IT'S TRUE: THERE'S NO FUTURE HERE

KENNETT, Mo. -- It was a great headline. Wish I had written it. Of course, had I written the headline, it would probably have been over a dateline that said "St. Louis" as opposed to "Mississippi County." I'm talking about the story in Monday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch (and Tuesday's Southeast Missourian) which was written after census figures were released showing population declines in the Bootheel.

Along with the declining numbers, the Post-Dispatch thought it would enlighten its readers as to the reasons for people leaving the Bootheel. Poverty, crime and unemployment were chief among them.

Reading the article, which is probably the Post-Dispatch's definition of investigative journalism, one would get the idea that the only place in the state with problems is the Bootheel. However, when you look at St. Louis and ask similar questions about what the census numbers mean for that city, you get the same answers.

For instance, the reporter makes a great deal out of the fact that the population of Mississippi County has declined 7 percent over the last 10 years. Pemiscot County and New Madrid County are down 8.5 percent and 5.6 percent respectively.

The inference is that such declines are horrible. Lock the doors. Last person out please turn out the lights.

What the reporter doesn't tell readers is that population in St. Louis has declined by more than 12 percent over the last 10 years. Almost 50,000 people chose to find another place to live during the last decade. The latest census numbers reflect a trend begun 50 years ago with people getting out of St. Louis. Since 1950, the population of St. Louis has declined almost 60 percent. By comparison, Mississippi County has lost 42 percent of its residents. Yet the Post-Dispatch bemoans the "lost hundreds of residents and ... worst percentage declines in the state."

The only thing the story fails to tell readers, other than the statement "While many surrounding counties in Southeast Missouri have grown in population during the decade" is which counties have grown and, more importantly, why they have grown. For the record, the other three counties in the Bootheel experienced population growth.

When the reporter does throw a bone to the resident of Mississippi County, it's to say that those individuals who are working and living in Mississippi County are driving 20 miles to Sikeston to their jobs. Apparently, it's a bad thing that "one of every four residents now travels outside the county for work." I would love to see the numbers on how many people drive into St. Louis and leave every day at 5 o'clock, carrying "a steady flow of traffic back to places like O'Fallon (insert East Prairie) and Festus (insert Charleston)."

Can you believe crime is a problem in the Bootheel? I guess we're the only part of the state that has this problem. The reporter points out that methamphetamine and cocaine are "abundant." It's doubtful the crime rate in Mississippi County is any higher than St. Louis, but you wouldn't know it from the article.

If the actions of one St. Louis lawmaker are successful, the crime rate in the entire Bootheel may very well escalate. State Rep. Tim Green is trying cut some $11 million in funding for the Bootheel Drug Task Force.

The Post-Dispatch tries to toss another bone to Bootheel residents by implying that some help may be on the way with the soon-to-be-completed 1,600-bed state prison between Charleston and East Prairie, which will employ about 535 people.

But even that isn't a good thing, because "not everyone is thrilled." I would suppose that a baseball or football stadium built with taxpayer money isn't a good economic boost either, if everyone doesn't agree with the idea of publicly funded athletic facilities.

What the Post-Dispatch fails to mention, though, are some of the reasons behind the problems.

When education funds are taken from this area of the state and funneled into the two largest metropolitan school districts, what else could result but a lack of facilities and programs which might keep kids in school? What naturally follows is an under-trained, ill-equipped work force to compete in a global economy.

And if you take infrastructure dollars away to mass transit systems which do not support themselves and must be subsidized, how can you expect anything but an industry leaving for better access to delivery routes?

The Post-Dispatch must truly amaze itself with this discovery of poverty, crime and unemployment in the Bootheel.

Is there another reason behind the Post-Dispatch article?

I would suggest that one of the real reasons behind the story is to draw attention away from the dismal condition of St. Louis. The census numbers reflect even bigger population losses for St. Louis. I would expect the crime and poverty numbers mirror the population statistics.

The city is already smarting from the national humiliation heaped on it for voting irregularities last November. Every time a corporate merger takes place, St. Louis loses a little more stature in the business community.

With the city's lobbyists walking the halls in Jefferson City, trying to drum up support for a new stadium, why wouldn't the Post-Dispatch and its warped brand of community journalism try to find someone -- anyone -- worse off than themselves? With a banner headline and a photo which could have been made in downtown St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch has everyone casting an eye toward the Bootheel. Even then the numbers don't paint a gloomier picture than those for the Gateway City.

One thing that does is shift the spotlight away from a lack of leadership in the state's second largest city (Kansas City's population increased by 6,400 during the 1990s) to the Post-Dispatch's favorite whipping boy, the Bootheel.

While other cities across America have revitalized their downtown areas, St. Louis languishes. Its sole commitment to a thriving downtown consists of parking a couple of gambling boats in the river, which allows those who dare to visit to drive in and drive right back out, just like they do every day during the week.

It's true there is no future, but it's only true in St. Louis.

~Bud Hunt is the publisher of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.