Making Election Coverage Real

Are real needs being lost in the election rhetoric?

Here's a list of what really matters to working Americans.

The South Central Federation of Labor in Wisconsin polled a wide variety of Wisconsinites including middle class, working class, small business owners, people with jobs and the unemployed. They wanted to measure the importance of the "Right to Work Bill" to Wisconsinites.

Right to Work did not make the cut. What Did?

• Raising wages
• Maintaining quality schools
• Basic community improvements
• Job training opportunities
• More affordable education
• Good housing

What would have more impact in news coverage? What would make for positive outcomes? What coverage would engage the community? The six points above would have a meaningful effect on the community. Or, do we let others set the agenda?

As journalists, we owe it to our audience to continue to bring these issues up. I live next door to one of the poorest cities in America. Deep poverty and joblessness bring with it all sorts of issues. The solution was presented as building a new stadium and commercial development funded through city taxes. The local public radio station and the local paper are going deeper.

With pending budget cuts and layoffs in Connecticut and Hartford, there will be plenty of stories. Many of the cuts are coming at the expense of the most vulnerable...those who would benefit most from the list above. Public radio's audience is filled with the people who have the resources and the inclination to do something about these issues.

Go deeper...Think audience!

The Wealthy Give Less

Middle and Low Income People Give More

Being a part of the top income earners doesn't mean they give more. The total dollars given by this group has increased, but the percent of income has decreased. 

The Chronicle for Philanthropy reports, "As the recession lifted, poor and middle class Americans dug deeper into their wallets to give to charity, even though they were earning less. At the same time, according to a new Chronicle analysis of tax data, wealthy Americans earned more, but the portion of the income they gave to charity declined."  Americans earning $200,000 or more are giving 4.6% less than they were in 2012 that they were in  2006. You can see more of the report at The Chronicle of Philanthropy website.  

As Wealthy Give Smaller Share of Income to Charity, Middle Class Digs Deeper

Giving was down in our largest cities. Among the top 50 markets giving was down in 2012 in 36 markets.  Giving rates in New England bump along the bottom. Percent of income giving in the Hartford and Providence metro's were 1.9%. Boston wasn't much better at 2.3%. Salt Lake City and Memphis were the most generous. They gave more than 5% of income.

Despite the disparity, American charities continue to pursue high income donors. This begs the question. What is more valuable...the one really big gift or smaller contributions from many donors?