CENSUS STATISTICS OFFER MISLEADING VIEW OF AREA

A U.S. Census Bureau report issued this week indicated something about Southeast Missouri that most residents of this part of the state already know: some challenges exist. Census numbers show that the 8th Congressional District is the largest, most rural and poorest in Missouri. As much as we would have liked to be surprised by the new government statistics, we accept the story they tell. We can also resolve that this situation need not persist in the years to come.

Among other things, the census report released Tuesday said:

The 8th District covers 17,470 square miles, roughly a quarter of the state's land area.

About 63 percent of the district's population live in rural locations or towns of less than 2,500.

About 22 percent of the district's residents live below the poverty level (defined as $13,359 annually for a family of four in the census year).

The average family income was $24,053, the lowest in the state. (By comparison, the average family income in the 2nd District, covering suburban St. Louis, was $55,572.)

The 8th District has the oldest population with a median age of 34.7 year; the state median age was 33.5 years in 1990.

The 8th District has the least educated adult population, with 59 percent having high school degrees and less than 10 percent with bachelor's degrees.

What do these numbers say? To the bureaucrat in Washington, a dissection of these statistics would portray the typical southern Missourian as poor, old, none too learned and geographically removed from neighbors. Take a look around: is that what you see? There are problems, to be sure, in this part of the state and rural America generally, but these numbers provide a deceptive view.

While the statistics are gloomy, the outlook is less so. For whatever dire circumstances history has created in Southeast Missouri, there are resources in place to improve the situation. With rich farm land, scenic and productive timber land, adequate transportation routes (on land and water), central location and ready labor force, Southeast Missouri is not consigned to its current status; growth is possible. Crucial to that growth, however, is capable leadership and a desire for better things.

Reports from the nation's capital don't tell the whole story on Southeast Missouri. What would be useful from Washington, D.C., are incentives for private businesses to produce their goods in places that have been overlooked, like the Bootheel. Actions taken by leaders, commercial enterprises and residents in Southeast Missouri will have more to say about these census numbers and how they may change in the coming years than the federal government can.