Poverty In America

The Stark Facts About Child Poverty In America! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The new figures on poverty in America in 2009, the greatest percentages since the 1960s, is a shocking reality that must be addressed! 🙁

One third of African American and Hispanic children live in poverty, while one sixth of white children and one seventh of Asian children face the deprivations of poverty!

This is totally unacceptable in a nation that likes to claim it is a prosperous and humane society, which offers opportunities for advancement as no other nation does!

In the midst of the Great Recession, it is not time to talk about giving more tax cuts to the wealthy, and ignore what we are doing to our nation’s children, who are the future of America! 🙁

A new “war on poverty”, as was conducted under Lyndon Johnson, must occur, or we are losing our future as a great nation!

Poverty Growing Among America’s Children!

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A recent USA TODAY article details the fact that more than one out of every five children in America in in poverty, and that it is the highest such percentage in two decades! 🙁

Eighteen percent do not have a secure source of food, and a half million are homeless! 🙁

This is, unfortunately, a state of affairs that leads to more health and education problems long term! Poverty also has a long range effect psychologically on children who suffer from it while they are growing up! 🙁

One would think that this would be an issue of urgency, but at least to the conservative Heritage Foundation, it is not, as one of its researchers states that poor families receive food stamps and housing assistance, although he does not point out that these aids are far from adequate! But the same researcher claims that government programs are ineffective in making lives of children better, and are just an excuse for more government programs and spending!

Somehow missing from this researcher’s assertions is any compassion for the harm done to children who are in poverty, and instead the emphasis on attacking government, even though private charities and groups have been proved inadequate in dealing with the problem of hunger and poverty!

The Newest Concept of “Poor”: Living Solely On Food Stamps

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The New York Times has revealed that there is a new concept of what it is to be poor in America.

This new category are those who have lost their homes, their jobs, their health insurance if they had it, and have absolutely no cash income. All that they have is a few hundred dollars per month in food stamps, so that they can feed themselves and their children in an inadequate manner.

These unfortunate Americans have no welfare, unemployment insurance, pensions, child support, or disability pay. Two percent of the population now lives in a household with only food stamps as the source of sustenance. One in four children lives on food stamps and one out of eight Americans gets food stamps.

Food stamp use in Florida has doubled over the past two years, and tripled in areas of the devastated Southwest Florida, where foreclosures are particularly high. The number of whites on food stamps is growing faster than of other groups.

This situation is obviously unacceptable, and it behooves the Obama Administration to do more, even with the attacks on spending coming from the Republican party and conservatives. This poverty problem, worse than ever, is a national disgrace, and affects children more than anyone else. No one in good conscience can see this and look the other way!