Thread: Poverty in El Paso Texas

Glut of workers, lack of schooling play major roles

Pinpointing the root of poverty in El Paso is as difficult as solving the mystery of the universe. There are many theories, but no absolute answers.

One thing is certain, experts at the University of Texas at El Paso agree: Poor people are not to blame for poverty

"You can't say it's poor people's fault, because if you're born into poverty, it's going to be harder to get out of it," UTEP economist Tom Fullerton said. "You're not going to get as many opportunities as if you're born on Rim Road."

Sharing Fullerton's opinion were other UTEP professors in various disciplines, each of whom analyzed the issue in his or her own way.

Kathleen Staudt is a professor of political science who has studied the impacts and trends of El Paso's culture, which she said is practically a nonissue when it comes to poverty. She said the only way she could see local culture playing into the phenomenon of poverty is in the strong work ethic many from the region demonstrate.

"To the extent that that's cultural, that would bode well for us," she said.

Rather than place blame on the poor, Staudt said, fault should be laid at the feet of low wages and education levels, worker exploitation and societal structures that impede economic mobility. She said that although some municipalities have guaranteed living wages, many El Pasoans continue to earn at or near the federal minimum wage.

More than 200,000 El Pasoans live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the median income
per household in El Paso, $30,968, is well below the national median household income of $46,242.

While stressing that she supports business in El Paso, Staudt said it perplexes her when she visits fast-food restaurants in the Northern United States and sees employees do the same jobs that El Pasoans do, but for higher wages.

"Somebody's making out big," she said, "and it's not El Paso's worker."

Joe Heyman, chairman of the sociology and anthropology department at UTEP, said the sheer number of workers in El Paso has more to do with poverty than anything else.

"The major reason for the poverty of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands É is that it's so close to Mexico that there's a real saturation of workers in the work force," he said. He explained that he's referring to documented and undocumented workers who either move from Mexico to El Paso or cross the border daily.

Heyman did say that many El Pasoans come and stay because of close family ties, which is a cultural phenomenon that can cost them economically. But Heyman argued against the notion that culture could be behind poverty.

"Not everyone who is poor has the same culture," he said.

Traits many poor people share, such as spending money rather than saving it, are often just part of living in poverty, Heyman said.

"When you're poor, you learn how to live a poor life," he said. "You spend for the moment because you've been conditioned to because you're poor."

Although experts say the poor are not to blame for their poverty, many poor people have said they feel responsible for their financial situation. They take work they can find despite low pay, and some refuse government assistance. Others gather weekly or monthly at the many churches that offer food and clothing assistance to ease their tight finances.

The Rev. Luis Acevedo is among those who gather for the weekly giveaway sponsored by Corpus Christi Catholic Community's Ministry of the Poor. At 79, Acevedo said, he has been retired from the diocese for 16 years after serving throughout West Texas for many years. Between his retirement pay and the extra he is able to pull together by performing religious events, he lives on about $8,000 annually.

He said most poor people are working hard to make ends meet, and he pointed his finger at legislators when asked who's to blame for El Paso's poverty.

"The council worries about things of no importance to poor people," Acevedo said. "Everyone passes the ball (of blame) from one to the other."

Connie Sapien and Martha Gonzalez, both of whom volunteer their time to head the Ministry of the Poor, expressed a broader point of view.

All of society is to blame for poverty, said Gonzalez.

Said Sapien: "It's everybody's fault."

Jake Rollow may be reached at jrollow@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_5670966#top

"More than 200,000 El Pasoans live in poverty,"

And how many of them are uneducated illegals that snuck over our border?

I couldn't care less about ANYONE WHO IS NOT HERE LEGALLY.