8741,8702,12,7,8734,8757,244,245,8711,8712,1570,8713,1571,8714,8835,8700,6,8726,8749],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-community","category-dublin-ga","category-economy","category-elections","category-georgia","category-georgia-power","category-germany","category-government","category-history","category-internet-access-speed","category-lowndes-county-commission","category-mage-solar","category-planning","category-politics","category-renewable-energy","category-solar","category-suniva","category-transparency","category-valdosta-city-council","category-vlcia","tag-activism","tag-albany","tag-community","tag-dublin","tag-economy","tag-elections","tag-ga","tag-georgia","tag-georgia-power","tag-germany","tag-government","tag-history","tag-internet-access-speed","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-lowndes-county-commission","tag-mage-solar","tag-metropolitan-statistical-area","tag-msa","tag-planning","tag-politics","tag-poorest","tag-renewable-energy","tag-retail","tag-solar","tag-suniva","tag-transparency","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-city-council","tag-vlcia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-6z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}