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BEN EMANUEL
LOOKING SQUARELY AT WAGES
More than 1000 Athenians crowded into the Classic Center on
Mar. 19 for the unveiling of Partners for a Prosperous Athens' (PPA)
final set of 10 initiatives. Having attended nearly a year's worth of
meetings, I was surprised to find the final proposals lacking any
mention of raising wages for existing jobs. Talk of wages was rel
egated to an ambiguous and non-binding "statement of support"
document.
I was left with the impression that PPA was less interested in
removing families from poverty than providing a bit of comfort for
families who were to remain there. This is certainly a noble goal,
and I wish it success. It will do very little, however, to remedy the
poverty problem in Athens, the problem for which the PPA was
convened.
I have often wondered to what degree the conveners of
Partners for a Prosperous Athens foresaw the necessary conditions
of its success. How permanent and structural did they imagine the
causes of Athens' poverty to be? I am worried that the recalcitrant
facts of our economy, while understood by some, might have elud
ed the foresight of PPA's conveners and community participants.
Ar honest analysis of Athens' economy reveals a rather discomfit
ing economic structure that, in order to function recognizably,
requires a poverty rate little less than our own.
MEND THE STRUCTURE
I offer this to my fellow members of PPA: that the degree to
which we are able to alleviate poverty in Athens will be the degree
to which we mend the economic structure which produces the pov
erty. Please do not take this for only a facile claim of little con
sequence; the success of our efforts depends absolutely on a truly
honest examination of the problem.
An unlikely pairing of high poverty and low unemployment de
fines the dilemma of Athens' economy. The favorite claim of many,
that the slothful poor are to be blamed, does not apply in our case.
Athens has been known to enjoy unemployment rates a full two
points below state and federal levels. Yet our poverty rate ranks in
the country's top 10 among counties our size. We are an exception
ally employed county, and yet we are simultaneously an exception
ally poor county. It doesn't take an economist to figure it out; the
working poor of Athens aren't paid enough. Why might this be?
A particular economy develops to complement a major public
university. Granting an ever-diminishing number of exceptions, the
student body is an army of super-consumers whose supply lines are
kept wide open by the ample pocketbooks of their suburban home
bases. Retail, food and service sectors thrive in the university-ori
ented economy. This economic phenomenon is observable in many
college towns of our size. Common to Athens are fast-food restau
rants, "big box" retailers and hotels. One also finds an abundance of
supermarkets, smaller retailers, movie theaters and table service or
"sit-down" restaurants. This is the reality of the Athens economy.
NEEDS OF A CAMPUS ECONOMY
There is little debate as to the University's role in Athens'
poverty dilemma. UGA is the largest employer in the county by
some thousands, and its remarkably low pay defines the ceiling for
area-wide wages. President Adams himself confesses that a living
wage for campus workers is "the right thing to do." Under Adams'
management, the University has raised wages significantly, but
hundreds of campus workers remain in poverty. A living wage—or
"family supportive" wage as it is called by some—at the University
was likely foreseen by PPA's conveners as a necessary step. While
raising wages at UGA will certainly be a significant assault on
Athens' poverty problem, it is likely the easiest of the necessary
steps toward the Athens we desire.
Even the PPA's rosiest vision of the future is periled by a mas
sive poverty rate. Imagine a scenario in which the group's hope
ful proposals for "soft skill" and career-training education are a
smashing success. Suddenly, all of Athens' poor exhibit the charm
and manner of Madison Avenue CEOs. Problem solved, right?
Unfortunately, University students still like hamburgers and
blue jeans. Alps Road is still a choked scene of frenzied spending.
The Eastside still combusts with commerce. The laws of supply and
demand are hard at work; students demand service that the work
force must supply in the way of low-wage jobs. Where are Athens'
poor? As we've seen, they're certainly working; Athens' employ
ment rates regularly swing from full to brimming. The poor are
scanning and bagging students' groceries. They're standing over
fryers at any of the dozens of fast-
food restaurants. They're mowing the
grass. They're blowing leaves. They're
cleaning restrooms. They are serving
the needs of a campus economy.
An abundance of blame-the-poor
mentality found its way into PPA dis
course and, thus, into much of the
language of the group's initiatives.
At many meetings, the group seemed
more like a Partnership of Prosperous
Athenians than a poverty fighting
organization. The chain of causality
leading to poverty was oftentimes
reversed. "If only the poor could get
their act together," seemed to be
the sentiment of the many members
of PPA. In this way, members of PPA
loaded the poor with a double bur
den: both the burden of poverty and
the undue burden of guilt for their
economic plight. Little notice was
paid to the structural realities that
currently necessitate a vast poverty class in Athens. The elephant
in the room was not pink, but red and black, and it afforded little
room for effective discussion.
THE JOBS WILL ALWAYS EXIST
The truth is in the numbers. According to Georgia and federal
statistics, service sector jobs make up 54.9 percent of the Athens-
Clarke County workforce, or 34,037 workers. This single statistic
almost accounts for our poverty problem. Using only two catego
ries from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Employment
and Wages, accommodation and food services, one can measure
the sort of income depression that marks economies of our type.
The two categories account for 10.2 percent of the total workforce
while only distributing 3.5 percent of the county's total income.
Without fundamental change, the low-wage jobs will always
exist. The positions will remain regardless of expansions of bus
service, career training, or any of the current PPA proposals for
change. Given the rate of expansion both on campus and off, it is
likely that the number of low-wage jobs attendant to such expan
sion will increase as well. Like it or not, this is our economic cross
to bear. Or is it our challenge to overcome?
I cannot figure out whether it is the optimist or the pessimist
in me that understands the nature of Athens' economic woes. Is
it the optimist who sees with clear eyes the full dimension of the
problem, and, thus, can embark toward solution? Or, am I sunk in
pessimism? Have I only made a rude meeting with the intractable
facts of my fellow citizens' misfortune?
It would certainly be more comforting to ignore these more
obvious aspects of the local economy. Some ease their minds with
the promise of economic Band-Aids to patch the deep gash in the
gut of the Athens economy. This may prove to be a dangerous sort
of dishonesty. To imagine the road as smoother than it is can land
you with busted struts not far from where you started.
I urge members of PPA and the wider Athens community to look
squarely and honestly at our economic problems. I admit that the
dilemma becomes a menace upon this closer scrutiny. It would be
a shame, however, to watch our best intentions devolve into an
ostrich's folly of denial. Whether viewed as a matter of moral im
perative or civic image, Athens' poverty is a mark of ignominy. The
question remains, what are going to do to fix it?
Matthew Pulver
Matthew Pulver is a recent UGA graduate who served on the Partners for a
Prosperous Athens “livable wage” citizen subcommittee.
More than 1000 citizens turned out for Partners for a Prosperous Athens' town hall meeting Mar. 19 at the Classic Center
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