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Maxwyfe t1_iz0v3v8 wrote

Clearly they didn't factor in our cheese hoard assets.

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Always_0421 t1_iz09vuo wrote

Also under the radar here....the poorest city in Illinois is East St Louis

The poorest city in Kansas, is Kansas City kansas

Both built on the border of Mo

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Orphemus t1_iz2z5qk wrote

Is this not because of what is determined to be a 'city' instead of a town?

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Eat__Moneyz t1_iz0h1xx wrote

SPRINGFIELD #1!!!! 💪💪💪💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯

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MrZanzinger t1_iz0iqa5 wrote

That's really easy to do when the vast majority of houses east of 65 and south of James River Freeway aren't even in the city limits for some dumb reason.

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robzilla71173 t1_iz17e43 wrote

This. They even have a school we pay for that sits in their neighborhood outside of the city on east Division.

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MrZanzinger t1_iz1sx5r wrote

I didn't even know there was a school over there. I just cant comprehend how Carver and Sherwood Elementary schools are less than 1/2 a mile from a Battlefield Fire station. The Sherwood neighborhood the elementary is named after isn't in the city limits.

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robzilla71173 t1_iz22jim wrote

Though I think Willard has had an elementary school inside spfd for a long time too. I think the grade school out west division is Willard.

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MrZanzinger t1_iz2e2wl wrote

West division and they built a new one off west Mt Vernon a few years ago too.

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kirknay t1_iz2kae3 wrote

Willard South is barely in Springfield afaik.

Went there as a kid. Really almost wish I got looked at for the tism and adhd I know I got now. Would have been a lot easier for both me and the poor teachers.

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robzilla71173 t1_iz229cm wrote

Hickory Hills is east of city limits now. I'm curious what fire department they use out there. I'm sure my friend would have complained if he had Strafford fire, but theirs is the nearest fire station.

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Shiner_Latte756 t1_iz2syxd wrote

Lol, School District boundaries don’t follow the city boundaries.

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einherjar73 t1_iz0i15l wrote

I haven't read the article, only going by the headline. But they've clearly never driven through Mindenmines, MO

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Big-Row-7895 t1_iz0o85y wrote

This is for cities with a population of 25,000 and above. Smaller cities were not considered for the study.

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TummyDrums t1_iz19ty6 wrote

I was curious so I looked it up, and there are 29 cities in MO with a population greater than 25k. Only 6 of those are not suburbs of KC or STL. Those places are (in order of most populous to least):

  1. Springfield
  2. Columbia
  3. St. Joseph
  4. Joplin
  5. Jefferson City
  6. Cape Girardeau

Make of that what you will.

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lochlainn t1_iz1ebhz wrote

Exactly. Statistically, it's obvious why Springfield is the "poorest city".

The ones above it are the rich suburbs of large cities, and the ones below it are barely cities.

"Which of the 3 urban areas in Missouri is poorest?" would give us the exact same conclusion.

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WendyArmbuster t1_iz2qjez wrote

$37k median household income is really poor though. I can't imagine trying to cope on that income, although I guess that includes college kids living in apartments and single people doing their thing. When I think of poor I think of Poplar Bluff, and dang if their median household income isn't just $2k less than ours. We're almost as poor as Poplar Bluff, and that's alarming.

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agentbarron t1_iz2w64x wrote

There's over 42 thousand college students in springfield, that's a huge amount compared to the 167,000 living in springfield as of 2021

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ThumYorky t1_iz3t78o wrote

Where are you getting the 42,000 number?

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VaderTower t1_iz3ukt2 wrote

Yeah I agree that's probably wrong. MSU total students are 26k, Evangel 2k, Drury 2k, OTC total is 11k but there's a lot of online and satellite locations. I'd guess more like 35k, but 40k isn't out of reason.

Didn't include other bible collages or the odd for profit ones, I can't imagine there's another 1k hiding in all of them.

That being said, it's a good point if we have roughly 40k students in a population of 160k, that means 25% of our population counted are college students, many of whom are very under employed making part time money skewing the average way down. Probably the same reason Columbia is right there with us.

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agentbarron t1_iz44j0l wrote

https://www.springfieldregion.com/data/schools-and-universities/

Students Springfield Metro Area Total 42,416 Missouri State University 23,618 Ozarks Technical Community College 9,926 Drury University 2,462 Evangel University 2,129 Southwest Baptist University – SBU 1,713 Cox College of Nursing & Health Sciences 956 Midwest Technical Institute 466* SBU – Springfield Campus (includes Mercy College of Nursing) 442 Baptist Bible College 279 Bryan University 275* Columbia College 150

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Sophia_Starr t1_iz3c7qk wrote

It depends.

My income is right below that. I'm working on ways to earn more (I have a lot of untapped talents and I'm not dead yet, so).

But it hasn't been uncomfortable.

Just tighter than I'd like.

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CheffRick t1_iz2x3p1 wrote

Cost of living in popular bluff is actually higher and they make less so they are a lot poorer than us. This study is going strictly on how much you make. Which is a mistake you also have to factor in the cost of living in the area. When corporations set payroll for salary workers in an area they do it by cost of living. I pay people here in Springfield 13 to $14 an hour to do the same job I pay people 25 to $27 an hour to do in Saint Louis. The reason for this is cost of living. It's an average of 2 to $3 per item more expensive to buy the same thing I sell here. In my restaurants that are ran in Saint Louis to for this very reason. I have to be able to pay a living wage to my employees and still make a big enough profit to keep said business running. This is the reason everybody that owns a business is getting really sick of hearing whiny and entitled little shit stains. Yelling we need to raise minimum wage. Then I have to raise the price of my goods to keep my doors open so does everyone else which means you didn't actually get a raise in minimum wage due to the inflation. If everybody has the same amount of something it is worthless. Most democrats can't grasp this fact.

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BrianArmstro t1_iz3ekp3 wrote

I certainly don’t want to hear you complaining about “how no one wants to work anymore” or how understaffed you are when you don’t pay people enough to even live on. You can’t live on $13 or $14 an hour in Springfield or anywhere else. Sorry that no one wants to work for free.

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CheffRick t1_iz3zi2l wrote

I have several employees I don't have a problem finding help and my employees are happy. You also most certainly can live on 13 to $14 an hour in Springfield easily. You just can't afford to have every digital service known to man. Or drive brand new vehicles. I'm sorry you can't afford a Tesla on $14 an hour. This doesn't mean your employer is not paying you a livable wage. I can't afford absolutely everything I want because my employer doesn't pay me enough. This is the mentality of a small child throwing a temper tantrum. An your words express this ever so eloquently. Entitled children. Open your own business and your views will change because reality will smack you in the face.

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WendyArmbuster t1_iz3c9c1 wrote

I think a lot of businesses aren't going to be able to survive in the near future, honestly. I make plenty of money to live as comfortably as I want, but at the same time I'm cutting back on things I don't really need, especially eating out and services that are mostly for convenience, and I know a lot of people are making the same decision. I think a lot of businesses were cultivated in a time when there was so much spare money all around, from the 1990's until recently, and I feel like there's going to be a shakeout on what people really value and find important.

I've been seeing what happens when I just stop spending money, and my quality of life hasn't dropped one bit. I'm cooking at home, playing my banjo, reading, and hanging out in the woods and parks with my old friends.

I have some friends who own businesses and they're noting that the current crop of high school and college-aged employees are among the best they've ever had. They say they are more punctual than in the recent past, are more appreciative of having a job, work harder, and all-around do a better job than they've ever seen.

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emg381t t1_iz21c34 wrote

St Joseph should be on this list

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TummyDrums t1_iz24mz8 wrote

You're right, it should be. Off the top of my head I was thinking it'd be considered a suburb of KC, but looking at a map it is further away from KC than I realized. I'll update the list.

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Presidentnixonsnuts t1_iz0i5hx wrote

Or Rich Hill

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Sally_twodicks t1_iz2sdex wrote

Woop, from Butler. Don't hear many people bring up Rich Hill.

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nickcash t1_iz0rf71 wrote

Okay but why would anyone drive through Mindenmines? There is nothing worth driving to that direction. No one needs to go to Frontenac.

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TEssary t1_iz0xtnf wrote

I just drove through Frontenac last weekend LOL

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VEI8 t1_iz12w5l wrote

Probably why it's so poor.

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Tupelo72 t1_iz2pvta wrote

We hike and do some birding at Prairie State Park sometimes. We'll swing by Mindenmines whenever my husband starts complaining about how rough we have it. A little trip through that town will make you grateful for what you have.

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Ed_the_time_traveler t1_iz3g6ql wrote

When I lived there, I remember there was this girl who had a pig that lived in her house. Not a small one, a full size, fat as hell, pig.

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Consistent_Eye5101 t1_iz2eklh wrote

Well you might pass through if you are driving from Nevada (MO) to Pittsburg, KS. Just sayin’

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TEssary t1_iz0xmd4 wrote

Omg for real! Before my grandma passed, we would drive through there to go to Girard KS. Sad sad little town. I can only imagine what it was like in its "glory" days

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joy_pop t1_iz183go wrote

My grandparents lived in Girard too!

Chicken Annie's or Chicken Mary's? 😆

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TEssary t1_iz1a2w0 wrote

That's awesome!!!! Oh chicken Annies....hands down lol We ate at chicken Mary's one time that I remember, and you know how they serve spaghetti? Well my grandpa hated spaghetti....we never ate there again lol What about you?!

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joy_pop t1_iz1fgbq wrote

Oh that's so funny, sounds exactly like something my grandpa would do 😆 I don't think I ever did actually go to Chicken Mary's, we were a Chicken Annie's family too! My grandpa always said it was better but it was also at least partly because it was closer lol I have one of their old magnets on my fridge now ❤️

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TEssary t1_iz24eu6 wrote

LOL that's good to know I am not alone lol! Yea, we were always a chicken Annie's family as well...I'm not sure why we went to chicken Mary's...might have been on a day where Chicken Annie's was closed lol! Ah man I REALLY want some German potato salad...so many great memories at Chicken Annie's! It was closer for us too lol oh wow I think it's been YEARS since I've seen one of their old magnets

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the_honeyman t1_iz2g4wn wrote

Chicken Annie's gang!

The school my mom teaches at always did a fried chicken dinner from them that was always the highlight of my year. Literal boxes and boxes (large, cardboard boxes, not carryout containers) full of fried chicken. All the drumsticks you could eat. I was in heaven every year. And then for a week after I'd "sneak" into the elementary teacher's lounge after school and have even more from the fridge.

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TEssary t1_iz2impu wrote

That sounds like heaven! That's so cool that the school did that! Oh those cardboard boxes LOL everytime we go there, I ALWAYS bring extra home! My god, I don't know if it's better fresh, or reheated! Chicken Annie's is an amazing restaurant. This is so cool, I love these stories!

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the_honeyman t1_iz2j156 wrote

Honestly, it always tasted best to me cold from the fridge, but that may have been the "rebellion" coming through lol.

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TEssary t1_iz4dqcj wrote

LOL yea your comment about sneaking in the fridge made me giggle...you are right though, nothing like a cold chicken Annie's drumstick 🤤

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joy_pop t1_iz32duh wrote

Wow what a treat!!

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the_honeyman t1_iz33mqs wrote

I wish I could have seen my elementary-age eyes get bigger and bigger with every box of chicken they brought in. It was amazing.

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joy_pop t1_iz32b0k wrote

YES HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT POTATO SALAD! 🤤

The magnet is an old one for sure, I'm not positive but decent chance it's older than me lol

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Megalicious15 t1_iz3hxhx wrote

FYI they sell the dressing they put on that and the German coleslaw now so it's super easy to make at home.

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TEssary t1_iz4dk8a wrote

😲 I did not know that! My mom and I were talking about getting their recipe lol thank you for that nugget of knowledge!

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TEssary t1_iz4dfde wrote

Right?! Good grief, I see a trip to Chicken Annie's in the near future....

LOL that WOULD NOT surprise me on the magnet being older than you!

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MOStateSuperman t1_iz1abbt wrote

I lived there very briefly as a kid (we're talking 30+ years ago). Recalling it what it was like then, I have no idea how there's even still a town there.

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Existing_Display1794 t1_iz1fv8e wrote

Brett Farve must be licking his chops thinking of all that federal poverty support money.

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Mizzoutiger79 t1_iz0xltx wrote

Maybe all those republican policies aren’t helping

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WaywardDeadite OP t1_iz0xqej wrote

Agreed! I'm glad Betsy Fogle was re-elected. If you contact her office, she's very responsive.

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ICareAboutNihilism t1_iz26co1 wrote

NYC / major cities and California are a nightmare unless you are a highly skilled professional when it comes to cost of living.

I'm not saying both parties are the same, but I fail to see democratic policies creating better economic conditions. If how the party reacted to the Sanders campaign in 2016 and 2020 is any indication, they have a long fucking ways to go tbh.

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brenton07 t1_iz4lkuv wrote

Your comment on cost of living may be true, but they’re also full of better schools, better low income transportation options, incredible global cultural institutions, with decent upward mobility. I saw this as someone who moved there making $27K/year, hardly “good money” by NY standards.

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[deleted] t1_iz07k84 wrote

[deleted]

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WaywardDeadite OP t1_iz08ggv wrote

I think they believe there's hope in low house prices. Surprise, housing is tied to wages.....

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Anima_EB t1_iz0ootv wrote

Working remote has made it more manageable. Technically work in STL.

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armenia4ever t1_iz1ex7q wrote

Wages in Springfield for alot of entry level jobs - especially ones that require no experience - are actually not bad. Moved from NW suburbs of Illinois a few months back and the wages here are basically the same for those positions with some of the manufacturing, distribution, etc jobs actually paying a bit more.

Then there's odd cases like Buckys- a big gas station with shit inside basically. A wealthy suburbs like Vernon hills in Illinois doesn't pay its retail associates and clerks 18$ an hour though the new Buckys opening up here starts at that. Store managers here will make 100k. Why the disparity? No idea.

The grass always looks greener I suppose, but this still prominent labor shortage means Springfield is in a position to still grow despite a wealth of issues plaguing it.

Working remotely helps - but it doesn't pay as much as people think. Entry level manufacting jobs here make almost as much as I do.

What's really key is the cost of living here, lowish housing prices (not rents) and property taxes that aren't basically the equivalent of having a permanent second mortgage on top of sky high interest rates for potential homeowners. (Illinois property taxes on just a condo is like 2500$ a year for example. 1800 Sq foot house with 4 bed and 2 bath? 5-9k a year and the schools aren't any better than the ones here, the parks are lacking, and the roads are still in need of desperate repair.)

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ManlyVanLee t1_iz2rcqe wrote

Weird. A lot of those states with the lowest income all have something in common politically. Huh. I'll be damned

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MrAbadeer t1_iz2je82 wrote

Like being the ugliest person in Mordor

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RobCali509 t1_iz0b5hf wrote

I see nothing has changed in over 60 years.

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biergarten t1_iz22pwb wrote

Income average says nothing unless you pair it with cost of living. Cost of living in Springfield is fairly low. We can have a lower average income and still be 'wealthier'.

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BrianArmstro t1_iz3f97z wrote

The cost of living isn’t that much lower. Especially housing. I’ve been apartment hunting in Springfield and surrounding areas and the cost of housing is pretty much on par with what I can find in Kansas City Missouri metro areas.

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biergarten t1_izd1gdn wrote

Did you have your search engine set on a set price range? Because I'm sure stl and KC can get much pricier.

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BrianArmstro t1_izd3s0q wrote

I know that STL and KC definitely can depending on the area, but comparatively speaking, I’ve been looking for 2 bedroom apartments with a garage and the lowest I can find in Springfield for that is around $900. KC is like $1,000-1,200 so pretty close in price.

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biergarten t1_izd422e wrote

Geez. Good thing I bought a home. I could never afford to rent.

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[deleted] t1_iz24o7u wrote

Oh hell yeah finally number 1 baby

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FryMastur t1_iz0f15r wrote

Legit. I’m assuming if you extrapolate this data out to the burbs is still the same right?

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jgj570s t1_iz23j45 wrote

The amount of voters fleeing Republicans, because of Christianity is staggering! I'm so happy that at least some of their base is realizing that the rest of them are fucking crazy. Of course, from my viewpoint… They're all making up rules and regulations for something that has never existed.

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Rodrigues805 t1_iz0tful wrote

Bakersfield MO? Places is just as shitty and poor as it’s namesake in CA

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Separate-Finding-697 t1_iz149ec wrote

The above statement is fact. Is there a button willow next to it to? Lmfao

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tbarta1 t1_iz47q9a wrote

Oildale. Now that was the place 30 years ago

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jgj570s t1_iz235nl wrote

Seems about right.

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jgj570s t1_iz23aqv wrote

Are there any Christians on this post still? I know that Christianity is fleeting… Have you guys done anything to help combat adult hunger? We all know that you guys are in a brutal battle for fetal food.

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ProgressMom68 t1_iz3ctcz wrote

I am. Yes, some of us do work to address adult hunger. There is a coalition of local churches that are providing cold weather shelter and meals to as many as 200 people a night right now. Asbury Methodist, Grace Methodist, Brentwood Christian, National Avenue Christian, Springfield Unitarian Church, Connecting Grounds Church, and a few others. Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri and the Ozarks Council of Churches do legislative work advocating for anti-poverty programs. Please let me know if you have any questions and I can try to answer them.

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throwaway_springmo t1_j0l5c5b wrote

Not a Christian, but I will say this…the small churches around here try harder and do more for hunger than any of the several mega churches we have around here. If James River and a few other churches just donated 10% (tithe) of profits, it would house all homeless and feed all the hungry. But those churches are more concerned about politics and drag show story times, than the poor and hungry.

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bill_hilly t1_izb27qt wrote

Lol. Hate on it all you want, but the Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization in the world.

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daleearn t1_iz46kwv wrote

Of 25000 people or more

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round_is_funny t1_izcr1i7 wrote

And yet I've lived in all 3 of the biggest cities and my family has the highest quality of life - to - debt ratio here.

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MonoChaos t1_izrj0np wrote

Not at all surprised.

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TellMore4974 t1_iz2pnxl wrote

Exceptbfor those rich sob s that keep wages low and affordabke housing non existant. Bustados magnifa cuntite

0

Rough-Dust-3926 t1_iz18ux9 wrote

After every other city in surrounding area sabotaged Springfield by sending all of their homeless here, it makes sense.

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hystericallymad t1_iz1f9ne wrote

Please enlighten us with your knowledge cause this stinks of someone that is clueless to our homeless population.

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Rough-Dust-3926 t1_iz1g8hy wrote

Most major cities surrounding Springfield participated in a campaign that gave a free bus ticket to homeless people and would drop criminal charges if they agreed to move. My source is countless homeless individuals in Springfield telling me that is how they got here and that they were lied to by being told Springfield was a save haven for them.

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hystericallymad t1_iz1it1b wrote

So, entirely full of shit comment?

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Rough-Dust-3926 t1_iz1ixxr wrote

Not sure why you would think that.. if you had the decency to even speak to someone in need every once and awhile, you would know too.

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hystericallymad t1_iz1ly5f wrote

This goes to show that I know you just as well as you know me. While I'm not doubting stories "you've been told" I do doubt this is a primary issue of homelessness in Springfield. I do recall stories of Springfield police doing exactly this, providing one way tickets out of town, and this comes from a credible source that works with Springfield's homeless population.

The reason for my initial comment was to call out bullshit. As disclosed, I don't know you. I do have some knowledge surrounding this and many acquaintances that are heavily involved in this social issue. Hell, for all I know you may be one of those people I know. The issue is your comment wants to push the problem of homelessness and thus the responsibility of homelessness away. Your comment really has a bad NIMBY vibe to it, doesn't it?

Perhaps I do need to be involved more. I know I do. But you don't know me. You don't know my community involvement. You don't know what I do.

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lifeinmisery t1_iz28qhy wrote

Kansas City police have a bit of a reputation for doing this every six months or so for a while.

The story was that the kc police would sweep the town every few months and ship a couple of bus loads of homeless down here, and this continues until Springfield raised enough of a fuss at the state level about it. At which time kc switched to bussing them to somewhere in Oklahoma.

I grew up in KC and have heard this most of my life. So nothing to back this up but second hand anecdotal evidence, but that has been the story in KC for years.

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Alexissmiley1995 t1_iz1yw00 wrote

Ashamed to say I spent my high-school years in this shit hole. Freekin middle schoolers smoking meth. Every girl knocked up with 3 kids by 21 years old. Nothing to do there but eat and everyone is so freekin miserable and rude as well. Best decision I ever made was leaving that butthole of a city. Inbred people is really common too.

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