A Washington think tank’s new report on poverty offers a disheartening view of communities that have been on life support for years and are seeing little or no benefit from the improving economy.
In the Lehigh Valley and beyond, the struggling areas range from the expected — the inner-city precincts of Allentown — to the surprising — rural areas where the beauty of nature conceals poverty every bit as dire as the urban variety.
The Economic Innovation Group’s Distressed Communities Index, released in late February, examined seven factors in 25,000 ZIP codes to determine how cities, towns, boroughs and rural regions are faring as the nation prepares to choose its next president.
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By: Dan Sheehan, The Morning Call
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