Fresno Movie Reviews

A year ago, just before the gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Meg Whitman got in hot water with Fresno-area folks for daring to compare our favorite city with Detroit. While she could have used language that was more sensitive to the feelings of Fresno residents, Whitman wasnt wrong about Fresno being in as bad a shape economically as Detroit. In fact, a new poverty report says Fresno is worse off than Detroit.

This is what Whitman said in October 2010: "Fresno looks like Detroit. Its awful." She later explained that she was referring to the regions high unemployment and economic struggles, not to Fresno itself.

Whitmans comments were the first thing I thought of today when I was reading Kurtis Alexanders front-page story on concentrated poverty in Fresno. A Brookings Institution report out today says Fresno is the fifth-worst city in the nation in poverty. Detroit is sixth-worst.

The percentage of people living in poverty in Fresno is 25.1%, according to the Brookings report. Its 23.6% in Detroit.

McAllen, Texas, was at the top of the list, with a 53.2% poverty rate, with El Paso second at 34.9%. Memphis was third at 27.7% and Poughkeepsie, NY, was fourth at 27%. Then came Fresno, Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo and Jackson, Miss.

One more thing we can be proud of. I wonder what the poverty rate is for Fresno county under the great leadership of Phil,Judy and Debbie oh wait here it is. ishttp://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/20/2584898/fresno-county-poverty-near-nations.