Why The South Is So Poor
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 фев 2024
- The Southern United States is poor... but you already knew that, with states like Alabama Mississippi, and Louisiana consistently ranking bottom in nation for the most important living standards. Not only that, but the Southern United States is so poor, and mostly just for a single reason, despite once thriving as North America's wealthiest region.
A big thanks to MapTiler / OpenStreetMap Contributors and the GEOlayers 3 application
Subscribe here to join the conversation and be part of the Something Different community
www.youtube.com/@SomethingDif...
I’m from south Arkansas I can assure you it’s very much the south arguably the Deep South. If Louisiana is the Deep South and I’m 20 min from Louisiana the southernness doesn’t just stop at an imaginary line
I'm not from Arkansas I'm from Mississippi but I know Arkansas is the deep south
Yeah some portion of Arkansas should have been added to the outlying portion. I just didn't see it voted nearly at the levels of other places like Eastern Texas, probably because the popularity of those places compared to Arkansas.
My family used to live in Hazerhurst @@icemike1
@@SomethingDifferentFilmsBeing raised in south Florida and living most my life now in the Carolinas I can agree that when I went to Arkansas a few times that it is just as "south" as here.
Yea just left that hell hole. Ninjas gang banging in the country for no cause. Wyts still got that kkk vibe. South Arkansas I know exactly where u talking abt
I’ve lived in the Memphis metro area my entire life. While I understand that there are plenty of other places that are much, much worse, I want to exemplify just how low the standards of living can get here.
Memphis has regularly been ranked as one of the most, if not the most, dangerous cities in the USA. Just a couple of days ago, a three-vehicle crash left a woman trapped in her burning vehicle. Unable to escape, she was tragically killed. She burned alive not even five minutes away from my (in-laws’) house. Also, about a month ago, a local rapper was found decapitated in his home. Gang violence is outrageous, shooter threats are abundant, and police brutality is a concern that often lingers in the back of my mind; my father was shot and killed by a police officer.
I became a high school math teacher shortly after graduating from college. The educational system is very bleak here. Nearly everyone believed that covid was a conspiracy, the geography teacher was a flat earther, and I was working 18-hour days (with no paid overtime) for kids and young adults that I swear had never seen a fraction in their lives.
Since childhood, I’ve had to go to bed hungry more times than I can count because we couldn’t even afford food. I’m honestly ashamed to admit this, but I haven’t been to the doctor in years because I can’t afford the medical bills. There’s so much that I want to see and do, but I’ve been financially entrapped here for so long. I hope that one day I become rich enough to live comfortably and explore the world.
Thank you for sharing. I wish you the best!
@@bruman182 Is there any way you can relocate to another part of the country that offer good salaries for teachers? For example, there are several cities in the Seattle metropolitan area where teachers can earn over $100,000 per year after a number of years. Sure, it's pretty expensive but there will be far more opportunities for you to grow in your profession than in Memphis.
@@FreewayBrent I believe you meant to send that reply to scooter.
I've seen prostitution in broad daylight there. I can't find a shred of reason the South is proud.
And then everybody clapped, right? Yeah /I'm sure/ everyone thought COVID, the disease itself, was a conspiracy. I'm sure that's not a Strawman argument, bred by arrogance.
I would’ve included most of Arkansas too, aside from the northwest portion, to be part of the South.
I agree, it's not the deep South, but I should have included atleast the Eastern portion. But some folks are out here calling New Mexico the South.. So it's complicated
Yep, and like New Mexico, 'culturally-speaking' would also include Arizona, which was a popular destination for former Confederate soldiers seeking new opportunities in the relatively lawless western territories. Nowadays not so much in the central urban corridors, but as soon as you get into the surrounding rural parts comprising the majority of the state, the culture and 'drawl' become pretty obvious.
@@SomethingDifferentFilms Colin Woodard included some sections of New Mexico inside "Greater Appalachia", I am not agreeing, just informing.
I consider MO part of the south as well. I find it weird that it’s thrown in with the midwestern states. Culturally and historically it is much more southern than midwestern.
@@SomethingDifferentFilmsyou forgot about the Hindu elephant with 8 arms in the room the racism and the plantation economy and how the oligarchs were kept in power even after they started the bloodiest 2 wãr in American history almost becoming a world wär. Land was never distributed fairly and the oligarchs subjected southerns specially 🖤 to soul crushing austerity only enjoying a bit of progress via the federal government
Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina solidly belong to the South without qualification. Portions of Virginia (the colonial birthplace of southern culture) also still retains much of its southernness.
Virginia is not the birthplace of southern culture….there is no such thing. Virginia does not share culture with Arkansas or Tennessee and only the parts of NC that touch populated areas of Virginia “share” anything of note.
You can have ohio too. They are not midwesterners at all.
Forgot Kentucky
I disagree, IF we have Appalachia and the subregion, the Ozarks, as their own spots, then Tennessee and Arkansas belong to them, not the south. If Appalachia doesn't get its own region, then sure, they're southern.
Agree on north Carolina though, and I'd bring the Florida line all the way down to I4 as well, ain't no way Pasco county isn't the south lmao
Least Educated States in the U.S.: _West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nevada, Kentucky, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina_
Hmmm! Does anyone else notice a huge political commonality among these poor, poorly-educated, and culturally backward states? Three guesses.
@@chasbodaniels1744Yep, you can blame Republicans!
Enlighten us democrat
@@chasbodaniels1744 'Fer sure, though they always gotta cite some "Waddabout" to distract from said poverty and Red mis-management... aka, blame it on 'illegals', The Gubmint, 'liberal elites', WOKE, 'Kalifornia', 'Da Joos, the 'Homa-sekchule Agenda', whatever.
@@eddiekulp1241 🤡
I’m in Houston and we definitely consider us South and more Cajun than I guessed.
Houston is one of the main reasons that Texas is often considered a Southern state, as the general culture (and economy) along the coast does extend into Houston.
I don’t agree w/ that at all tbh
Houston is not the a “Deep South city” we are Texas city
I'm not saying Texas is the Deep South, just that a portion of it is considered "the South" there are really only five states in the Deep South (SC, LA, MS, GA, AL)
Would part of it be from the influx of New Orleans residents post-Katrina?
Does this factor in housing costs. $100k in the Bay Area means you’re virtually below the poverty line
Last year the southeast had a larger gdp than the northeast for the first time
Well that's interesting, but I would guess that figure includes all of Florida (down past Miami) and the entire Washington DC area (arguably the wealthiest portion of North America).
i mean the gpd dont mean everything is going good in the south
It isn't everything, but GDP per capita is meaningful in regard to quality of living and it's exceptionally low in the South, but even that doesn't go to how bad the income equality is (which is what I look at first, because America is only as strong as it's middle class)
@@SomethingDifferentFilms Yeah i see what you mean. Also i was a victim of the wealth inequality for the longest time and yeah income inequality is really bad there, glad i moved out.
@@wilkinsandwontinsachievemu3772 it's really hard in the South, I wish we had better metrics on regional upward mobility, but it's certainly higher in other areas.
Thank you for watching my video about the South, if you have ideas for future videos please let me know here.
bro awesome videos (long times subscriber of yours), but check volume drop at 4:11 mark
Here's an idea: talk about how the US is largely considered a third world country by non-Americans and perhaps the reasons why.
@@kulturny_vklad sorry about that, I'm not sure what happened there, but I will try and get it fixed. Thank you letting me know and I will try and fix it if at all possible. If I can't get it fixed after upload, I can assure you that it wont happen again.
@@galekeoma7276 this is something to look at, at how inequality has skyrocketed in the worlds wealthiest nation. One of the main reasons I started this channel was to look at how Americia is changing from the middle class perspective, so I think a conversation about overall inequality is long overdue.
@@SomethingDifferentFilms no problem bro, just wanted to let you know just in case! i'm fine with little things like that, editing videos is a tough job and we are all just a human beings
The South was poor before the Civil War and today's poverty is merely an extension of that condition. It all revolves around the effort to subjugate their African American population. First as slaves and now as second class citizens. And what this means is that, on one hand, the Blacks are not fully productive members of the economy and there is a cost in keeping a portion of the population out of the economy. Slavery was a very poor economic system (it is why the northern colonies--who all had slavery to begin with--got rid of slavery). Cotton--the main driver of the South--is a crop which grows without much care or labor; it is a perfect' cover' to continue slavery. But the cost is that the south never developed other economies or even labor-saving devices (and the white population eschewed 'hard work' because that was 'slave work'). After the Civil War, the white population bent their efforts to keeping blacks out of the economy--thus depriving themselves of that effort. And it costs money to oppress people--they still have to be feed and nominally educated and so on.
Precisely. Self-inflicted privation.
Yup, and the great migration saw many Blacks moving north to enter the economy there and that benefited the North even more.
Well put. From colonial times the south was founded by planters who laid claim to the most desirable real estate. Coupled with slavery, it fostered a mindset with no value on investment in the community. No sense of investing in human welfare and potential for a greater good. From there societal issues are treated as an otherness, as someone else's responsibility and problem rather than a collective concern. Unfortunately we haven't gotten past that.
This video is correct with its characterization of the southern part of NC being poor. The poverty of those border counties is very prevalent, Robeson county especially, with its huge contingent of Lumbee Indians which have been historically poor and are only recognized by the state government and not the federal government for any type of federal aid.
This is how poor the south is not “why” it’s poor
I get what your saying, my point is the South is poor (mostly) because of greed and corruption, though the greed and corruption could also be a symptom itself
Exactly! The video largely tells us that the South is poor without fulfilling its titular function: why the South is poor. Great job, otherwise!
Is it also somewhat relative, as lower costs of living in some areas mean that lower incomes end up with middle-class standards of living?
I never caught the "why the South is poor" part.
I understand the trends...but where is AR in the mix???
Id say Deep South is really around the black belt and below. From Eastern TX (including northern FL and memphis TN) to where Gullah Geechee culture ends.
Living near PA in MD for most of my life I cant say being in MD ever felt southern to me, especially with DC and Baltimore to the south of me. Now I live in GA near Savannah.
There are a lot of nice areas down here but lots of poor. Most money is only being sent to a few areas.
One thing that sucks is while we are very much poor. Everything is getting so expensive.
Here in SC so many people are moving here. We were in the top 10 most moved too states. But I don't understand how. There aren't particularly enough well paying job opportunities around here. Even the best don't really cover housing.
Cars are another example where prices have out paced the many folks income.
I think alot of the problem is that other areas are also getting more expensive, when they were already much more expensive than the South. Making it more affordable to people coming from places that are even further out of step with current wages. Its a problem across America, that I should make an entire video on.
Retirees and people working from home
Based on per capita average,,, Mississippi has the LEAST amount of homelessness of any state. 2nd is South Carlina, and 4th is Virginia. Let that sink in
Homelessness is always highest in places where the cost of living is the worst, it's a good indication of affordability. However hunger, per capita GDP, and wealth in-equality are the better metrics for overall poverty.
@@SomethingDifferentFilmsPoverty line doesn’t adjust for cost of living by state, it’s at a national line. Average poverty line of 22,500 USD in the US, 22500 in Alabama gets you way farther than California. If adjusting for cost of living, California would be top 5 in most poverty.
@@SomethingDifferentFilms I believe your take on homelessness is accurate. Here in Huntsville, AL (one of the "boom towns") I started noticing a significant increase in tent encampments when the average rent rose and the per capita availability of housing decreased. (For myself, I own my home, which has almost tripled in value since I had it built 20 years ago.)
@@aimxdy8680compare the crime rates, HDI, infrastructure development, educational, life expectancy and infant/maternal mortality rates. Southern USA is on par with Eastern Europe in that regard😂😂
@@sladewilson377 California is the 6th MOST Dangerous US state by violent crime, not far from the south. Number one is New mexico, The safest were midwest, Northeast and Mountain states like Utah.
The civil war cost the south 70 years of economic development - that was the conclusion reached by scholars, middle of last century, studying the conflict in hindsight.
I always considered Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee as part of the South
They are.
Oklahoma is fugazi south though
so what's the answer to the question the title of the video claims to answer? Is there a one-sentence explanation? I must have missed it.
Tldr:Slavery and the south reliance on agriculture
Simple answer .. heat... northern states could do industrial..hard to do that with out ac.. south did well with farming
I don't agree, the entire Sunbelt is known for being hot, and places like Arizona and Nevada are much hotter (and have water shortages) and they are booming economically.
The American South isn't poor, it's just average on a global scale. You step across the Mexican border and you can find poor. You go to Guatemala and you can find poor. You can come visit me in Bulgaria and I will take you to poor.
But those are the places to go to. Not some pretentious, arrogant and over priced White Yuppie Mecca where everyone's idea of international travel is going to a hotel in a capital city and being waited on constantly. No, give me the poor places, the dirt roads, the intermittent water pressure in the villa zone. It's great. Because come Saturday I will be hiking the Zelenya Puteka on Karandilla and I will be the only American for 5 kilometers.
That's paradise.
For US standards it’s poor, It’s the least developed region in the entire country. Other than Texas,Florida and Georgia. It’s basically just an advanced Eastern Europe.
Right to work labor laws, perhaps???
Yeah for sure, that and being anti union in general, that's what I was referring to in the video.
Agreed. You showed a headline of what those textile workers can make Like it was bragging. My 16 yo daughter makes more than that at Dairy Queen. We live in the suburbs SW of Chicago. I think it all comes down to wages and education. I’m a regular guy with a good union job. My wife works for the school district. I’d bet our two jobs would pay half as much down there. And by education I don’t mean higher education. Just better schools with more resources would help people make better life choices and voting to put better people in office. Problem is the smart people probably leave and the smart evil people stay there and take advantage of the underprivileged and keep them down.
Dumb Governors
its ignorance and arrogance that keeps the south poor
Don't forget religion.
@@jackdamron382Definitely can't forget that.
@@nbafanboy8146 💯
like wat?
@@jackdamron382
deerborn, mi
I find your info deeply flawed for income, what is your source? 3 metro Boston counties are always on that list. There is a reason why Mass, is 2nd in median income to Maryland, no other state is above Mass in income. Yes that remains in 2024!
It looks like your taking population growth as a sign of wealth growth in the South, but that's not necessarily true. Charleston, for example, is still one of the wealthier parts of the Deep South. Looking over effects of the pandemic (19-22), in terms of per capita personal income growth, the Birmingham metro (51,901 => 62,262) actually outperformed both Atlanta (55,471 => 64,107) and Huntsville (50,951 => 59,677). (Technically Jackson also beat those two in terms of raw number improvement, but with an end result of 53,606, it's not quite the same.) While not in your mentioned boom areas, there's actually a decent amount of the south, like Greenville, Bham, Savannah, Charleston, etc that aren't exactly lying down on the job and getting some wealth growth going on similar to that of the Midwest areas you mentioned.
That said, there are some notable underperformers, namely on/near the Mississippi River cities and lower Fall Line cities (Fayetteville NC south).
I tried to look at where population, median wages, and economic growth came together
Lack of education, work ethic and laziness. You don't need a college degree to be successful, just ambition and the want to work. There is a huge shortage of truck drivers and people in the trades. You get paid training, steady work and benefits
I was born in Alabama, grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and Clarksville, Tennessee area. Nashville and Memphis are not the south? Hopkinsville Kentucky is not the south? South, east, & western VA, KKK territory, hate it but it is what it is. The entire state of Tennessee is the south, the entire state of North Carolina is the south. Why? All you have to do is listen to me talk. My accent is completely in escapable. Even if you included North Carolina and Tennessee, it doesn’t make much of a difference in the video. It’s a very good analysis. Texas is Texas, Texans are not southerners in the traditional facet, the language accent terms culture, the way they drive on the roads isn’t even the same. Half of Kentucky is the south and half of Virginia is the south, and if Arkansas isn’t the south, I don’t know what it is lol
The only counties that aren't southern in KY are the 3 up top near cincy.
You realize they have a Talibangelical Grifting dieses? What with required Whte Sheets and the Goose Stepping they hardly have time to learn basic reading skills, easier just to ban books...
Facts
Hell yea brother! See ya at the next meeting dat gum it! Drrrrrrrr
There is absolutely no south vs not-south dividing line in Tennessee. You're way off base. There is no part of Tennessee that isn't culturally Southern. As a matter of fact Tennessee is a great place to get a sample of several different varieties of the Southern Region. From the Piedmont and Appalachian cultures of the South in East Tennessee to the Mississippi River region in West Tennessee. The dividing line for the South as a region is in Kentucky and it stretches across to Virginia. To make things simple I call it the Sweet Tea line. If you go to a restaurant and order sweet tea and get real brewed tea, you're in the South.
Just an aside, putting the dividing line in southern Tennessee, seems like a ploy to cut out my hometown of Nashville which is in the top 25 metro areas for per capita GDP in the nation.
Only the 3 counties near cincy in KY aren't southern. The dividing Line is below Louisville.
A LARGE part of it has to with what happens after the civil war.
That was multiple generations ago. Stop using that lame excuse.
No more free slave labor
@@JohnDoe-sl6diExactly
Reeeeeeeeeeeepublicans
Exactly!! And the corporations. They work hand in hand. These states rank in the bottom all the time in almost every category. Especially education. Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana are the worst. It's pathetic, it really is. Republicans in these states do not represent the people, they rule the people.
@juju-xx5xn Dude Texas, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina are among the leading states in GDP and they're all located in the South.
@@awesomeasever8370I live in GA and it's a azz backwards state. Just like all southern states!
@Falcon2609 What's backwards about it and why have you addressed me?
@@awesomeasever8370 Don't make comments and you won't get addressed!
Odd situation given the fact that the areas you highlight get the most money from the federal government in assistance. As is well documented, these areas are basically subsidized by the richer areas of the country ... and they're still struggling to provide basic services to their citizens.
A common myth which has been debunked as mostly untrue. The federal money sent to this area is typically in military spending (lots of military bases) and disaster relief (which again, accounts for military with national guard).
It's not as if welfare is the primary case, if it were then Pennsylvania and Maryland would be much higher on the list.
You should stop watching trunk yogurt, he is rotting your brain from the inside out.
Good video, but, the last thing the south needs is more social welfare which seems to be the main problems you point too. The biggest issues are crime and low familial cohesion as seen in the rise of single parent households.
I was more focused on greed, education, and lack of worker rights. Social welfare can be complex and depends deeply on implementation in my view.
@@SomethingDifferentFilms You have to know that greed is prevalent everywhere and there can't be any data showing it happens to a greater extent in southern states. Worker's rights is a dubious concept and one would hope that employer's rights are taken into account also given the symbiotic relationship that exist between the two. Education I agree should be delved deeper into and explained exactly what constitutes a better or lesser educational outcome.
@@SomethingDifferentFilms You don't think there is greed in the northeast corridor, particularly NYC and Boston?
1:06 While this map is technically accurate, it doesn’t account for cost of living differences. A person making $40k in Macon, GA(highlighted in dark red) could live a much more comfortable life compared to a person making $40k in Los Angeles for example😅 the supplemental poverty map is a better indicator.. also, the UN’s multidimensional poverty indicator is great to identify real poverty stricken areas.
Having said that, I did notice that living standards were lower in the rural south.. felt like I was in a developing country when I lived in Rural Alabama and Georgia.
And since when are Tennessee, SC, NC and Arkansas not part of the South?🤣 Today’s South stops probably at Eastern Texas, most of Virginia, Northern & Gulf Coast Florida, Southern Kentucky and Southern Missouri.. also, this video didn’t answer any questions. It’s just too short and poorly researched.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Southern Arkansas from about Hot Springs on south is a part of the Deep South! It's really not much different in that part of Arkansas than neighboring Mississippi and Louisiana.
The environmental standards and big government regulations from all factors have screwed the south. Louisiana should be Dubai rich if it weren't for the United States Government
Louisiana gets 37% of its STATE budget from federal funds. So yeah, the big bad Federales are the problem down there. Stop the Plutocrat speak.
USA current partnerships make their costs too high.
The current systems dements force so they burn through a lot of people that way. Recruitment needs to be so high that so many people hired by other places make it through to different roles in force.
Their partners don't enjoy the history nor tactics of the states and hit them all the time
On Israel. Farid stated that targets will never be clear with them and they will always feel limited as their partners organize and hit them. Eu hires him and others to do it as well and they are always being tricked in the field.
People always hit them for gas and other things they do.
They could disconnect from Israel and it would be clearer but Israel would increase rate for people and Fren would take it out on USA. Though I would figure that would be offset by reduced cost and efforts but that is just me.
"They are already there""it is easy"
It isn't if it dements force in other areas. It is not as if they only stay in farm.
They smack all their partners and expect not to be smacked back.
A venture with Canada that got them to knee on certain things would help them as it would reduced their force cost as people would hit them less and they get to go into something helpful which reduced force turnover.
They would also get hit less.
They already get hit by their partners
You will get hit the same by Israel, and it would make it clearer to do things which are protective. protecting people getting to your place if you were to do that isn't crippling either.
You made the same false and misleading video 8 months ago.
yo ethnocentric ignorance is laughable @ best
You didn’t answer the question.
This video is ridiculous. The "South" is very diverse, Mississippi is poor. Virgina is rich. There are lots in between. Generalizations like this are insulting and very inaccurate. There are poor and rich all over the country. Why do you investigate California like this? Anyway, folks are moving to the South so it must not be all that bad.
Because despite the amount of poor people in California there tons of people doing well above the national average especially in Silicon Valley. Not saying that’s good or bad that’s just reality
@@JohnDoe-sl6di So California is diverse also. What is your point?
The South is the wealthiest region in the United States, it has the largest Gross Domestic Product.
Sure 😂😂😂😂
California has the largest GDP
Did Fox News tell you that? Google it to find out the real facts. You might be surprised.
Where are you getting your bad information from? Seriously dude, Google it for the facts.
@@euskadino You're incorrect, yet you're laughing. Do some research.
This answered nothing. Just a definition of the south and better areas. Why so poor? Where's the stats? What about the politics? These are deep red Republican states. How does that relate to the poverty?
Could it be a knock on from the slave owner days ? People in the South never wanted to work hard themselves ? Just asking ? Saw a documentary on this subject a few weeks ago explaining this .
I would also say that southern middle, Florida and Southwestern Florida would be considered as the South
Southwestern Florida is definitely NOT the South, too many Northerners (I lived there for 35+ years), although it is controlled by the ruling class Republicans. North of I4, and West of I95 could definitely be considered the south except for Metro Tampa and Metro Orlando.
The South is the wealthiest and most important region of the United States followed by the Northeast, the West and the Midwest.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL. Then why does so much federal aid money go to the South?
@jeannerogers7085 I'm sure federal aid money goes to the other regions as well. However, the South is the wealthiest region based on the total value of goods produced and services provided.
@@awesomeasever8370
Which goods and services?
@EyeonthePrize247 If you don't understand the post do a Google search for Gross Domestic Product.
There you go again. Google is your friend. Try it.
Yankee carpet baggers😂
Waaah, you're so oppressed! Keep crying 😂
It's because of Yankees south poor
The South is poor because of Abraham Lincoln.