Journal Sentinel Editor asks “why, why?” In some Milwaukee communities babies are dying at rates comparable to Third world countries.

The Journal on Sunday ran articles about infant mortality in Milwaukee.

In the article and editorial they looked at the infant mortality rate of zip code 53206.

This zip code is 94.6% African American.

Only 4% of citizens in this zip code have college degrees.

The median income in this zip code is $20,787/year

In this zip code 39.2% of families are officially below the poverty line.

In this zip code the teen birth rate is 78.77/1000.

If you walk across the street from Talgo Inc. manufacturing on 27^th street, on Milwaukee’s north side, you are standing in the 53206 zip code. The same devastated community that has lost manufacturing jobs, because Governor Walker (with silence from the MMAC) refused Federal aid for high speed rail, now is shown to have an infant mortality rate comparable to Colombia, Thailand and Syria. This same community would have been served by manufacturing jobs in its neighborhood and by access to jobs in an economic corridor running from Milwaukee to Madison.

This travesty is due to Milwaukee’s power elite and status quo abandoning economic development and job creation leaving communities like 53206 comparable to post-Katrina conditions. Instead they have put their efforts toward eliminating family supporting jobs, as witnessed at Harley Davidson, and preventing implementation of the public’s desire for common sense policies like paid sick days.

Right now the MMAC has picked as its main campaign, expansion and support for private school vouchers and the dismantling of public education.

Where’s the plan for economic development?

Where’s the plan for job creation?

Read the following articles on Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate from Sunday’ Journal Sentinel:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/114430779.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/114430774.html