Progressive governing

I agree with Jerry Jackson that some of the coastal cities have a lot of poverty; however, per capita, they have less poverty than Arkansas. According to the World Atlas 2014 figures, Arkansas ranked the 8th poorest state. World Atlas noted that “many of the states with the highest rates of poverty in the U.S. are located in the country’s deep south.” In other statistics on poverty I found, Arkansas was ranked 4th.

In October 2012, Fox Business wrote that Arkansas is among the 10 worst states in the nation for high school graduation rate, at 83.8 percent, and that it has the second-smallest proportion of adults with at least an associate’s degree, at just 26.1 percent. They went on to say the poverty rate for adults with less than a high school education is seven times higher than for those with a bachelor’s degree or more.

The site 24/7 Wall St. compiled data on the most dangerous states in America. Arkansas ranked 10th, with “more than 445 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Arkansans in 2013.” They said “high crime rates can be partly explained by poor socioeconomic conditions in the state. Median household income in the state was just above $40,000, the second lowest in the country.”

Arkansas came out much better in comparisons on pollution. It ranked number 28. California was 24 and New York was 26. Population is usually a big contributing factor in pollution. It would seem we have a significant problem considering the size of our population compared to California and New York.

I have been seeing these statistics about Arkansas poverty and crime for many years. Perhaps Arkansas could benefit from some progressive governing, or just some progression; but like Mr. Jackson said, progressives don’t reflect our priorities. SALLY J. MAYS

Roland