Poverty among U. S. children: 1 in 4!!!

Are you surprised?  Poverty is the most serious problem facing the United States today.  The following report reveals just how pervasive the challenge continues to be.



U.S. Child Poverty Second Highest Among Developed Nations:

The latest edition of UNICEF's report on child poverty in developed countries found that 30 million children in 35 of the world's richest countries live in poverty. Among those countries, the United States ranks second on the scale of what economists call "relative child poverty" -- above Latvia, Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, and 29 others. Only Romania ranks higher, with 25.5 percent of its children living in poverty, compared with 23.1 percent in the U.S.

The term "relative child poverty" refers to a child living in a household where the disposable income is less than half of the national median income. Many critics argue that relative poverty isn't the same as real hardship, or absolute poverty.

But the report brushes that away. Poverty is "essentially a relative concept," it says. For example, a little more than a century ago, the wealthiest people in the world didn't have cars. It concedes, however, that the measurement has some weaknesses. First, a child's well-being doesn't always correspond to the parents' income. Second, comparing the relative poverty rates of various countries doesn't make sense unless the countries have similar median incomes.

Because of these weaknesses the report considers "child deprivation." To measure this, researchers produced a list of 14 items found in most middle-class households and counted the number of children whose families couldn't afford them. The list included Internet connection, new clothes, three daily meals, two pairs of properly fitting shoes, and "the opportunity, from time to time, to invite friends home to play and eat."

•#35: Romania 25.5% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. Putting that line at 60% of the median, and the percentage rises to 32.3%.

•#34: United States 23.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. Around 1.2% of the GDP is public spending on families in cash transfers, tax breaks and services.

•#33: Latvia 18.8% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. 15.9% of children are lacking five or more items on the deprivation index.

•#32: Bulgaria 17.8% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. For children living in homes where parents are jobless, the deprivation rate shoots up to 85.2%, the second-worst of the European countries.

•#31: Spain 17.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median.

•#30: Greece 16% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. The deprivation rate for children is over 40% when assessed looking at whether or not the child is from a migrant family (at least one parent is foreign-born).

•#29: Italy 15.9% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median.

•#28: Lithuania 15.4% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#27: Japan 14.9% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#26: Portugal 14.7% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#25: Poland 14.5% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#24: Canada 13.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median. Canada has the same level of relative child poverty as the United States, but once taxes and benefits are taken into consideration, the number is almost halved.

•#23: Luxembourg 12.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#22: United Kingdom 12.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#21: Estonia1 1.9% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#20; New Zealand 11.7% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#19: Slovakia 11.2% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#18: Australia 10.9% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#17: Hungary 10.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#16: Belgium 10.2% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#15: Malta 8.9% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#14: France 8.8% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#13: Germany 8.5% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#12: Ireland 8.4% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#11: Switzerland 8.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#10: Czech Republic 7.4% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#8: Austria (tied) 7.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#8: Sweden (tied) 7.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#7: Denmark 6.5% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#6: Slovenia 6.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#3: Norway (tied)6.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#3: Netherlands (tied) 6.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#3: Cyprus (tied) 6.1% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#2: Finland 5.3% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

•#1: Iceland 4.7% of children live in households with an equivalent income lower than 50% of the national median

Sheldon Danziger, the director of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, said the report does a good job of summing up what many economists have believed for a long time. "Among rich countries, the U.S. is exceptional," he said. "We are exceptional in our tolerance of poverty."

Danziger said he was especially impressed by a figure showing Canada and the U.S. have the same relative child poverty rate -- 25.1 The chart also showed that after government taxes, benefits and other social programs, Canada's child poverty rate drops to 13.1, while America's barely budges, hovering above 23.1 percent.

"Basically, other countries do more," he said. "They tend to have minimum wages that are higher than ours. The children would be covered universally by health insurance. Other countries provide more child care."

In a new book, Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia University, writes that the Labour Government's efforts to combat child poverty in the U.K. were "larger and more sustained than in the United States." Shortly after he became prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair found himself staring at a UNICEF report similar to this new one, except that England's child poverty ranking was much higher.

So Blair's government instituted programs modeled after former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. The U.K. developed Sure Start -- an early-care program for low-income children similar to the U.S. Head Start. British families could apply for the Working Tax Credit, similar to the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit.

The Labour Party spent more on these programs, even as the U.S. spent less, and within five years the number of children living in "absolute poverty" in the U.K. had fallen by half. According to the UNICEF report, 12.1 percent of British children now live in relative poverty -- nearly half the percentage of American children.

Read entire report  here. 

Truth and lies

“The lie of poverty speaks with abuse.

The truth protects.

The lie ignores.

The truth listens.

The lie criticizes.

The truth praises.”

from Compassion International

Seeking fairness in the face of the extremist critics of the poor

In the midst of the nation's economic crisis, complete with its trillion dollar bailout plans of various types, comes the news that American International Group (AIG)--recent recipient of over $170 billion in federal bailout funds--will go ahead with plans to pay a group of top executives $100 million in "retention" pay.

Now get this: The group of AIG executives in line for these bonus payments work in the very division or group that is responsible for most of the company's financial woes, failures that now threaten the entire economy.

I've tried to be reasonable on this latest revelation from AIG.

I've read the reports in The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times. I've listened to the arguments from company leaders that AIG may open itself to legal battles if it doesn't go ahead and pay previously agreed upon incentives and bonuses. I've even tried to imagine how this particular group of executives could be considered "essential" to helping AIG through the "work out" process for failed and extremely complicated investment instruments known as "derivatives." These were the very same employees who created the problem in the first place!

I've tried, but I'm far, far from convinced. In my worldview these employees should be thanking their lucky stars that they still have a job of any kind. Bonuses? Surely they jest!

But much more significant for me, and continually swirling in the background noise of the current national atmosphere, are the voices of those who for decades now have been harshly, unfairly, ignorantly and mercilessly critical of the poor in this nation who have turned to us as a nation for a "hand up" out of the continual and very real "Depression" that has ravaged their families during these same decades.

The urban poor seek and have sought only an equal opportunity--not wealth, not a fortune, not wild, unjustified bonus pay for terrible work product. No, just access to adequate, nutritional food. An opportunity to receive the work training necessary to earn a livable wage. An open door for their children to get a good education that might lead them to university work. Decent health care. Housing that is affordable and fit for human habitation. Fairness in criminal courts and a voice before the civil bench. The list reads like a commentary on the ordinary stuff of American life. No luxury, just fair, decent and hopeful.

I've listened to extreme critics of the poor speak of these fellow Americans with harshness, judgment, hatred, ridicule, and disdain. Often the criticism has been couched in racist terms and categories.

Reality for the poor is so terribly different than these ill-informed critics imagine.

The sort of fraud, mismanagement and disgrace that we've observed on Wall Street since last fall simply does not occur among the poor and those in our government groups who attempt to assist them.

Have you ever tried to fill out an application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Department of Agriculture's Food Stamp program? Not an easy task.

Or, how about a Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) application? Possibly gone through the process to receive Supplemental Security Income to help make it through life with some disabling medical condition?

Ever try to get a unit of public housing? How about a housing choice voucher for your family? The waiting lists drag applicants out for years and years!

Or, maybe you've worked through a Pell Grant doucment as you tried to help your child get into college and past all of the financial documentation that must be supplied even when you have so little money for which to account!

I've said it before, but it needs to be said again: if Wall Street were regulated like the programs designed to assist and lift the poor, the nation would not be facing the current financial meltdown. The poor in this country face needless and undue complications and clearly "engineered" difficulty to gain the basics for life from the public sector.

The scope and scale of any fraud that occurs in the world of social services and poverty programming pales in comparison to the cost and size of the institutionalized fraud that has been going on in the for-profit sector for decades. Now, we pay the tab for the criminal, unethical and immoral acts of the nation's new generation robber barons.

No, enough already of the hateful and unjust criticism of the poor who simply seek a better shot at a better life. No more of the unsubstantiated accusations of "fraud" and theft by the poor who "rip off the system."

No more!

The time has come to open our eyes to the real fraud, the actual abuse. As is usually the case, the actual "rip off" occurs thanks to the shenanigans orchestrated by the powerful, the well-to-do, the greedy, the wise-guys, the well-connected and the rich.

No surprises here. Just time for a reminder.

The headlines today turn our attention to the real problems we face. Their source will not be discovered among the poor, I can assure you of that. So, just save your breath if you're tempted to blame them.

It's time we woke up. It's time we spoke up and stood up for those who struggle with poverty, and not for those who've caused so much of it. It is far past time for us to engage in the work of seeking a better life for our neighbors at the bottom of this economy.

"Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:9


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Free will's best use. . .

"To many people, free will is a license to rebel not against what is unjust or hard in life but against what is best for them and true."

Dean Koontz,

The Darkest Evening of the Year

Those words rose off the page as I read. What a line!

How many times have I seen their awful truth lived out among young and old, friends and strangers, especially the poor.

I can't explain all of the reasons back of this social phenomenon. And, while the principle doesn't apply to everyone, there being numerous notable exceptions to its harsh truth, I can't count the times I've seen the reality at work.

It is as if a strange power works in the inner city among the poor.

Rising out of a conspiracy that intensifies the negative impact of

. . .substandard housing arranged row upon row, street by street;

. . .failing public schools that remain the only option for the children of the poor;

. . .code violations that go ignored;

. . .crimes that go unattended, except in the case of drug abusers who need treatment but get prison;

. . .diets bounded by a lack of access to nutritous food products at reasonable prices;

. . .too few jobs that pay far too little to make life work;

. . .an unrelenting message that nothing can really change and the fact that those who make the decisions about policy and resource allocation always find a reason to vote against those at the bottom and the edges.

After a while, after a generation or more, it is hard to move forward in a positive manner.

Result: It is as if people believe the lies told against them, about their true selves and, in response, set about in all sorts of self-destructive acts of free will, often almost to prove up the negative assessments. Rather than rising up against the forces, circumstances and rules of their oppressors and critics, they freely strike out at themselves and their peers, making life all the more difficult.

I think of a wonderful 15-year-old girl who was about to deliver her first baby. "Now I'll have someone to love me and someone to love, Mr. Larry," she explained to me as if she had hit upon her destiny.

Or, the young man hooked on drugs and trying to live beyond his criminal past, unable to make any progress over more than a decade spotted with the same sort of self-defeating rebellion, as if he was living out some prediction about his life he had grown up expecting to come true.

My list, virtually endless.

People who haven't been "there" don't get it and, frankly, don't really seem to want to understand, often using the negative track records of such personal behavior as evidence of the truth of their stereotypical methods of assessing people. Once in place, this negative feedback loop becomes nearly impossible to interrupt.

The sad, powerful truth behind Koontz's line is the reason why community building and including individuals intimately in the life of a group are so central to any effective effort at urban renewal. People who are "hooked" on a group, who belong to something beyond themselves have a much greater chance when it comes to the productive use of free will. When poor people get organized, the world changes. Leaders emerge. Attitudes change. Sometimes anger rises. Health seems within reach.

Nothing is easy about the task, but communities can organize against the forces that defeat and press them down. Communities call individuals to account, to a higher standard of performance, to something better, and not in some limited, narrow, moralistic manner, but in ways that actually change the world. Communities drive change both in their environments and in the lives of their members.

Free will is an incredible gift whose best and highest use is discovered in that which is both best and true for individuals and for their groups.

It is why we work.

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Exits with options

News that Lehman Brothers set aside about $2.5 billion for exit executive bonuses for the failed financial corporation isn't setting very well with much of anyone.

I expect that eliminating big bonus packages for executives won't solve the problems associated with the current capital markets meltdown. Still, these provisions for those at the top symbolize the failure of "free market" approaches to providing even handed, equitable community systems and institutions. Regulation is not a bad word.

Here's a taste of one report:

Financial crisis: Lehman Brothers staff’s $2.5 billion bonus bonanza provokes fury

Lehman Brothers’ British staff reacted with fury when told that colleagues at Lehman’s New York office were expected to share in a $2.5 billion bonus bonanza while they would be paid just until the end of the month.

The bonus, described by London staff as a "scandal", has been pledged by Barclays Capital, the British-based bank that last week acquired Lehman’s American operation and took on 10,000 staff, according to reports at the weekend.

A spokesman for the TUC said: "It looks like those that will suffer the most from the Lehman Brothers collapse are those at the bottom of the corporate chain while many of those at the top will be looked after."

[By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent Last Updated: 3:03PM BST 22 Sep 2008]

Read more here.

Clearly, the problems we face today in the financial markets can't be limited to just one or two bad apples, nor to one political party or the other. Plenty of blame and greed to go around here.

And again, those at the bottom will suffer most.

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So much for "free markets"

Decisions about how systems and institutions work have consequences in the lives of real people.

It's just a fact.

This is particularly true when it comes to public policy relative to work, wages, protection or the lack thereof from so-called "free markets," home ownership, education, nutrition. . .the list goes on.

So far this year in the U. S. we have seen the loss of over 600,000 jobs.

Home foreclosures continue to soar.

During the last chaotic week, we've witnessed the near meltdown of our financial markets, a series of events that rivals the circumstances preceding the Great Depression. Major, historic financial institutions failed or have been bought for a song.

People who argue ad nauseum for unregulated, "free markets" make assumptions about human nature that simply don't hold up. When living in an effective community in which the rights, needs and dreams of all are to be honored; common values, mores and standards of behavior need to be regulated.

We are now witnessing the results of a policy trend committed to deregulation that has been in play since at least 1980.

Completely "free markets" might be something to consider if we all were operating from the same position of strength and opportunity. But, of course, this is not the case today and will never be the case.

Regulation imposes safety guards against the exploitation that always results when systems are built to maximize profit for one group at the expense of other groups, usually much larger in sheer numbers, but much weaker in economic power and political influence.

No system of regulation is perfect. But, it doesn't need to be perfect, just workable, consistent and engaged in the important work of defining and enforcing standards of fairness and equity for everyone.

Consider the subprime mortgage crisis. Lots of people in this country have been talked into or better, pressured into mortgage agreements that allowed them to purchase homes far beyond their ability to pay. The agreements were designed not to assist the prospective homeowner, but the lender. In fact, some deals worked better for lenders when agreements failed after a couple of years thanks to credits and write offs that were built into the systems at work in such real estate transactions. Variable rate mortgages, coupled with sub-prime approaches to financing the deals at the outset, vaulted the nation to the brink of absolute economic disaster.

Greed kills.

Possibly home buyers should have been smarter. But, really now, let's face it, that is not what the system required or even desired. And then, there is the nation's attitude toward homeownership as an essential element in realizing the "American dream."

Since the mid-1990s, we've observed a commitment on the part of the federal government in both Clinton and Bush administrations to open up home ownership to more and more Americans.

As this policy unfolded, it became clear that a major part of this commitment would be financed by cutting funding from programs designed for the poorest Americans--we watched as the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cut funding for programs aimed at people who likely will never own homes to benefit those who might play in the amazing expansion of ownership made possible by unregulated markets.

While everyone agrees that the number of Americans owning homes needs to increase, we grew more and more uncomfortable with how the new process was being funded with both public and private dollars. Furthermore, our government explicitly and implicitly encouraged private sector funders to get in the game on terms that were favorable to lenders, but not necessarily the new homeowners.

No regulation.

"Free markets" often cut people to shreds because they are not designed with the community, with everyone in mind. (By the way, can we agree that Wall Street is not the community for which we are most concerned here?)

Greed kills.

Paul had it right when he warned that "the love of money is the root of all evil."

I'm sure I'll catch it big time from lots of folks who read here who believe that freedom in the marketplace is the most sacred value of all.

Frankly, if you can make that argument this week, I know there is nothing I can say to change your mind.

But, I'm not writing for you. I continue to post because I believe sound public policy devoted to justice and fairness will be a big part of any solution to the problems facing both the poorest of the poor and the middle class in our nation. And, it is crucial to sustaining workable communities.

In fact, I'm trying to get these two groups to see how much they have in common these days! If these two groups ever partner with one another and consider how their mutual self-interests could work together, we'll wake up in a new America.

One last note. Through all sorts of situations and circumstances from Y2K to 9-11 to the War in Iraq to escalating fuel costs to our current financial crisis, the poor serve as my instructors. People who know grinding poverty teach me how to cope and to live one day at a time. Their friendship and faith is a priceless gift in my life.

Markets come and go.

The faithful endure.

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Poverty simulation

On Monday, June 2, 2008, Dallas Social Venture Partners (DSVP) and Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) hosted a 2- hour Poverty Simulation at CDM’s headquarters.

In all, DSVP involved 41 participants in the simulation, each assuming the role of a family member or individual living in a low-income family trying to survive from month-to- month. The object of the simulation was to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income people and the choices of the working poor.

Sixteen clients and staff of Transition Resource Action Center and CDM served as staff for the resource agencies and services, such as Banker/Loan Collector, Pay Day/Quick Cash Lender, Super Center Clerk, Utility Collector, Police Officer, and Child Care Worker.

The simulation began with an introduction and briefing by Terri Walker, an educational consultant and trained facilitator from Region 10 followed by the actual simulation exercise where participants took part in four 15-minute “work weeks.” A debriefing period followed the exercise where participants and staff volunteers shared their feelings and experiences about taking part in the simulation. Below are a few comments from the experience:

“It helped me see the huge challenges many in our community face every day. The biggest problem is lack of knowledge – where to go for help, what are the rules, how do you get there, when do you get there?” – Donna Hegdahl, President, The TransSynergy Group

“This was a humbling experience that gives you an on the ground appreciation of living on the edge, pay check to pay check. We discovered, in many ways the system works against you. And, where it works in your favor, you either aren’t aware or don’t take advantage of what is offered.” – Pete Meldrum, Outcomes Coaching

“Spending two hours as a teen mother without a job or family support brought home immediately how difficult life can be to just financially and emotionally survive a month at a time….What a revealing experience. I highly encourage others to participate the next time they have the opportunity.” – Ellen Wood, DSVP Partner & Social Entrepreneur

“It is amazing how the short time frame of the Poverty Simulation allows one to vividly experience not having enough time, money, and other resources to accomplish tasks necessary to provide adequate shelter and food.” - Susan H. Morrissey, CEO & COE, Bell Janitorial Supplies & Services, Inc.

CDM thanks our good and creative partners at DSVP for their support, creative energy and commitment to cutting deeply into the poverty that presses against so many of the people we know and love in inner city Dallas. For more information about DSVP, visit www.dsvp.org.

Anyone out there who has been involved in or hosted something like our poverty simulation? Let's hear from you.
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Counsel from a homeless friend. . .

"Eric" is new to this blog community.

He posted a most interesting and insightful comment last Tuesday, October 23. You may want to go back and take a look at what he said.

Eric is exceptional.

He is also homeless here in Dallas.

He signed off on his comment by offering up this bit of counsel to those of us who are well off, especially those of us who take exception to people like him:

"my inconvenient existence may be a glimpse of your eternal reward. . ."

Don't like the way that sounds?

It occurs to me that Eric's been reading the words of Jesus, since that is just about what Jesus told his critics through the words of his parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. You may want to check the passage out at Luke 16:19-31.

I have this hunch that Eric has a lot in common with Jesus.

I mean think about it.

Jesus was always upsetting the voices of reason of his day.

He made the religious leaders and the church folks mad as could be on a regular basis. Usually it was by pointing the inconsistency of their ways.

Or, even more, it was by simply telling them that they had missed the whole point of "doing God's will" in the world.

Eric's just carrying on a great tradition.

"my inconvenient existence may be a glimpse of your eternal reward. . ."

Something to think about the next time you feel inconvenienced by a poor person who has no place to live in a city of incredible wealth like Dallas, Texas.

The poor and what we pay for. . .

A couple of recent news reports captured my attention pretty quickly.

Last week I heard the CEO of a major U. S. oil company interviewed on NBC. His particular company, not really a very large one, had seen profits rise annually from a beginning point of a bit over $4 billion in 2003 to almost $16 billion in 2006.

When asked about the rising price of fuel in the U. S. today, the very nice man started down the road of supply and demand. He also threw in the claim that Americans, despite rising prices, continue to drive and demand more fuel.

The fact that the price of a barrel of crude oil sells today for about $10 less than it did a few months ago doesn't seem to be doing anything but continuing to drive prices up. Something seems a bit out of whack to me. How about you?

The last time I filled up, I paid $3.15 per gallon. I wonder what % of their profit margin is being directed toward alternative fuel research and development?

Jeremy Gregg, our Director of Development, sent me some information about the impact of rising fuel costs on other consumer goods. Jeremy's point was to have me consider the effect of such a reality on the poor and their families.

Milk: +3.2%
Oranges: +34.1%
Ground beef: +2.7%
Chicken +5.5%
Coffee +4.9%

(Source: The Dallas Morning News, "Food prices add up: Increasing fuel prices are also being felt at the supermarket," http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-foodprices_28bus.ART.State.Edition1.c35172.html .)

Then there was the little side bar report about a new initiative put forward by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to provide very inexpensive birth control pills for the benefit of family planning among the poor in his country. Under the plan, 10,000 drugstores across Brazil would make the a year's supply of the pills available to low-income people at a total annual cost per person. . .are you ready for this???. . .of $2.40!

The President said his plan would give poor Brazilians "the same right that the wealthy have to plan the number of children they want" (The Dallas Morning News, Tuesday, May 29, 2007, page 6A).

Sounds like a good effort.

But, look at that price! I'm I missing something?

Hmmm.

I'm wondering, can someone convince Brazil to tell us where to buy our pharmaceuticals as a nation? Or, could it be that the price is tied to the government's power to purchase in such mass quantities and directly from the manufacturer? Again, just wondering about solutions to the practical problems we face here every day.


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April 26: Forum for Our Future

Reserve your tickets today:




12th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Event
"FORUM FOR OUR FUTURE"

Hear the leading Dallas mayoral candidates
present their plans for fighting poverty in Dallas!

April 26, 2007 at 7:15 a.m.
Hilton Anatole
www.CentralDallasMinistries.org/Prayer

A New Mayor's "Prayer List"

There's a joke making the rounds in Dallas today that asks who is running for Mayor in May?

The punch line serving several variations on this theme goes something like this, "It would be a heck of a lot easier to list who isn't running!"

The last count I saw listed 20 candidates for the job.

Yesterday was the beginning of the filing period for candidates to get their names on the official ballot. By this time tomorrow no telling how many folks will be in the race!

The field was opened up when Mayor Laura Miller announced that she would not to seek another term. Ms. Miller has decided to step away from the chaos of running Dallas to spend more time with her family. Who could blame her?

As the field began filling up shortly after the Mayor's surprise announcement, we started wondering. . .

Who, if anyone, among the candidates had a vision for our low-income, inner-city neighborhoods?

Who among those hoping to guide our city for the next four years has a plan for attacking the challenges presented by persistent, almost intractable poverty here in Dallas?

Who has a valid vision for the Southern Sector in our city?

Is there anyone?

We decided to find out.

We will do so at our 12th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, April 26 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Our meeting will begin at 7:15 a.m. Our program for the morning will be the top 7-8 mayoral candidates vying for the top position in Dallas city government. We have invited the top contenders. All have agreed to be present.

Each candidate will be given an opportunity to respond to prompts like these:

"When I pray for poor people in Dallas, my list includes. . . ."

"My vision for improving life for the residents of our lowest income neighborhoods includes. . . ."

"When it comes to the Southern Sector here in Dallas, I plan to. . . ."

After hearing from each candidate, we will open the meeting to questions from the floor.

It should be a great and informative morning.

We just felt like the campaign should not conclude without someone asking hard questions about the issues that matter most to us and our inner city neighbors.

If you are anywhere near Dallas on this special morning, I hope you'll join us. Information about tickets, tables and sponsorships will be up on our website in the near future (http://www.centraldallasministries.org/).