I have said all along, that even though people (claim) the recession hit SD later it will last longer here. These numbers are pathetic;
About 38 percent of children in South Dakota are living in poverty, up sharply from 14 percent in 2001, according to new statistics released Tuesday.
The state’s reaction is even more pathetic considering they are more worried about illegal immigrants coming to SD;
Neither the governor’s office, Department of Health Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth nor Department of Social Services Secretary Deb Bowman would comment on South Dakota’s plummeting rank.
And it really comes down to jobs;
Beaver said the solution to the child poverty problem lies in creating employment opportunities for South Dakota parents. “The bottom line are jobs, jobs and more jobs,” Beaver said. Even if jobs are created, the situation won’t get better unless parents can prosper in them, Randall said. “(Economic conditions) will, to some extent, trail the national economy,” Randall said. “But a lot of it depends on our own state’s economic development efforts and the extent to which we go after jobs that are solid, well-paying jobs.”
Kinda sounds like our ‘cheap labor’ mantra has come to bite us in the ass.