Whenever I go into a grocery store in Europe, I experience culture shock: I get everything on my list for easily half of what it would cost me in the United States. This is not just a personal observation; as a recent basket-of-goods analysis by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau (WFB) shows, food prices are up 5 percent this year. In addition to rising food costs, many low income families are being forced out of their homes by banks foreclosing on low-income apartments. My father has always said that everything hits the poor harder, and these two new developments foreshadow tough times ahead for Dane County’s poor.
The survey by the WFB involves buying 16 different items at grocery stores and finding the average of how much they cost, and then repeating it again some months later to see how food costs have risen. As of March, the amount added to a grocery bill since December was $2.39. The rising food costs are part of a larger global epidemic that has driven 44 million people worldwide into extreme poverty in a few short months. The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics explains the rising costs this way: The prices for meat, poultry and fish increased, so farmers that grow the crops (wheat, corn and soybeans) that feed these animals also raised their prices.
Because of this, the meat farmers could afford to feed fewer animals, meaning they had fewer to sell to consumers. And, as we learned in Econ 101, supply goes down, demand goes up and prices skyrocket. Unfortunately, the 44 million pushed into poverty is a relatively small number – according to the World Bank, more than 1 billion people go hungry every day. Although we think of them as children starving in Africa, the WFB survey shows hunger hits much closer to home. These developments will affect the Wisconsin poor, and what’s really sad is that healthy foods often suffer the greatest price increase. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, apples experienced the greatest price increase of 18%. Not only will the poor now struggle to buy food, they will have an even more difficult time buying the nutritious food they and their children need.
That’s not the only challenge Madison’s needy are facing right now. M&I bank is being heavily protested by Take Back the Land, Freedom Inc. and many others for moving to foreclose on low-income properties and drive the tenants out rather than help the buildings’ owners re-negotiate their loans. Tenants of the Hammersley Road duplex will be forced out of their apartments on April 26 when the Dane County Circuit Court finalizes the sale of their property.
When the building’s owners, Shwaw and Mee Vang, found themselves unable to pay, they first went to M&I bank to try to renegotiate their loan so they could keep their property. It is not uncommon for banks to do this nowadays; sometimes, foreclosing can cost them more money than renegotiating the owner’s loan. Apparently, that wasn’t the case this time, and M&I stood to profit from the seizure.
The Vangs then tried to transfer the property to a land trust so it could be converted to low-rent housing and their tenants wouldn’t have to move out. Again, M&I stopped this plan in its tracks. In addition to what they may gain from this foreclosure, M&I’s bank executives will receive $71 million in bonuses this year. Even though they owe the government $1.7 million in bailout money, they’ll still walk away with a sizable chunk of change. John Peck, director of Family Farm Defenders, said, “The banks got a huge bailout and are raking in more crumbs. … People shouldn’t have to worry about being thrown out on the street because some bankster needs a bigger bonus.” In fact, Robert McGee, a tenant of the Vangs at Hammersley Road, said this will be the second time he has to find a new home because the banks have foreclosed on where he was living.
Every night, I sit down to a nice healthy meal and go to sleep in my own bed. Most would agree that these concerns, food and shelter, are among the most basic comforts. I can’t imagine what it would be like to try to go to sleep knowing that I couldn’t afford anything to eat or that I had to get out of my apartment in less than a month. Food shelters are always open, and groups plan to rally at the Capitol to oppose the foreclosure of the Hammersley Road apartments at 8 a.m. on April 26 at the Dane County Courthouse at 215 S. Hamilton. Let’s help show those struggling in Madison that they deserve what we take for granted.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in biological anthropology and Latin American studies.
