economic disparity

There’s been a lot of talk about the South Fulton, Tennessee fire department standing around while Gene Cranick’s house burned to the ground all because Cranick didn’t pay a $75 subscription fee to the fire department, but I think there is one key point being missed here; what’s to come.

First off, as a former fire fighter, this story enrages me like there’s no tomorrow. It really is America at its worst and if we continue down this path then this country is lost. From all the reading I have done, the fire fighters are not to blame on this, but rather the city of South Fulton. The Cranick’s home was outside of the actual city limits, which is what prompted this “subscription fee”. When I was a firefighter we covered a lot of unincorporated areas and never did anything like this. It fell under a system that has been around since the start of this nation and has worked wonders; a system called “mutual aid'”.

But what has lead us to the point where the basic premise of governments responsibility to protect its people and property is overshadowed by the mighty dollar? The biggest contributor is Republican economics. As our economic disparity continues to rise, cities are seeing the coffers dry up. Less income for the residents means less taxes collected. It’s economics 101 and it’s ugly. Let’s take a quick look at the demographics of South Fulton:

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,517 people, 1,081 households, and 729 families residing in the city.

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The median income for a household in the city was $27,462, and the median income for a family was $35,608. Males had a median income of $27,458 versus $20,212 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,983. About 15.0% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

It has been a growing problem in this nation for decades and it continues to increase every year – income disparity:

The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans - those making more than $100,000 each year - received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.

The census also shows that those making over $180,000 a year (the top 5%) saw an increase in income last year, while those making less than $50,000 saw their income decline. Like wise lower-skilled adults from 18 to 34 saw the largest increase in poverty levels last year.