Polygamy Causes Poverty? Debunked.

Flora Jessop and K Dee Ignation are anti-polygamy activists who assert that the high level of food stamps recipients in the polygamist towns of Colorado City and Hildale are caused by the practice of polygamy.  They do not cite any evidence to substantiate their claims, however.  Where do they get their information?  Nobody knows - I guess you just have to trust what they say.  And they do have a lot of people who just blindly accept what they say as true.  Frankly, I don't trust anybody that much and prefer to form my own opinions based on facts.  Citing independent evidence would seem to help solidify their position so the lack of any cited, independent, primary sourcing to substantiate their statements is a concern.

Opponents of polygamy claim that the practice actually causes poverty.  I hesitate to believe that.  You see, there are polygamists who are not FLDS or Mormon or even any religion.  They choose a polygamist lifestyle completely free of the threat of damnation if they don't.  Why would these people choose something that would inherently place them in poverty?  I decided to do some research on my own and see if areas where polygamy is practiced are pockets of extremely high welfare. 

Interactive Food Stamp Map by County

I found this great interactive map showing the entire country, broken down by county, and showing percentage of the population receiving food stamps.  I'm a visual person so I really like the map. 

What I found is that the areas where polygamy is open and rampant are not the populations that are receiving the highest percentage of food stamp assistance in their states or regions.  I noticed that the areas of Nevada and Utah that border with Mohave County in Arizona are actually on the very low end of food stamp recipients in those states.  Mohave County where Colorado City is located has a rate of 16%-25% receiving food stamps and are in company with most of the entire state of Oregon, Maine, Michigan, Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and West Virginia. Mohave county isn't even the highest percent in Arizona!  

Just below the map you can sort data by state, by percentage increase in food stamp recipients, etc.  While numerous counties across the country were seeing increases in food stamp recipients at 200% and 300% Mohave county only saw an increase of 51% during the same period.  

What I found is the claim that polygamy creates poverty and leads to food stamp use is untrue.  The FLDS don't receive food stamps at a higher rate than many other areas of the country where polygamy is not practiced in large numbers.  Some areas where polygamy is widely practiced (Utah, Colorado, Nevada) actually have much lower rates of food stamp use than most of the rest of the country.

FLDS Bleeding the Beast

Opponents have accused the FLDS of fraudulently collecting welfare benefits to the tune of millions. The theory they put forward is the church encourages its members to get all the welfare benefits they can by lying to qualify for these benefits. Bloggers supporting this assertion use this news story to prove the allegation. The story certainly proves many of the FLDS receive welfare benefits but it actually disproves those benefits are obtained fraudulently.

Curt Stewart, of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, was interviewed for the piece. Stewart said, "We've gone in there a couple of times. But we've not found anything that is above the average of any other area, as far as fraud and abuse."

There is no evidence of wide-spread welfare fraud as purported by opponents of the FLDS. While many may resent the FLDS supporting their families with the help of welfare it appears they are receiving that assistance legitimately.

Another favorite article often linked on the blogs of opponents of the FLDS describes Bleeding the Beast at great length. This article asserts other forms of welfare fraud by the FLDS.

The beast can be bled in other ways. The government allows benefits to be paid to child-care providers who are related to their charges, so one wife can be paid for taking care of another wife's children.

What the article does not report is that in order to qualify for this benefit the mother of the children receiving the care must provide proof that she is working a job or attending school outside of the home. One can logically conclude that for every wife being paid for childcare there is at least one other wife out working a job or getting an education. What this article inadvertantly proves is that the FLDS women work to help provide for their families.

That leads us to another alleged method practiced by the FLDS to 'bleed the beast' - tax evasion.

Of course, contributions to the beast's existence are anathema, so paying one's taxes is a grave sin.

Since we know at least some of the women are out earning paychecks this statement cannot be true. State and federal income taxes are taken off the top of every paycheck. With so many children to deduct and earned income tax credits the result of not filing a tax return would be not receiving a sizeable tax refund ... not avoiding paying taxes.

Wouldn't that be like giving the "Beast" a blood transfusion?