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California: El condado más pobre es el más rico

Publicado: 27/09/2012 10:36

estado de california eeuu

Fresno -- De acuerdo con las cifras del Bureau del Censo dadas a conocer recientemente, Fresno es el área metropolitana con más pobres en el estado de California --y ocupa además el segundo lugar a nivel nacional, solo detrás de McAllen, Texas. Pero al mismo tiempo, es el condado más rico del país en producción agrícola: en 2011, el ingreso bruto totalizó $6.8 billones de dólares, según el reporte anual presentado el martes 24 de septiembre por la Comisionada de Agricultura del Condado de Fresno.

El término "área metropolitana" abarca los límites del condado. En el condado de Fresno, el de mayor productividad agrícola en la nación, viven casi un millón de personas, la mitad de éstas de origen latino.

Fresno está ubicado en el corazón del Valle de San Joaquín, el área sur del llamado Valle Central de California, una zona de 450 millas de largo por casi 60 de ancho, donde se producen más de 400 cultivos por un valor total de 30.4 billones de dólares, de acuerdo a la información para el año 2010 del Departamento de Alimentos y Agricultura de California.

Pobreza
De acuerdo a las cifras del Censo dadas a conocer el miércoles 19 de septiembre (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2011/index.html), un cuarto de la población de Fresno vive bajo el nivel de pobreza. Los puestos número dos y número tres de pobreza a nivel estatal están ocupados por otros dos condados del Valle de San Joaquín: Bakersfield, con 24.5 por ciento de pobreza y Modesto, con 23.8 por ciento de pobreza.

"Esta situación tiene varias razones, entre ellas la falta de mano de obra calificada por la que la economía se mantiene alrededor de la producción agrícola", dijo a Voces-Huffington Post el Dr. David Vera, profesor asistente de economía de la Universidad Estatal de California, Fresno. "Muchos de nuestros jóvenes se van del Valle por falta de oportunidades".

El Dr. Vera explica además que la industria agrícola emplea abundante mano de obra considerada no calificada y por ende, mal pagada.

"Es un cículo vicioso, para diversificar la economía hay que atraer otras industrias, pero no vienen porque no tenemos mano de obra educada", dice nuestro entrevistado. Para cambiar esta situación "se requiere mucho esfuerzo, más infraestructura y más educación".
La información del Censo expone el aumento de la pobreza en California y en todo el pais. En California, el porcentaje de pobreza es del 16.6 por ciento, mientras que hace solo cinco años, en 2007, era del 12.4 por ciento.

Esta tendencia, aseguran los expertos, se debe a la crisis económica iniciada hace un poco más de cinco años.

Pero en el Valle Central de California, los altos niveles de desempleo y de pobreza no son nada nuevo. Por ejemplo, el ingreso familiar en el condado de Fresno es de $42.807 dólares anuales, mientras que el promedio en el estado es de $57.287 dólares por año, según el Censo.
El contraste entre el valor multimillonario de la producción agrícola y la pobreza de los trabajadores es una característica visible en la región.

"No hay esfuerzos para superar esta situación", afirma el Dr. Vera. "La construcción del tren rápido creará empleos pero a largo plazo no es la solución".

Este es un tema de intensos debates políticos en el estado. La construcción del tren rápido, que unirá Los Angeles con San Francisco, pasando por el Valle Central, es muy resistida por la industria agrícola. Los argumentos son variados, aunque muchos agricultures han expresado repetidamente a la prensa local que sienten su estilo de vida (agrícola) amenazado.

De ahí el deseo de no innovar, de mantener todo como está por parte de esta poderosa industria, cuyo peso en el cabildeo político es el estado y en Washington es innegable.

"Para mejorar la situación económica del Valle necesitamos de planes a largo plazo", aseguró el Dr. Vera. "Desde el inicio de la actual crisis económica, en 2007, se han perdido muchos trabajos no agrícolas".

Gran parte de estos empleos correspondian a la construcción, cuyo "boom" fue en parte responsable de la crisis económica al desinflarse la llamada "burbuja" creada por los altos precios inflados de las propiedades.

Durante un breve período, entre el 2000 y el año 2007, se construyeron en el Valle miles de casas. En este proceso, la demanda de mano de obra aumentó dramáticamente, miles de jornaleros dejaron los campos de cultivo por la construcción, atraidos por mejores salarios y condiciones laborales. Después del 2007, la situación se revirtió y los jornaleros regresaron al campo.

Subsidios al campo se mantienen
Casi al mismo tiempo en que las cifras de la pobreza se daban a conocer, los Supervisores del Condado de Fresno votaron el martes 18 de septiembre para mantener un subsidio impositivo a los agricultores.

Si bien la votación fue 2-2, con una abstención, este empate sirvió para mantener en pie la llamada Acta Williamson.

Esta es una ley aprobada en 1965 por la cual se le otorgan beneficios impositivos a aquellos dueños de tierras y ranchos de no menos de 100 acres, que decidan mantenerlas dedicadas a la agricultura en lugar de venderlas para desarrollos urbanos. La ley permite a los dueños de tierras ahorrar entre un 20 y un 75 por ciento en impuestos por año y cada condado decide si la aplica.

Actualmente, el estado ha permitido que el subsidio creado por el Acta se reduzca en un 10 por ciento. Aunque aún significa mantener el subsidio, esta reducción hubiera permitido al condado de Fresno recaudar más de dos millones de dólares, cifra importante considerando que en condado se encuentra endeudado.

El contraste entre los niveles de pobreza y la votación de los supervisores del condado de Fresno en favor de mantener privilegios impositivos para los agricultores generó varias reacciones. Entre ellas, destaca una irónica columna del periodista Bill McEwen, publicada el 19 de septiembre en The Fresno Bee (http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/09/19/2999092/mcewen-three-amigos-keep-tax-break.html).

El escritor, llama "los tres amigos" a la mayoría de los supervisores que apoyó mantener el subsidio agrícola cuando poco antes votó por recortes en el presupuesto, eliminando puestos de trabajo.
McEwen también hace un repaso a la difícil situación de las bibliotecas públicas del condado, de los parques y hasta de diferentes agencies que podrían beneficiarse del ingreso extra de dinero si no se hubiera mantenido el subsidio completo.

Ningún condado del Valle ha intentado cambiar el Acta Williamson, manteniendo una permanente situación de apoyo a los productores agrícolas, mientras se rechazan subsidios para salud mental o se eliminan trabajos y servicios de apoyo a los más necesitados.

Otros datos de interés
El reporte del Bureau del Censo aporta datos de gran interés y utilidad para comprender aspectos de la sociedad estadounidense y la situación de los latinos. La información corresponde al año 2011.

Por ejemplo, el ingreso promedio nacional fue de $50.054 dólares. Pero al separar por razas: Blancos, $52.214; Afroamericanos, $32.229; Latinos, $38.624; Asiáticos, $65.129.

El promedio nacional de pobreza es de 15 por ciento, o sea que hay 46.2 millones de personas bajo el nivel de pobreza en EE.UU.

Esta situación afecta a 25.3 por ciento de los latinos. O sea que uno de cuatro hispanos es pobre.
Hace 10 años (2001), el promedio nacional de pobreza era de 11.7 por ciento.
Hace 20 años (1991), ese nivel era 14.2 por ciento.

Sin embargo, en 1959, 27.4 por ciento de la población era pobre.

En 1964, el porcentaje era 19%. Esta cifra fue utilizada por el entonces presidente Lyndon Johnson para impulsar su plan denominado Guerra Contra la Pobreza, invirtiendo millones de dólares en programas sociales y generando empleos para miembros de las diferentes minorías étnicas.
Diez años después, el porcentaje de personas viviendo bajo el nivel de pobreza era de 11.4%, afectando a 23 millones de personas.

Para los latinos, o hispanos, los porcentajes de pobres se mantienen elevados a través de los años, lo cual es preocupante.

En 1994 era de 30.7 por ciento, o 8.5 millones de latinos pobres. En 2007, año del inicio de la actual crisis económica, unos 10 millones de latinos vivían en la pobreza, o 21.7 por ciento de esta población. Y según lo snuevos datos del Censo, correspondientes a 2011, 13.224.000 millones de latinos estean afectados por la pobreza, o como ya se mencionó, 25.3 por ciento.

Finalmente, los estados con mayor índice de pobreza son: Washington , D.C, con 19.7 por ciento, seguido por Louisiana (21.3 por ciento), Nuevo México (20.2 por ciento) y Mississippi (20 por ciento). Como se mencionó anteriormente, California tiene un porcentaje de 16.6 por ciento de pobres.
Los estados con menos índice de pobreza: New Humpshire, 7.1 por ciento y Connecticut, 9.3 por ciento.

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  • In this picture taken Wednesday, July 18, 2012, Zali Idy, 12, poses in her bedroom in the remote village of Hawkantaki, Niger. Zali was married in 2011. In January 2012, soon after she turned 12, she was carried on a bullock cart to her 23-year-old husband’s home. Even during the best of times, one out of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, a rate of child marriage among the highest in the world, according to a UNICEF survey. Now this custom is being layered on top of a crisis. At times of severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty and hunger are marrying their daughters at even younger ages. A girl married off is one less mouth to feed, and the dowry money she brings in goes to feed others. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) PART OF A 15-PICTURE PACKAGE BY JEROME DELAY

  • FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2010 file photo, women fetch water at the site of a borehole in the Millennium Project Village of Dertu, Kenya. The Millennium Villages, all 14 in Africa, are part of a global anti-poverty initiative launched under U.N. auspices in 2000. The goal is to bring people out of poverty with a big push of assistance that will wean them off aid after several years. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)

  • In this picture taken Friday, July 20, 2012, Sarey Amadou, 14, poses in her bedroom in the remote village of Hawkantaki, Niger. Even though the boy she had a crush on offered a dowry for her, her father insisted that she marry her first cousin, who lives several hours away in the larger village of Guidan Roumdji. Even during the best of times, one out of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, a rate of child marriage among the highest in the world, according to a UNICEF survey. Now this custom is being layered on top of a crisis. At times of severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty and hunger are marrying their daughters at even younger ages. A girl married off is one less mouth to feed, and the dowry money she brings in goes to feed others. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) PART OF A 15-PICTURE PACKAGE BY JEROME DELAY

  • FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo, children eat lunch provided by the Millennium Village Project in Sauri, western Kenya. The Millennium Villages, all 14 in Africa, are part of a global anti-poverty initiative launched under U.N. auspices in 2000. The goal is to bring people out of poverty with a big push of assistance that will wean them off aid after several years. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)

  • FILE - In this June 13, 2012, file photo, a job seeker talks to a recruiter at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. The U.S. economy is showing signs of finally bottoming out: Americans are on the move again after record numbers had stayed put, more young adults are leaving their parents' homes to take a chance with college or the job market, once-sharp declines in births are leveling off and poverty is slowing. Not all is well. The jobless rate remains high at 8.1 percent. Home ownership dropped for a fifth straight year to 64.6 percent, the lowest in more than a decade, hurt by more stringent financing rules and a shift to renting. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

  • In this Sept. 4, 2012 photo, people walk across a pedestrian bridge in front of the San Agustin slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

  • In this Sept. 5, 2012 photo, people walk past campaign posters for President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

  • In this Sept. 4, 2012 photo, two men play chess on a street in Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

  • This Sept. 4, 2012 photo shows the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

  • In this Sept. 5, 2012 photo, a man sells fried plantains at a market in Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen. Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

 
SIGUE VOCES
Fresno -- De acuerdo con las cifras del Bureau del Censo dadas a conocer recientemente, Fresno es el área metropolitana con más pobres en el estado de California --y ocupa además el segundo lugar...
Fresno -- De acuerdo con las cifras del Bureau del Censo dadas a conocer recientemente, Fresno es el área metropolitana con más pobres en el estado de California --y ocupa además el segundo lugar...
 
 
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19:59 de 27/09/2012
En mi casa somos tan pobre, que lo unico que tenemos es mucho amor...nos queremos mucho, pero nos estamos muriendo de hambre. Porque no solo de amor vive el hombre...hay que comer tambien.
Este usuario ha decidido no usar el programa de distintivos.
11:40 de 27/09/2012
California el Estado con mas ayuda sociales..estan quebrados los colegios y hospitales porque nadie paga..ya no es el Estado de la Oportunidad es el estado del Dáme, dáme y dáme mas..y apurense !
Como se arregla..NO incrementando impuestos, pues la compañías se van a otro estado, bajando los impuestos, dárle incentivos a empleadores..pero para es,o debemos sacar a los demócratas antes que todos terminemos pidiendo limosnas!
13:36 de 27/09/2012
RICARDO: Se te olvida mencionar que es el estado donde los gastos por beneficios a empleados estatales y las uniones es el mas elevado. Eso es tambien lo que tiene en quiebra a CALIFORNIA. Las pensiones de retiro de esta gente sobrepasan al retiro del SOCIAL SECURITY.