We're Still Number One! Miami: America's Poorest City

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Last year about this time we published a special report on the City of Miami, which had recently earned the dubious distinction of being named America's poorest big city. The award was bestowed by the U.S. Census Bureau, which calculated that a greater percentage of Miami's residents were living in poverty than any other U.S. city with a population over 250,000.

Well aware of Miami's obsession with its image as a carefree tropical playground, we seized on this humiliating news as an opportunity to lift the veil and examine the city behind the façade. Our report was headlined "We're Number One!" The tone may have been sarcastic but the actual content was not. In fact the opening story revealed that the depth of poverty in Miami was much worse than census figures suggested.

If the federal government were to apply a realistic threshold for measuring the requirements of basic survival instead of the antiquated and inaccurate formula it's used for decades, the number of people deemed to be living in poverty would skyrocket. The multitudes of individuals and families eligible for public assistance would instantly overwhelm the meager resources available in Miami and across the nation. That, of course, would be a most unwelcome development for everyone in public life. And so reality is simply redefined.

This big lie is perpetuated by politicians, and is a reminder that they can't always be trusted to tell the truth, especially when the truth is unpleasant. With that in mind, we decided to revisit the territory we explored one year ago -- to check back with people who were struggling to survive, and to check up on the politicians who made promises to help them.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/current/feature.html/1/index.html

and most of it is one large ghetto. Very sad.

is not sharing the wealth down there but can shore in the votes for his brother though. I guess all the cubans down there with the money are repugs and don't believe in helping the poor.

http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_city/20031016junkbond1016p1.asp

In your face, Miami! We're one big junk bond!

Now it's a world-class city!"

I've heard this claim over and over in the last few years on message boards attended by Cuban "exiles."

So now Miami has a legendary record in crooked politics, violence, crime, vote tampering, police brutality, and poverty.

Here's the first article by the Miami New Times:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/special_reports/poverty/

Thanks to Say_What for this important new material.

In the immortal words of the late Cuban "exile" godfather, Jorge Mas Canosa:

(snip) The reporter had asked if the Americans would ''take over'' Cuba after Fidel Castro's fall. Mas Canosa reportedly replied, ''That's bull----. They haven't even been able to take over Miami. If we kicked them out of here, how could they possibly take over our own country?'' (snip/...)

http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/caricature112497.html

There is a difference between the City of Miami, which I presume earned the dubious distinction mentioned above, and Miami-Dade County. You may remember a few years ago that the Miami City was practically bankrupt. On the other hand, much of the suburbs that aren't covered under the City of Miami are booming. Sadly, the tax revenues in the burbs and Dade County stay there and there is little benefit going to the city itself, which faces greater needs due to a lower income population and is caught with a shrinking tax base.

This is a problem faced by many urban centers like Los Angeles, Detroit, Washington DC, etc.

"On the other hand, much of the suburbs that aren't covered under the City of Miami are booming."

Please name one or two of these suburbs that are "booming". Thanks. (Please don't try to pass off Coral Gables as a booming suburb, the 'City Beautiful' has a booming deficit.)

And some parts of it are indeed seedy.