Tom Joad dances on

Kurt Hochenauer, whose OkieFunk: Notes from the Outback blog provides consistently sharp and perceptive commentary on Oklahoma political issues, recently had a nice piece in the Oklahoma Gazette putting the recent rise in poverty in the state in its historical perspective. He notes:

But what’s probably needed more than anything else is for more Oklahomans to realize how poverty is deeply rooted in the state’s history and remains the foundation for so many of the state’s social problems.

Hochenauer cites Robert Lee Maril’s 2000 book Waltzing with the Ghost of Tom Joad, which provided a vivid ethnographic study of  how poverty plays out in the lives of eight Oklahoma families.

If you missed Doc Hoc’s commentary, it’s well worth a read.