Rich man, poor man (Blue group due Thursday 2/6/14 at 23:59, Orange group Friday 2/21/14 at 23:59)2/4/2014 Click on the this link to a map of the US illustrating poverty levels across the United States. Pick one state to answer the following questions (each student should do a unique state. No two people should do the same state). What state did you pick? What is that state's current minimum wage? How much would an individual earn per year if they work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year? Would they below the poverty line? What county had the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line? What was it? What county had the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line? What was it? Go visit the county website of the poorest county, what kind of jobs do they promote? What do you think accounts for the income gap between the two counties you selected? Would a change in minimum wage help or hurt the situation? Why? ATTENTION Orange group: Try to pick a unique state.
54 Comments
Josie Wheeler
2/4/2014 08:24:26 am
The state I picked was Texas. The current minimum wage in Texas right now is $7.25 per hour. If an individual worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year that person would make $14,500. This individual would not be below the poverty line. The poverty line is at $11,945, therefor the individual is $2,555 above the poverty line. The county in Texas that has the lowest number of people below the poverty line is Randall County, at 11.3% of people below the poverty line. The county with the highest number of people below the poverty line is La Salle County, at 34.4% of people below the poverty line. La Salle County, the poorest county in Texas, promotes jobs through the government, 19% of people are employed through the government. Most jobs are agriculturally related, such as: forestry, fishing, hunting, and mining. Non-agricultural jobs that La Salle County provides is schooling, recreation, and food service jobs. I believe what accounts for the income gap between La Salle County and Randall County is the smaller population size along with the lower paying careers. If the minimum wage was to be changed to a higher rate I believe it would be beneficial because more people, especially younger people, would be more encouraged to work, thus increase their income and decreasing the number of people below the poverty line.
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Verenicce Raya
2/4/2014 09:47:21 am
The state that I picked is Virginia. The current minimum wage in this state is $7.25. If an individual worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year they would earn approximately $14,500 dollars. since the poverty line is $11,945, the individual will above the poverty line. They would be $2,555 above the line. The county with the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Stataford County with 5.5% of people. The county with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Lee County with 28.4% living below the poverty line. The jobs that are mostly promoted are jobs related to tourism in the county and business jobs. The business jobs include working with natural resources like limestone, coal, and crude oil. I believe that the gap between the countries is mostly due to the types of jobs and tourism. In Lee county the jobs are not well paid jobs and it is not have frequent tourist visits as opposed to Stataford County, which is historically known. A change in the minimum wage at a low rate would not badly hurt the county. In raising the minimum wage the locals would most likely improve their living conditions and make the county more beautiful.
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Julia Torres(:
2/5/2014 04:35:01 am
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Jennifer Sanchez
2/5/2014 07:43:57 am
The state I picked is Colorado. The minimum wage in Colorado is currently $8.00. A person who earned $8.00 per hour and worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year would make a total of $16,000. For someone in this situation they would not be below the poverty line because the poverty line is set at $11,945. The county that has the lowest percent of people living below the poverty line is Douglas County. The percent in Douglas County is 4.3. On the other hand the county with the highest percent of people living below poverty line is Crowley County. The percentage there is 51.2. A job that was being promoted on the Crowley County website was on for a correctional officer at Crowley County Correctional Facility.Something that account for the income gap between the two counties could be that on is bigger than the other and that in Douglas there are more job opportunities offered with a bigger and better salary on average. If Colorado changed their minimum wage, I think, that it would help and have a positive result. Raising the minimum wage could benefit those who are below poverty line.
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Karina Velazquez
2/5/2014 10:08:01 am
The state i picked was Oregon. Oregon's minimum wage is $9.10 per hour and a person that works 40 hours a week and for 50 weeks would earn around $18,200. They are above the poverty line because the poverty line is $11,945. The County that has the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line would be Clackamas County with a poverty rate of 9.3%. The county that has the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line would be Malheur County with a 25.8%. The jobs that Clackamas offers are Public Health Manger and Senior Telecommunications Administrator. Jobs that Malheur offers are Health Department Director and Planning Director. I think the income gap comes from location and the resource they have.
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Selene Robledo
2/5/2014 10:56:00 am
I picked New York. The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If an individual worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year that person would make $14,500. No they would not be below the poverty line. Wyoming County has 11.3%, its the lowest. Onaida County has 16.5% , its the highest. Wyoming County's website shows a lot of road working jobs, social worker, and health therapist as well with nursing assistant. Those are listed in their website under Job Openings. If New York changed their minimum wage, I believe, that it would help and give the people of New York a positive result. Raising the minimum wage could benefit those who are below poverty line.
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verenice portales
2/5/2014 11:14:19 am
I picked New York as the state. The current minimume wage in New York is $7.25 per hour since 2012. If an individual worked for 40 hours for 50 weeks, with this salary they would make $14,500 per year. With this they would not be below the poverty line, because the poverty line is anything below 11,945. IN New York, Ontario County has the lowest percent of people living below the poverty line, which is 7.5% While Kings has 67.5% of the people livning under the poverty line. In Ontario there are many degree jods, like nursing, travel offices, manegement. In Kings there are clinical jobs, human resources, insurance, these are great jobs but there are not enough of them. the gap there is in the poverty is counted not because of the lower paying jobs, but because Ontario has a population of 125 people, while Kings has 4,926 which is way more then Ontario. Since there is more people, this location has less josbs to sustain all of them making a gap in the poverty levels. I think an improvement in minmume wage can help because it gives the people that need money more, but it dosent absolutly help because people need a job first. And in Kings county it's hard to find.
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Carlotta Sainato
2/5/2014 11:29:26 am
The state I chose was Washington. The current minimum wage in Washington is $9.32 per hour, as of 2014. An individual working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year would earn $18,640. An individual with this annual income would live above the poverty line, which, as of 2012, stands at $11,945 per year. The county with the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Island County, where 9.6% of the citizens (7,421 people) live below the poverty line. The county with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Whitman County, where 32.3% of the citizens (12,848 people) live below the poverty line. The jobs promoted in Whitman County often revolve around agriculture, as the county is a large producer of barley, wheat, lentils and dry peas. It also hosts some engineering laboratories. A potential factor in the income gap is the fact that Whitman County relies on money brought in from Washington State University, found in the county, as a source for their economy. Relying on the profit of a college, rather than industry, is an indication that their markets and industry are not allowing their economy to thrive. Whitman County also places their economic priorities on pre-existing businesses over new industries, which may stunt potential opportunities for growth in the economy. In addition, Island County gains a high amount of regular tourism each year, due to the popularity of their state parks, which boosts their economy. Whitman County also has over 30,000 less people than Island County, meaning less people contribute to the economy. A smaller population also makes it easier to get a high percentile of people below the poverty line. Increasing the minimum wage may help the situation, as it would increase the income of several of the agricultural workers in Whitman County, but would not affect the tourism count in Island County, meaning that the gap will become smaller. However, as it would also increase the income of workers in Island County, it would not notably reduce the gap.
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verenice portales
2/5/2014 11:35:05 am
The Florida minimue wage is $7.79. If someone worked for 40 hours for 50 weeks in a year they would earn 15580, and that would be over the below poverty level, which is at 11945. The highest percent of people below the poverty level is in Hardee. They have a percent of 28.2, and there lowest is in Clay county at 10.9%. In clay county they have jobs that require higher level degrees, like human resources and engenireeing. While in Hardee there are service works, like forklifters and machine opperators. The gap in pecrentage of below poverty level would be accounted by the higher level degree jobs. I dont think a change in salary would help, since the higher paying jobs are already located in that certain county. Yes people in Hardee would get more moeny but so would the people in Clay county. So it stay they same.
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Jeanne Oberschulte
2/5/2014 12:14:20 pm
The state that I chose was Arizona. The statewide minimum wage is $7.80. If an individual in Arizona worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks their annual salary without taxes would $15,600. That would be above the poverty line if their were living without dependents since the poverty line in 2012 was established as $11,490. Yavapai County, AZ has the lowest amount of people living below the poverty line in the state at a 15.7%. The county with the highest amount of residents living below the poverty line was Apache County with 33.2% of people living there are making $11,000 a year or less. In Apache County a large majority of jobs that are being promoted are sales and vending, customer service and custodial work. I believe the poverty gap between these two counties is due to the fact that over 25% of Yavapai County is privately owned and the other 75% has a large amount of national forest and wilderness areas, which means there are less people living there, furthermore meaning there are less people struggling for work. In Yavapai county's unemployment rate is currently at 8.5% which is minuscule compared to Apache's 19.8%. If minimum wage went up in the state of Arizona it may not create more jobs for those living in a poverty stricken area, but those who do have jobs would be making more money, which would lead to the spending of more money and the economy would slowly become more stimulated leading to a lower amount of people living below the poverty line.
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Patty zepeda
2/5/2014 02:35:37 pm
The state I picked was Oklahoma The current minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25 if an individual would work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year they would be earning $14,500 since the poverty line is $11,945, the person made above the poverty line. They would be $2,555 above the line. Adair County northern Oklahoma has the highest rate of poverty at 26.4 percent, and Canadian County, in central Oklahoma, has the lowest, at 8.4 percent. I was not able to find Adair county's official website but when I would google search Adair county things such as Adair County Jail,sheriff,police stations and public records would appear on my google search. When I google searched Canadian County their office website was the first thing I saw. The difference between these counties are probably the crime rates I say this because that's all I could find about Adair County. A raise in minimum wage would help Adair county because they would be getting more money so they wouldn't be selling drugs in the streets to make more money or stealing things to make more money and maybe their crime rates would go down and the city can start investing in new and better jobs.
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Noah Simons
2/5/2014 02:36:25 pm
I selected the state of Oklahoma. The minimum wage for Oklahoma is $7.25 per hour. An individual would earn $14,500 per year if he/she works 40 hours per week for 50 weeks a year. This individual would be above the poverty line of $11,945 by $2,555 per year. The county that had the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Kingfisher County, which had a poverty percentage of 10.0%. The county that had the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Okfuskee County, which had a poverty percentage of 27.4%. The jobs promoted in the Okfuskee County website are low-level jobs at companies such as McDonald’s which requires no education. The jobs promoted in the Kingfisher County website are jobs requiring some level of education such as System Analyst, Network Technician, and Medical Assistant. The income gap between these two counties probably has to do with the types of industry available in each area. If a county has more technical companies within its borders, the people who inhabit the county would make more money than those who live in counties with no technical industry. A change in minimum wage would help the situation because the more a person makes, the more this person can contribute to the economy by buying more goods and services, thus stimulating more economic growth in the area.
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Vanessa Ramirez
2/6/2014 05:46:45 am
I chose the state of Mississippi. The current minimum wage in Mississippi is $7.25. Mississippi is said to have the highest poverty rates, and the lowest incomes. If a person were to be making minimum wage and working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, they would annually make $14,500. They would be making below the poverty line. Sunflower county in Mississippi has the highest percentage of poverty, it's 45%. Sunflower county is also one of the poorest counties in the United States. Neshoba county has the lowest rate in the state at 23%. The county's workforce is "balanced" among manufacturing, services, wholesale/retail trade, and government sectors. The county promotes work, but has a high unemployment rate at roughly 16%. The county with the lower poverty rate, Neshoba, has a lower unemployment rate and that probably accounts for the gap, because more people are working. I think that a change in minimum wage would help the situation and lower the poverty rate, more people would want to work for higher wages and they would all overall make more money.
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Heri Rios
2/6/2014 06:59:44 am
I chose Alabama and although there is no state minimum wage they do have to fallow the federal minimum wage and that is 7.25$ per hour. At that rate they would make 14,500 dollars a year. Although it aint under the poverty line which lies at 11,490 they do lack money quantities to support any above descent items. The county with the lowest income is Wilcox County which generates an average income per capita of about 10.903. It is ranked the 54th poorest county in the country. The county with the lowest poverty percentage was Shelby County with only 8.7 percent living under the poverty line. It is in the top 50 fastest growing counties in the country and the fastest in the state. It has fallowed do to the decline of Birmingham and Montgomery. The average income is 55,000 dollars and most are in the range of 81,000 dollars. The government offers some jobs in Wilcox County to help those in strong need. However, I dont think a raise or high requirement of minimum wage would solve the problem. A requirement at a average level would be okay however a high rise or jump would only cause inflation to take a strong toll on most people and would start hurting many companies, large businesses and families. The price of products would have to rise to meet the increase of payments workers would be receiving and their new higher incomes.
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Julie Williams-Reyes
2/6/2014 07:14:55 am
I chose Alabama, the cotton state, which has a current minimum wage of $7.25. If an employee were to make a minimum wage, working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, they would annually make $14,500. Which is below the poverty line. The county with the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Bullock County which has 2,848 people below the poverty line. While the county with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Madison County with 42,183 people living below the poverty line. In Madison County they promote agriculture, business, and education jobs within schools. I think the income gap create was by the population of both counties and the attraction of both counties. Also since Madison county is more metropolitan than Shelby county which includes more businesses and people.
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Sofie Pearson
2/6/2014 07:57:41 am
I chose the state Delaware. The current minimum wage in Delaware is $7.25. An individual would earn $14,500 in 50 weeks if they worked 40 hour weeks. This income would put that individual above the poverty line which is at about $11,945 as of this January. Sussex County, New Castle County and Kent County in Delaware all have a percentage of about 10%-20% of the population living under the poverty line. New Castle has the lowest percentage at 11.4% while Sussex has the highest percentage at 15.7%. Sussex County's website promotes or shows job opportunities in many mechanical labor type jobs as well as administrative positions. I think the income gap between these two counties in Delaware are due to job availability and while those who are employed would benefit from an increased minimum wage value, people still searching from work would continue to struggle under the poverty line.
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Carlos Reyes
2/6/2014 10:53:45 am
The state i chose is New Mexico the minimum wage is $7.50 a erpson would earn for 50 weeks and worked 40 hours it would be $15,000 meaning it's below the poverty line Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, Las Almanos and Silver City have a percent of 18 to 27 percent in poverty Las Cruces is below the poverty line by 26.6% what I think if there was a change in the minimum wage so it can be higher and the people would't have to suffer as much and it would help their situation in New Mexico they are promoting jobs that involve the health of the people and educate them with health studies.
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Sergio Saldana
2/6/2014 11:11:47 am
I choose the state Iowa. The current minimum wage is $7.25. An individual would earn $14,500 in 50 weeks if they worked 40 hour weeks. This income would put that individual above the poverty line which is at about $11,170 as of this January. Dallas County, Iowa had the lowest percentage of about 6.2% individual that were living under the poverty line. While Jefferson County, Iowa had the highest percentage of about 18% of the individuals above the poverty line. Dallas County website had a lot of hands on jobs like Facilities Manager, Police Manager, and a couple more. I think the income gap between these two counties in Iowa are due to job availability and while those who are employed would benefit from an increased minimum wage value, because they would be receiving more money and it would help them financially.
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Kayla Smith
2/6/2014 11:30:43 am
The state I chose is Nevada. Their current minimum wage is $8.25 an hour. An individual would earn $16,500 if they work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year which means they would not be below the poverty line. The county that has the lowest number of people living below the poverty line is tied between Eureka County and Storey County with 8.6%. The county that has the highest number of people living below the poverty line is Pershing county with 20.5%. Pershing county is a very rural county outside of any big city. Most citys dont have easily accessible electricity and water because it's isolated which makes water and electricity expensive. The most common jobs have to do with farming and most people own their own land. The main difference between the counties is the one that has more people below the poverty line also dosent have many people living their and its very rural. The two counties that were wealthy have big cities and lots of people where they have more varieties of jobs and more people to do the jobs so things or more inexpensive there and jobs probably pay better. An increase in minimum wage would help the situation at first but then people would have to raise prices of products because they will begin to run out of resources to make these products when everyone starts buying them.
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Becky White
2/6/2014 11:51:47 am
The state I chose for this blog was Montana, whose minimum wage increased ten cents on January 1st to $7.90 an hour. If an individual in Montana, who is making minimum wage, worked forty hour weeks for fifty weeks a year, their annual salary would amount $15,800. That is $3,855 above the national poverty line. Jefferson County, Montana is one of three, out of fifty-six counties in Montana, which has a poverty rate below ten percent, and sits at the five percent poverty rate line. The county with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Wheatland County, with a whopping forty percent. Wheatland County advertises jobs in agriculture, food and lodging, manufacturing, retail, services and tourism. While the selection is diverse for a county with only 2,000 people, the jobs within each sector are competing with each other for the same resources and customers. All agricultural jobs are with beef cattle ranches, the only tourism jobs available is for a museum, and most of the jobs in the service sectors are for insurance firms. One of the biggest differences between the two counties that may account for their differences in percentage living below the poverty line, is the difference of job opportunities. While Wheatland County offers jobs in small insurance firms and museums, Jefferson County offers a very successful youth and social industry that offers jobs serving people with mental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries as well as working with female youth in detention centers. This idea of providing help for youth and other citizens with disabilities may be one of the main factors for Jefferson County’s thriving economy. In the instance of Wheatland County, raising the minimum wage would be beneficial since a large portion of the county’s population is below the poverty line. If the minimum wage were to increase in that county, a large portion of the county would be able to earn more and therefore rise above the poverty line. While increasing the minimum wage is many times frowned upon by different political groups, in this instance I believe it would help the population of Wheatland County.
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Peeka Zimmerman
2/6/2014 12:52:26 pm
I chose the state of Pennsylvania, where my grandparents are from. Pennsylvania has a minimum wage of $7.25 for 2014. A person working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks would earn $14,500- $2,555 above the poverty line. Bucks County has the lowest percentage of individuals living beneath the poverty line at 5.8%, with 35,975 people, while Philadelphia County has the highest amount, rounding out at 26.7%- a total of 399,562 people! Philadelphia promotes jobs in education, the movie industry (casts, crews, extras, etc.), water maintenance, and the police force in an attempt to broaden their influence and help stabilize their longevity. The income gap is a result of the people in Bucks County focusing on creating a competitive, dynamic workforce that evolves with the economy, while the foundation for Philadelphia has not yet rooted itself to the idea of sustainability. As people in the neighboring county of Bucks can count on a nutritious farm community for healthy produce, those in Philadelphia meander the streets hungry. This affects the state of people’s health and ability to go out and embrace the workforce, social life, and education. A change in minimum wage would not help the situation. There needs to be continued emphasis on expanding job opportunities instead, regardless of how much they make per hour. Anything will help the families with nothing. Those that have nothing in Philadelphia need something to grasp onto such as more small jobs in order to lift up those currently at the bottom.
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Kacey Sargent
2/6/2014 01:10:13 pm
The state I chose was South Carolina. The minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. If an individual works 40 hours each week for 50 weeks they would make approximately $14,500 each yeah. If there is one person in the family, then they would be above the poverty line because the poverty line for a single person is $11,490. The county that has the lowest percentage of poverty in South Carolina is Colombia County which has 10% poverty rate. The county that has the highest is Allendale County which has a 41.1% poverty rate. Colombia is the largest city in South Carolina with a population of 129, 272 people. Allendale is a small county that focuses primarily an agricultural rural county. Its primary products are cotton, soybeans, watermelon and cantaloupe. Timbering is also important, primarily for paper pulp. I believe the income gap is caused by the amount of people in each county and how the jobs that are available are not diverse enough in Allendale so people are not working for anything above minimum wage. I believe that if the minimum wage was raised slightly it would help the people in Allendale, but I also believe that there should be more diverse job options for people.
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Willie Olguin
2/6/2014 01:27:15 pm
The state I chose was Maine and the current minimum wage is $7.50 an hour. If an individual worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year that person would make $15,000.This individual would not be below the poverty line.The poverty line is at $11,945, so the individual is $3,055 above the poverty line. The county in Maine that has the lowest number of people below the poverty line is Sagadahoc County at 11.4%.The county with the highest number of people below the poverty line is Piscataquis County at 20%. Piscataquis Country is considered a "frontier county" which is sometimes defined as counties having a population density of six or fewer people per square mile. There really aren't many people in Piscatquis country so that is why natural resources are an important part of the county. Since it is so rural the countys bases around fishing, hunting, camping, and hiking. Basically outdoor activities. I believe what accounts for the income gap between Sagadahoc County and Piscataquis County is the smaller population size in Piscataquis County. I believe an increase in minimum wage will only help slightly since Piscataquis County has low population.
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Cooper Rockwood
2/6/2014 01:31:09 pm
The state i chose was Utah. The statewide minimum wage is $7.25. If an individual working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks would make $14,500 excluding taxes. That is $2,555 above the poverty line. The county with the lowest amount of people living beneath the poverty line was Morgan County with 6.1%. The county with the highest percentage was San Juan County with 27.3% living above the poverty line. The San Juan County website promotes jobs as correctional officers in county jails. I think population accounts for the income gap because Morgan County has much less residents, creating less of a chance for poverty. I think a change in minimum wage would hurt the situation because the poor people are those without jobs, which would mean they wouldn't be getting any extra money, and the people with jobs would just get more money.
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Jonathan Sanchez
2/6/2014 01:46:12 pm
I chose Saguache County, Colorado. The county that has the highest percentage of people living under the poverty line in Colorado is Crowley County with it being at 51.2%. most of the jobs being promoted in Crowley County are jobs in correctional facilities, or farming. Giving Crowley County a minimum wage boost wouldn't do much, although the County is rural, the cost of living is fairly low. Their minimum wage for an individual is $7.25 and, yearly, they would be making $14,500 if they worked 40 hour weeks for 50 weeks. They would be living below the poverty line. Douglas County has the lowest percentage of people living under the poverty line with their percentage being 4.3%.
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Gabe Thuma
2/6/2014 01:46:50 pm
I chose the fine state of Alaska to analyze. The current minimum wage of Alaska is $7.75 so the calculated yearly salary would be $15,500.00, slightly above the poverty threshold. The county of Denali has the lowest poverty rate at %6.2 and the poorest county is the county of Wade Hampton county clocking in at a %28.9 poverty rate. The main source of income for the county of Wade Hampton is fishing. Denali is a tourist attraction and a famously beautiful area so property is expensive causing the overall poverty rate in the county to be lower than the rest of Alaska. Even those in the poorest counties of Alaska are able to live above the poverty line if they work a full year of 40-hour work weeks so I don't believe raising the minimum wage would help very much. The citizens of Alaska all have the possibility to live above the poverty line, the problem isn't wages it is their employment rate and possibly work ethic. The %28 under the poverty threshold in Wade Hampton, Alaska simply do not have reliable employment.
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Jason Varozza
2/6/2014 01:49:33 pm
I picked the state of Missouri. It's current minimum wage is $7.50 an hour. In 50 weeks working 40 hours a week they would earn $1500. Pemiscot county has the highest poverty rate in Missouri at 30.7%. St. Charles county has the lowest poverty rate at 7.1%. Most of the jobs in this county are in agriculture or working shipping cargo on the bayou. They are both jobs that include long hard hours that don't pay we'll and can be heavily effected by the weather. I think a higher minimum wage would help this county by making it more worth the peoples time because they might not be able to work all year long.
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Maria Corona
2/19/2014 06:50:26 am
I picked New York sue to that its current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and If an individual worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year that person would make around $14,500. No they are not quite the poverty line because they land a little below it. Wyoming's turned out to be the lowest with its 11.3%.On the opposite side Oneida County turned out to have the highest with 16.5%. Wyoming's website shows a lot of road working jobs, social worker, and health therapist's as well as nursing assistant's. Those are some of the job opportunities listed in their website under Job Openings.And if New York were to change their minimum wage, it would help and give the people of New York a positive result, leading to raises throughout the minimum wage which would benefit those who are below poverty level line.
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Katie Begerow
2/19/2014 07:17:06 am
The state I picked was Idaho, whose current minimum wage is $7.25. If an individual were to work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year in Idaho, they would earn a yearly income of $14,500.00. This income would place Idahoans that received minimum wage above the poverty line of $11,945.00 for an individual person. Caribou County is the lowest percentage of people below the poverty line at 11.2% and Canyon County has the highest percentage of people at 21%. The jobs they are promoting in agricultural business and prison jobs. I think the gap in income is due to differences in access to resources. I think the change in minimum wage would hurt here, because there would be even less jobs to offer potential employees.
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Alondra Diaz de Leon
2/19/2014 10:04:24 am
I picked the sate Georgia,the current minimum wage is $7.25. If someone would work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year their yearly income would be $14,500. This is above poverty level line which is $11,945. In Bryan Country the lowest percentage of people below the poverty line is 11.2%. In Stewart County the highest percentage of people living below poverty line is 45.6%.The jobs they promoted were food service, store associate, operator, and maintenance worker. I think there is an income gap between the two counties because violence may more in one area than the other. Changing minimum wage i think would be better because they would get payed more.
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Sandra Arroyo
2/19/2014 11:02:36 am
The state I chose is Illinois and the minimum wage that is earned there is $8.25. If an individual is to work 40hrs a week for 50 weeks a year they'd be making $16,500 annually, which means that they aren't below the poverty line. The county that has least people living under the poverty line is Kendall County with 5.1% and the county that has the most people living below poverty is Coles County with 22.9%. The types of jobs that they seem to offer more of are in the healthcare field, technicians and cashiers or sales reps. I thinks the accounted income gap between the two counties I selected comes from the limited resources that they carry. In Kendall County they I imagine that they have more job opportunities and more resources because they are closer to the city of Chicago, so they can commute and work there for many jobs, unlike Coles County where they are more isolated and rural. I think that a possible change for raising minimum wage might help Coles County with their poverty level but then again their resources are limited and it might hurt them because of the reason that if minimum wage rises, then the unemployment rate might rise.
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pep gallegos
2/19/2014 12:58:00 pm
idahos workers that are getiing payed the minum wage of $7.25 make about $14500 in 50 weeks working 40 hours a week. this yearly salery just barely passes the poverty line of $11945. theres very little job openings so raising the minum wage would just put companies in a downfall.
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Dayanna Carlos
2/19/2014 02:13:51 pm
The state that I chose was Florida and its current minimum wage is $7.25 . If an individual were to work 40hrs a week for 50 weeks a year they would make $15,080. Which means that they are below the poverty line. The county I found with the lowest poverty line is Platt county, Illinois with 7.2%. The county with the highest poverty rate is Jackson county Illinois with 29.4% the types of jobs that they seem to offer more is in the health care field or sale reps. I think that a change in the minimum wage would definitely help because that way it would encourage more people to start working and also allow the economy to be at a better level.
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Miguel Alfaro
2/19/2014 03:30:11 pm
KentuckyThe state I choose was Kentucky. The minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25. If someone was to work for 40 hours a week for 50 weeks they would make $14500 a year, just above the poverty line of $11945. The county with the lowest poverty population is Oldham County at 6.7% of people in poverty. The county with the highest population of people in poverty is Owsley County with 42.9% of people living in poverty. This county mostly promotes coal mining and tobacco farming. I think the gap between the two counties is because the majority of people living in Oldham are college graduates, has a larger population and little if the area is undeveloped. Owsley County is mostly rural and has a very small population. Raising the minimum wage would benefit the county because there would be more money for businesses to use and help them expand causing the need for more jobs and will help increase the population instead of having it decrease like it has been in the last few years.
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Jen Galasso
2/20/2014 01:06:18 am
I chose the state of New Mexico. The minimum wage in the majority of the state is $7.50, though it is $8.60 in Albuquerque. If someone were to work for 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, in any other part of the state, they would make $15,000 a year. This is would put them above the poverty line of $11,945. The country that has the lowest percent of people below the poverty line is Sandoval County with 13.7% of people below the poverty line. The county with the highest percent of people below the poverty line is McKinley County with 37.7% of people living in poverty. The majority of jobs in McKinley County are associated with railroad transportation and local businesses. The reason this is the poorest area may have to with people not visiting local businesses as they don't have enough money to shop. The gap between these two counties may also be because Sandoval County is a tourist center which provides more jobs and revenue to the county. I think a raise in minimum wage would be greatly beneficial. If people were getting higher wages, especially in McKinley County, they would be able to support local businesses, thus stimulating the economy and possibly creating new job opportunities.
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Ruben Beltran
2/20/2014 06:55:42 am
The state i picked was Florida. The current minimum wage is $8. If an individual worked for 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year they would make $16,000 a year. This would put them above the poverty line which is $11,945. The lowest percent of people below the poverty line is Clay county that has a 10.5% and the highest percent is Hardee with 28%. In Clay county jobs are required to have a higher level degree such as doctors and engineers. A change in salary would help.
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Ingrid De Santiago
2/20/2014 09:30:00 am
The state I chose to report is Hawaii. Hawaii consists of a few small islands. It has only four counties one has a really cute little island with it. Hawaii has a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The poverty line for Hawaiians is under $13,230 and currently with minimum wage each person gets about $14,500 for 50 weeks working 40 hours a week. Hawaii county had the largest percent of poverty rate at 18.9%.Honolulu county had the lowest percentage rate at 10.4%. Main jobs that Hawaii county offers are things on the grounds of community service and working in natural resources. Honolulu county has more industrial worker so therefore it probably mean that there is a large gap between higher class and lower class. If there was a raise in minimum wage I don't believe there would be a great difference in the populations poverty rate. Prices for goods would increase too so then the level of poverty would remain nearly the same due to the fact that there isn't a very large population either.
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Gatlin Blakeley
2/20/2014 09:45:09 am
The state that I picked was Colorado. Colorado's current minimum wage is $7.78 an hour. If a person worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks they would be making $15,560 a year. This is just over $3000 above the poverty line. The county with the lowest percent in poverty was Douglas county with only 4.3% of the population below the poverty line. On the other hand, the county with the highest poverty in the state, as well as the country, was Crowley county with 51.2% of people below the poverty line. Off of the county website you could see that the county supported the outdoors, such as farmers and ranchers. I think the big reason for the huge income gap between the counties is because of the way they live. In Crowley county many are farmers living off of their own produce and whatnot, while in Douglas county a large amount of rich people live their making the place more desirable for the wealthy. I don't think a change up or down in minimum wage would do to much. Either way the farmers would still be living off of themselves and the richer community would probably even make more than they already do.
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Ernesto De Haro
2/20/2014 01:47:38 pm
The state I chose is the state of Michigan. Michigan's current minimum wage is $7.40 an hour. If a resident of Michigan worked 40 hours a week for 52 weeks he or she would be making $15,392 a year. He or she would be $4,000 above the poverty line. The county with the lowest percentage of residents in poverty is Livingston with a percentage of 6.8%. As for lake county with the highest percentage, at 28% of its population in poverty. Lake county is very agricultural and Livingston county more modern and has a program to help people get jobs called Michigan Works. I believe it could help raising the minimum wage a bit more to help out the rest of the counties lower their percentage of people living in poverty because the minimum wage is pretty low compared to other states.
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Brian Gonzalez
2/20/2014 02:08:23 pm
The state I chose is Massachusetts where the current minimum wage is $8.00. An individual working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year would earn $16,000 and would not be below the poverty line. Suffolk County had the highest percentage of people below the poverty line at 20.8%, while Norfolk County had the lowest percentage at 6.3%. Most of the jobs advertised in the county are clerical positions. A change in minimum wage might help for a while, but eventually all other bussinesses will have to raise their prices as well to keep up with the economy. Then they would be right back to where they started. It would be good as it would create motivation for people to start working, but other than that, I don't think that it would make a significant enough change.
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Andre de Limur
2/20/2014 02:09:19 pm
The state that I picked was South Dakota. Its current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If a person worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks they would make $14,500 a year. This is over $3000 and therefore just above the poverty line. The county with the lowest poverty percentage is Sully County with 7.3% of the population below the poverty line. The county with the highest poverty percentage in the state, is Shannon County with 47.4% of people below the poverty line. Shannon County is entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and contains part of Badlands National Park. This indicates that there is a large wealth gap between casino owners and disenfranchised Indians, coupled by the low population of a designated National Park. They promote many municipal and casino jobs that pay out minimum wage. On the other hand, Sully County is comprised mostly of farmland that is run by independent farmers. Because of the independency of subsidized farm lands, it becomes easier to produce crop and sell product; the citizens of Shannon County rely on the limited job supply in their impoverished region. An increase of minimum wage would not help in the long run because it would only act to create increased inflation rates, and decrease the amount of available jobs in the county.
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Miguel Garcia
2/20/2014 02:35:57 pm
The minimum wage for the state that I chose, Minnesota, is $7.25. If a person worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks, they would make $14,500 a year. This is $2,555 above the poverty line. The county with the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Carver, MN. Only 5.4% of its 4,100 residents are below the poverty line. The county with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Mahnomen, MN. 24.4% of its 1,250 residents are under the poverty line. Mahnomen promotes jobs at the local liquor store called, Lucky 7, and at the local casino, Wild Race Lounge. Meanwhile Carver promotes jobs based more on careers, like attorneys, nurses, and such. I believe this is partially what accounts for the income gap between the two counties. I don't believe a raise in the minimum wage would help out in Mahnomen, MN, because it is such a small town, and jobs are extremely scarce. It would just make the employees a bit richer, and not benefit the unemployed whatsoever.
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Elizabeth Butler
2/20/2014 03:37:19 pm
I chose the state of Mississippi. Mississippi's current minimum wage is $7.25. If an individual who was getting paid minimum wage worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, they would earn $14,500 a year. This individual would not be below the poverty line technically, however, they still would not be making enough money to live off of in most situations. DeSoto County has the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line at 10.9% while Sunflower County has the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line at 45%. Sunflower County promotes employment in Educational, health and social services at 24.1%, Retail trade at 15.6%, Manufacturing at 10.3% and Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting and mining at 10.1%. I think this income gap between the two counties is due to the population considering there isn't much of a difference in the minimum wage of each county. While DeSoto County is very diverse in the racial background of its population, Sunflower County is not. This suggests that DeSoto County may be more appealing to a wider range of people, drawing them to it, while Sunflower County seems to have a very specific demographic when it comes to their population, keeping potential residences away that could essentially help the local economy. I believe that raising the minimum wage would help Sunflower County, however the minimum wage would be raised everywhere else as well keeping the income gap everywhere potentially exactly the same as it is now. In that case, raising the minimum wage would only raise the price of living to meet their new incomes and put the people in the exact same situation as now, just with a money inflation.
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Kyle DeLima
2/20/2014 04:03:28 pm
I chose Delaware, because no one remembers Delaware. Their current minimum wage is $7.25, and working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks would find themselves making roughly $14,500 a year, barely above the poverty line. In Delaware the highest percentage of people living below the poverty lies in Newark, with a whopping 77.3% (Roughly 2,725). The lowest within Delaware was found to be a mere 1.9% in a county north west of Clayton near the border to Maryland. I unfortunately wasn't able to find much in the ways of Newark promoting certain businesses, however I did happen to find a section where they were looking for help in cutting down the amount of graffiti vandalism as well as looking for people who could help perform park maintenance. I honestly couldn't say what could help the area, more jobs seem obvious, but which ones is the more concerning question. However, in the state itself being below or just at the threshold in poverty is relatively minimal in comparison to other states, albeit a majority, if not all, have a higher population, it seems evident that an increase in minimum wage would be beneficial in terms of bringing people out of poverty, however not entirely necessary due to the relatively minimal amount in Delaware itself.
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MARISA ESCARENO
2/21/2014 03:24:12 am
The state I chose was Oklahoma. The current minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25. An individual would earn $14,500 per year if he/she works 40 hours per week for 50 weeks a year. This individual would be above the poverty line of $11,945 by $2,555 per year. The county that had the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Kingfisher County, which had a poverty percentage of 10.0%. The jobs promoted in the Kingfisher County website are jobs requiring some level of education such as System Analyst, Network Technician, and Medical Assistant. A change in minimum wage would help the situation because the more a person makes, the more this person can contribute to the economy by buying more goods and services, thus stimulating more economic growth in the area.
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Zoe Alfaro
2/21/2014 05:20:30 am
I chose North Dakota. The minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If an individual works 40 hours per week earning $7.25 per hour would be $290 a week. For a year it would be $14,500. For an individual, they would not be living under poverty line. The poverty line for an individual is $11, 720 but for two people the poverty line is $14,937. The county with lowest percentage of people living in poverty is Steele County with 4.2%. The county with the highest percentage of people living in poverty is Sioux County with 47.2%. In Sioux County, the private wage/salary jobs are at 33%, government jobs 56%, self employed 10% and unpaid family is 0%. For Steele County, the private wage/salary jobs is at 70%, government jobs are at 10%, self employed are at 18% and the unpaid family is at 2%. There is a gap between them because there are more private wage earning jobs in Sioux. I think an increase in minimum wage would help because it would help people get out of poverty.
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Gabriela Aguayo
2/21/2014 01:56:03 pm
The state I have chosen is the state of Wyoming. The minimum wage in the state of Wyoming is $7.25 per hour. If an individual works 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year then the resident of Wyoming will be earning about $250 a week and $14,500 in the 50 weeks. As an individual they would not be below the poverty line because they would be earning about $2,555 more, but if the estimate is with in a family of four then he is under the poverty line. The County that has the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Sully County with the percentage of 7.3 % and the one of the county with the highest percentages is Owsley County with 42.9% of people living in poverty,they mostly promote coal mining and tobacco farming. Comparing two counties one with the other in my opinion i would rather see more jobs being offered and so that would by its self raise the wages of the jobs payment, and in an article read in economics class it stated that many economics believed that raising min. wages over all may hurt the economic system.
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Julia Eyer
2/21/2014 02:13:50 pm
I chose to analyze Athens County, Ohio, home to the lowest poverty line in the state, coming in at 33.3%. With a poor population of 18,838, Athens County has the highest number of individuals under the poverty line. Ohio has a state minimum wage of $7.95 per hour. If a person was to work 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year, they would average $380 and $15,900 per year. This is still $4000 over the national poverty line. Delaware County, with only 5.0% poverty population and 8,885 people in the poor population, has the lowest amount of poverty in the sate. There is a large gap because Delware County is very close to the state capital of Ohio, Columbus as well as the home to a major interstate highway. Athens County is a large agricultural area further away from the capital, and not near to major roadways, leading to tourism or influx of industrial investments.
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Anne Damoe
2/21/2014 03:48:59 pm
I chose the state Kentucky. Currently the minimum wage is $7.25. Therefore as an individual who is working 40 hours for 50 weeks a year will in total earn 14.500. This places Kentucky above the poverty line which is $11,945. The county with the lowest percentage of people living below the poverty line is Greenup County which has a percentage of 17.8%. Owsley County has with 42.9% the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line. According to the 2010 Census reports, Owsley County is the “poorest county in the United States. The main kind of jobs they promote is Private nonfarm employment and and Private nonfarm establishments.
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Delaney Creswell
2/26/2014 12:53:22 am
North Carolina has a minimum wage of $7.25 with a yearly salary of $14,500. Anyone making this money would be over the Poverty Line at $11,945. Camden County, NC has the lowest poverty percentage at 9.7%, while Robeson County, NC has the highest at 34.7%. Most jobs in Robeson County consist of, Human Resources Assistants, Company Drivers, Truck Drivers, Receptionist, or other jobs such as retailing. I believe, that because there are not a lot of higher paying, more education required jobs, this makes for a lower income by far. I feel a minimum wage would hurt the situation because the jobs available are because the people living in the poorer counties are not progressing in higher education. And though it isn’t great that people are living in poverty, there wouldn’t be any encouragement to earn a higher education if the minimum wage increases and this would be unfair to the counties that have higher education people.
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Lili Gilpin
2/26/2014 04:35:22 am
I chose to report the poverty statistics for New Jersey because they seem to be one of the least poverty stricken states and therefore the economic principles should be repeated in other locations. The minimum wage in New Jersey is $7.25 therefore an individual working forty hours a week for fifty weeks will earn $14,500 which is above the poverty line of $11,945. With its central location in the East Coast, strong education systems, and managable size, New Jersey has been very successful economically with its highest poverty poverty rate in Mercer county at 10%, and its best at Hunderdon County which is at the extremely low rate of 4.6%. New Jersey has a per capita income of $43,000, making it one of the richest states in the country. One of the main factors which makes New Jersey so economically successful is its proximity to New York City and its status as a "bedroom community" meaning that residents often live there but commute to work in the city.
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Hope Hendricks
2/27/2014 03:51:06 am
The state I choose was Massachusetts because my mom's grandparents lived there. The poor rate is 9.2% and the poor man is 198 in a little town in east Boston.
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Miguel Jimenez
2/27/2014 09:02:52 am
The state I chose was Michigan. Michigan has a minimum wage of $7.40 and if a person was to work 40 hours per week for 50 weeks they would generate $14,800.00 this means they are above the $11,945.00 poverty line. The county with the lowest poverty rate is Livingston county with a 6.8% poverty rate and a poor population of 12,262 people. The county with the highest poverty rate was Isabella county with a 28.9% which is 18,483 of people who are poor. On Isabella county's website they advertised government jobs and I think what makes a huge difference in the poverty level each county has is the size of the county and their location. I think if they raised the minimum wage it would make no difference because the jobs in Isabella county are so little that raising the minimum wage would not benefit those without jobs and I feel that it would be better to create more jobs instead.
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Brandon Cole
2/27/2014 09:16:47 am
GOOF
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