I don't know what part of the state your are from, but from your screen name, I'd guess the UP. I grew up in Michigan. I have lived around Detroit, up in Western Northern Michigan around Manistee, and I lived in the UP for six years while I went to Michigan Tech. One thing that always made an impression on me was the impression around the state that all those poor black people around Detroit were sucking up all the welfare and medicaid. But my impression was that there was just as much poverty around the rest of the state, it's just more concentrated and more noticeable around the urban areas. So, I googled poverty rates and Michigan, and guess what? The poverty rate is higher in many rural areas than it is in Wayne County.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/...for_rural.html
So, maybe it's time to poke your head up and take a look around...