COUNTIES IN THE REGION AMONG NATION'S POOREST

Whenever a study is released isolating the nation's poverty pockets, few people in this region betray much surprise at the findings. In fact, the numbers haven't varied much in decades. In a dismal bit of national prominence, portions of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois consistently rank high in poverty reports. In times of abundance and recession, the Bootheel and the lower tip of Illinois remain frustratingly stable, with large numbers of the population mired in bad times and without much recourse for their grim condition.

The most recent document to bear bad tidings was supplied last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. It pointed out that the Missouri counties with the highest percentage of people living at or below poverty level is in the Bootheel. In Illinois, eight of the counties with poverty rates 20 percent or higher are in the extreme southern part of the state. Missouri's most southeastern county, Pemiscot, ranked 93rd poorest among the nation's 3,141 counties. In Pemiscot County, almost 36 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. (The U.S. government defines poverty as below an annual household income of $12,675 for a family of four. This figure does not include welfare benefits.)

Many of Pemiscot County's neighbors aren't in much better shape. Dunklin County stands with a 29.9 percent poverty rate, New Madrid County has 26.9 percent, Mississippi County has 29.7 percent and Stoddard County has 21.2 percent. A bit to the west, Ripley County has a 31.5 percent poverty rate, ranking it 153rd poorest in the nation. The Missouri average for people living in poverty is 13.3 percent, slightly higher than the national average.

In Illinois, Alexander County ranks worst in the state with a 32.2 percent poverty rate. The state average is 11.9 percent. Other Southern Illinois counties topping 20 percent are Pulaski, Jackson, Hardin, Pope, Gallatin, Franklin and Saline.

Why does this circumstance exist? Some of it is historical; many of these counties never had much to begin with, and history has proceeded in that same fashion. Some of the problems are legislative; in the Bootheel, Missouri borders two states, Arkansas and Tennessee, that have more advantageous labor laws, prompting jobs to steer clear of these borders.

Still, these areas are not without resources. In Alexander County, Cairo sits at the confluence of two mighty rivers, yet its population and prospects have diminished as the century has worn on. Some of the nation's best farm land can be found in the Missouri Bootheel, yet agricultural processing facilities have not located where the land is so rich.

One University of Missouri professor who specializes in rural sociology says parts of the Bootheel have been a "scene of quiet desperation for decades." It would gladden us to believe this desperation could give way to prosperity in the years to come, but history is not on the side of our desires. An influx of industry would turn the tide on this problem, but many other areas are looking for this same cure. Until jobs come to these wanting areas, the gloomy numbers on poverty reports will not improve.