Posted on 01/30/2009 3:56:31 PM PST by Daffynition
KIRYAS JOEL — This village has always had the distinction of being a cultural and religious enclave, but now it can add another:
Kiryas Joel is the poorest place in the country.
According to the latest round of U.S. Census figures, released late last year, the village has the highest poverty rate in the nation, and the largest percentage of residents who receive food stamps. Only one other place in the 50 states has a lower median income. The median household income in Kiryas Joel is $15,848; in Carbondale, Ill., it's $15,799.
More than two-thirds of Kiryas Joel residents live below the federal poverty line and more than 40 percent receive food stamps, according to the American Community Survey, a U.S. Census Bureau study of every place in the country with 20,000 residents or more.
That makes the village poorer than crumbling big cities like Detroit and noted slums like East St. Louis, and by far the poorest place in the mid-Hudson.
The poverty rate in Newburgh, the next-poorest place, is 28 percent. Regionwide, it's about 11.5 percent. Places in the country with poverty rates similar to Kiryas Joel are mostly college towns with large populations of students who don't have full-time jobs.
Village officials did not return calls seeking comment, but an expert in Hasidic communities said the poverty figures are tied strongly to the village's religious culture and mores.
Pressure to have many children and the demand to send them to expensive private schools, combined with a low number of people who go to college or leave the village to get higher-paying jobs, produces a static and poor society, said Samuel Heilman, professor of Jewish studies at Queens College.
"This is a population that sees childbirth as a sign of high status and for women a fulfillment of their divine and socially sanctioned role in life," Heilman said. "They are also an insular community that see life on the inside superior to the outside."
The tendency toward large families is borne out in the American Community Survey data.
The median age in the village is 14.4, meaning half of its more than 21,000 residents is 14 or younger.
Also, the village has the highest marriage rate in the country, with 80 percent of women ages 15 to 50 being married.
Why is a religious ‘sect’ being given tax dollar-funded food stamps?
No, the town (always heavily Republican) that gave Hillary virtually all its votes was New Square NY. THat’s in Rockland County NY, about 15 miles from where I live in Bergen Cty. NJ. The votes came because Bill Clinton commuted the sentences of a couple of corrupt Orthodox Jewish “civic leaders” who were indicted and imprisoned for misappropriation of federal grant money that went to them for other purposes. Wotta surprise. Kiryas Joel is not that far away, but in another county, and I often see their own private ambulance tooling around in the ROckland County area, near Rte 59 , which leads into New Square, and Monsey, and Spring Valley, and Nanuet.
Thanks for the correction.
High marriage rate, extremely higher than average number of children per family, extremely high percentage of children too young to work, and if the food stamp statistic is to be believed, a population that is not shy about receiving public help, even though the unemployment rate, I am sure is low. I shop with these people at Costco in Nanuet every weekend. I can see how these oddball statistics work-—but there is a lot more to the story than calling this “the second poorest place in America”.
Looking at pictures of the village itself gives the lie to that.
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Critics of the village cite its impact on local politics. Villagers are perceived as voting in a solid bloc. While this is not always the case, the highly concentrated population often does skew strongly toward one candidate or the other in local elections, making Kiryas Joel a heavily-courted swing vote for whichever politician offers Kiryas Joel the most favorable environment for continued growth.
Kiryas Joel played a major role in the 2006 Congressional election. The village sits in the 19th Congressional District, represented at that time by Republican Sue Kelly. Village residents had been loyal to Kelly in the past, but in 2006, voters were upset over what they saw as lack of adequate representation from Kelly for the village. In a bloc, Kiryas Joel swung around 2,900 votes to Kelly's Democratic opponent, John Hall in that year's election. The vote in Kiryas Joel was a major reason Hall carried Orange County, as he defeated Kelly in the county by 93 votes
Kiryas Joel, NY, violent crime, on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 10, is 1. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The US average is 3.
Kiryas Joel, NY, property crime, on a scale from 1 (low) to 10, is 1. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. The US average is 3.
Well, how could that be?
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I lived in New York...these guys are Hasidic Jews. They work in the diamond district often...it’s a cash economy so they can hide their true income. Thus, they are eligible for all sorts of social benefits-these guys are big scammers. They have a public school...it’s mostly for disabled because many of their kids are born with problems...intermarriage. It’s a religious community but they got their own school-unbelievable. Hillary bought their votes basically.
They are not poor...they manage to hide their true income.
From what I could find, it appears that the wife stops working after the first child, and their families are large. With only one income, I guess they qualify for help. But something doesn’t feel right about this story b/c on-face it seems they are playing the system.
Did they vote for Hillary in any number? Do you have more information, or are you just making this stuff up. I could ask the same question about their supposed felonious diamond dealings which you allege. Please provide some documentation for the claims you have made.
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Not sure what you mean ...”Well, how could that be?” ...I’m no expert on this community or the stats. I want to learn. What do you know about it/them that might be helpful?
What I know about them is that they are an Orthodox Jewish community of some sort.
You made claims in your post at #12. I asked you about them; and now you are asking me about the claims you made. I smell a rat.
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Your post sounds a little prejudiced. Maybe some of these people have clannish occupations and hide some of their cash money, but not all are dishonest like that. It is actually a bigger sin that almost any other to cheat people or be unfair in business.
Also, you are right, intermarriage does create more recessive genes and thus birth or genetic defects, but not “MANY” as you say in your post. It’s not that common.
Also, believe it or not, the fact that the households are often with only one breadwinner sometimes means that the wife is taking care of all the kids AND holding down a full-time job such as teaching, so that the husband can devote his entire day to studying Torah. This is highly controversial in the Jewish world, because many of us believe that we study Torah IN ORDER TO USE THE TEACHINGS in the real world, not only for its own sake. And it seems to be unfair to the women.
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