So The Atlantic has an article discussing the
HIV ravaged town of Austin Indiana.
In January 1990, unemployment spiked to a high of 16.9 per cent. The average jobless rate for that year was lower, at 8.5 per cent, but still starkly at odds with an overall U.S. unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent. The town’s infrastructure began to deteriorate. Jackie McClintock, a nurse who works with Combs, points to the lack of recreational activities as leading people to use drugs. “There’s nothing for people to do,” she said. “There’s boredom, unemployment.” Jerome Adams, Indiana’s state health commissioner, describes Austin as having social and economic conditions that are ideal for a drug epidemic. “It’s kind of the epitome of years of neglect, poverty, lack of education, and lack of opportunity, or people’s perception of lack of opportunity,” he said.
Today, the estimated median household income in Austin is $33,000, about $15,000 less than that for Indiana. The average home is valued at $78,000, the U.S. median in 2010 being $210,000. About 8.3 percent of Austin residents are unemployed, compared with a U.S. average of 5 percent. An estimated 34 percent of working people in Austin hold manufacturing jobs and just 7 percent have a college degree. In 2013, about 25 percent of Austin residents were living in poverty.
You'll notice there is nothing said about the racial composition of Austin. Well
it's 96% White. Why do I bring this up? Because there is a long running assertion that poverty and drug use is the reason for the high levels of gun involved crimes (shootings and murders) in Black communities. Hence the first thing I wanted to know was, what is the murder rate in Austin?
Well basically zero.
If poverty and drugs and lack of employment opportunities are
the reason for high levels of gun related homicides then we should be seeing a steady stream of murders in Austin. Meanwhile in
Jackson Mississippi:
You'll note that Jackson MS has a similar demographic profile (except for size of population) as Austin:
Estimated median household income in 2013: $29,811 (it was $30,414 in 2000)
Jackson: $29,811
MS: $37,963
Estimated per capita income in 2013: $17,434 (it was $17,116 in 2000)
Jackson city income, earnings, and wages data
Estimated median house or condo value in 2013: $84,000 (it was $64,200 in 2000)
Jackson: $84,000
MS: $97,500
Mean prices in 2013: All housing units: $124,736; Detached houses: $124,238; Townhouses or other attached units: $98,704; In 2-unit structures: $30,442; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $105,809; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $202,304; Mobile homes: $179,426
Median gross rent in 2013: $720.
The major difference aside from total population? Jackson MS is 80% black.
This provides more evidence for the data that whites generally use guns on themselves (suicide) while blacks use gun on each other (genocide).
