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Are you in the part of Kern that's rated worst in the nation for well-being?
| Wednesday, Jul 16 2008 6:35 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Jul 17 2008 7:27 AM
A section of Kern County found itself at the bottom of a new nationwide snapshot of health, education and income.
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“The Measure of America” report released Wednesday found that residents of California’s 20th Congressional District — which includes Delano, Wasco and parts of east Bakersfield — have a median annual income of $16,767 — the level of the country in the 1960s.
That area also has a life expectancy of 77.1 years, one year below the national average, and 47.4 percent of adults 25 and over have not finished high school.
Because of that, researchers determined the 20th District has the lowest “human development index,” a numerical measure they used to determine well-being.
“The report is not to point a finger at anyone and say, ‘You’re doing a bad job,” said co-author Kristen Lewis, co-founder of the American Human Development Project, a nonprofit organization established to measure well-being and hold elected officials accountable for human development. “It’s really introducing a measure that looks at human well-being as opposed to income alone.”
California’s 22nd Congressional District, which encompasses the rest of Kern County, fared better, coming in at No. 248 out of 436.
The authors used federal mortality and census statistics to determine life expectancy and referenced census data to determine educational attainment and enrollment and median earnings.
They gave the health, education and income indicators a 1-to-10 rank based on how they compared to other districts, added them together and divided by three to come to each district’s index. The authors did the same equation for each state.
The 20th District’s index is 2.64.
To compare, California comes in at No. 11, with an index of 5.62. The nationwide average is 5.06.
“Some groups of Americans are living 10, 20 and 50 years behind others,” said Ray Offenheiser, president of the international relief organization Oxfam America, in an early morning news conference. Oxfam American, along with other philanthropic organizations, helped fund the $800,000 project.
When compared to New York City’s 14th District, which ranked No. 1, 20th District residents earn more than three times less, die 41⁄2 years sooner, and are 10 times less likely to have a college degree, according to the report.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, who represents the 20th District, feels this comparison is unfair considering it’s not weighted for issues like cost of living.
“First of all, it’s not new information,” he said. “The economic challenges that we face in the valley are far different than in other parts.”
He also cited the fact that his district has experienced rapid growth and immigration. And considering most of his district is rural, a college degree is not always a job requirement.
“If there’s a silver lining on this cloud, it does continue to substantiate that we need to get our fair share of tax dollars that come to Washington,” he said.
Interim Kern County Public Health Officer Dr. Claudia Jonah said the report warrants a closer look but was hesitant about analyzing the figures before seeing the whole report.
She questioned the use of life expectancy — which includes all deaths, even from accidents and crimes — as the only health indicator.
While flawed, using life expectancy is the only available indicator that is standardized and kept over time, Lewis said. It also has been used by the United Nations in its Human Development Report, from which the new study borrows its methods.
“The index is imperfect, of course,” Lewis said. “But it’s part of a conversation.”