I read this article several times and kept coming up with questions. It's clear that the "factors" listed are characteristics of poor communities as determined by the research. Where my mind started to get twisted was in thinking about whether they were part of the cause, or just the result of poverty that had already been determined through whatever series of economic, political, and demographic events. That places with these characteristics tend to stay poor is the point, I know, but if they are not part of what caused the situation, does focusing on or correcting these characteristics have meaning or lead to any benefit. Does the issue really go back to what caused it all, the economic events, and working backward from there. I'm still thinking this through, going in circles doing so. I do have one suggested answer, however, and that's on federal grants. One could make the easy assumption that federal grants sap local initiative and come with enough bureaucratic requirements that creativity becomes a dirty word. Maybe that's part of it, but my guess is that unless an area has been under the aegis of an especially progressive and powerful politician or corporation that can identify and get funding for future needs, by the time the money comes to a needy area from our Federal government the area is already so inextricably locked in a downward spiral of economic decline that help is just too late, methadone but not a cure. As some say, the horse is already out of the barn.

POVERTY – a view taken from Social and political forces as determinants of poverty: A spatial analysis By Anil Rupasingha and Stephan J. Goetz Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development at Penn State University. By Jim Miller “Recent case study research suggests that some community leaders may deliberately retard local economic development to maintain their position of power, and promote only the well-being of those who are aligned with them politically or otherwise (Duncan, 1999). 1 “Duncan (1999) demonstrated using rural case studies that subtle factors and processes are at work within communities according to which individuals in positions of power can deliberately hold back other members of their communities. The fact that economic development can hurt existing businesses by driving up local wages or reducing prices has long been recognized, but has for the most part not been confirmed by careful and rigorous study. At first glance the subtle forces identified by Duncan may appear to be impossible to measure empirically at the county level. However, it is clear that the social capital network in place in a community and the relative power of local governments are critical in determining whether these 'political' factors are able to come into play.” These and other studies show that the social/economic/political networks of the enterprise owners and their government allies, exercise critical control over the local economy. Governments do little or nothing to empower wage earners to take home a larger share of the available cash flow. Employers hire the most needy folks at the lowest wages, with no benefits, and short hours. A family of four needs 2.5 jobs to break even. If you are in the ownership class – this setting is great; if not, life sucks. Sure, some of the professionals on the fringe do OK, since they have economic privileges granted by the State - such as licenses. The persons who own the only hardware store, gas station, or market in town do OK because of the monopoly. Unions use to (and some still do) restrict entry to family members in order to keep wages high. Shipping jobs off-shore increases the rolls of unemployed which causes wage rates and hours worked to fall. “Free enterprise” is not so free for most folks; in fact it is downright costly. We need a system of “fair” enterprise. Guess what? There is one, and its called the Cooperative. Both the worker and the consumer are members and both benefit because they own the store or service. One could expand this idea to include several cooperatives in a community which create their own social/economic network. A “service level of experts” could be made a part of this network to provide expert services in fields which require State licenses. At the production level, one firm could grow algae and provides the other members of the network with food and fuel at non-monopoly prices. We would create our own credit union and our own currency using the debit card. We would no longer be held captive by the “top-down capitalists” but become “bottom-up capitalists.” We would need to create our own schools as Mondragon did/does and our own land use and environmental policies. 2. In short, we need to practice holistic thought and management. 3. It might surprise you that this collection of cooperatives exists. Mondragon Cooperative Corporation started over 50 years ago, has grown to 230 networking cooperatives in 20 plus countries and in 2004 grossed over fourteen billion dollars. We can start our own Mondragon. See: http://masallp.wetpaint.com/page/HOLISTIC+GOVERANCE+OF+INTENTIONAL+COMMU... For a more in depth study of a possible clone of Mondragon, see: http://masallp.wetpaint.com/page/Mutual+Aid+Society,+Mondragon+and+More If you are already into intentional communities, you might want to visit the MUTUAL AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA wikiwebsite: http://masallp.wetpaint.com/ If you are interested in affordable housing you might want to learn about straw bale buildings: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/ If you are interested in production of food and fuel from algae, please wander around http://algaloildiesel.wetpaint.com/?t=anon If you are interested in using discussion groups in your networking in both realspace and cyberspace, visit: http://worldcybercafe.wetpaint.com/ Jim Miller jimmilller5417@Yahoo.com 541-757-9797; Skype jimmiller5417 ================================================ 1 Duncan, C.M., 1999. Worlds Apart–Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. Yale University Press, New Haven. 2. Regulatory Barriers Clearing House: http://www.huduser.org/rbc/search/number.asp 3. Holistic management International; http://www.holisticmanagement.org/