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Is the Stimulus failing Small Town Tennessee?
RG Williams
Editor/ The Valley Voice
President Obama’s administration has repeatedly
pledged that Stimulus money would reach small-town
America, helping the communities hardest hit by the
recession.
That being said, looking over stimulus spending to date,
there seems to be no relationship between where the
money is going and unemployment and poverty.
Take our friends over in Anderson County where, after
decades of Defense cutbacks, the unemployment rate
was 9.4%. Now, largely thanks to Department of Energy
activities associated with Oak Ridge, the stimulus has
chipped in $12.7 million toward an advanced scientific
computer network and a whopping $869.5 million for
upgrades, renovations, demolition, and disposal at the
Y12 facilities. According to data, the county has been
awarded $12,086 per resident.
But our agriculturally based, tomato growing neighbors
up the road in Grainger County haven’t fared so well.
Despite having a higher unemployment rate (13.4%), it
has received only $53 a person. Grainger counties
farms have not been immune to years of erratic weather
and increased competition from out of state markets-
driving the counties poverty rate to 16.5%. Yet the
stimulus has provided nothing more than the rural
housing money that every county is scheduled to
receive.
Here in Sevier County, we are receiving $772 per
resident. That is calculated from the County total of
$65,506,385. We can thank the DOT for
$41,594,064.00, over half, being used for various
highway projects around the county.
Our poverty rate is 13.6 %-slightly lower than both
Anderson, and Grainger counties; we boast 9.3%
unemployment rate-nearly identical to Anderson
County.
With these figures in mind it is easy to see how Stimulus
spending is literally all over the map. Why are some
metro counties are are hauling in large amounts, while
rural areas, that are just as hard hit have received little?
RG Williams
Editor/ The Valley Voice
President Obama’s administration has repeatedly
pledged that Stimulus money would reach small-town
America, helping the communities hardest hit by the
recession.
That being said, looking over stimulus spending to date,
there seems to be no relationship between where the
money is going and unemployment and poverty.
Take our friends over in Anderson County where, after
decades of Defense cutbacks, the unemployment rate
was 9.4%. Now, largely thanks to Department of Energy
activities associated with Oak Ridge, the stimulus has
chipped in $12.7 million toward an advanced scientific
computer network and a whopping $869.5 million for
upgrades, renovations, demolition, and disposal at the
Y12 facilities. According to data, the county has been
awarded $12,086 per resident.
But our agriculturally based, tomato growing neighbors
up the road in Grainger County haven’t fared so well.
Despite having a higher unemployment rate (13.4%), it
has received only $53 a person. Grainger counties
farms have not been immune to years of erratic weather
and increased competition from out of state markets-
driving the counties poverty rate to 16.5%. Yet the
stimulus has provided nothing more than the rural
housing money that every county is scheduled to
receive.
Here in Sevier County, we are receiving $772 per
resident. That is calculated from the County total of
$65,506,385. We can thank the DOT for
$41,594,064.00, over half, being used for various
highway projects around the county.
Our poverty rate is 13.6 %-slightly lower than both
Anderson, and Grainger counties; we boast 9.3%
unemployment rate-nearly identical to Anderson
County.
With these figures in mind it is easy to see how Stimulus
spending is literally all over the map. Why are some
metro counties are are hauling in large amounts, while
rural areas, that are just as hard hit have received little?