Those children are the future, for our nation and the world. That two-year old being dawdled on her daddy's knee may, in twenty-five years or so, be the intern who is doing rounds at the hospital you are in. Are we, as we have over the last thirty-plus years, making that her life more difficult, by keeping her goal as a practical matter, out of her reach? Or shall we make certain that we change the laws on tuition, fees, and government grants and loans so our physicians are not leaving Medical School $500,000.00 or more in debt. Without our support: a good paying job for her parents; decent housing and nutrition; an excellent system of first rate, publicly supported education; a system of health care that will take care of the child and her parents without leaving her parents bankrupt should a medical catastrophe occur; we are doomed to fail a large portion of the children of this generation, 22 percent of whom currently live in poverty.
You may find it difficult to believe these numbers, or believe that many Americans are in such desperate financial straits. Michael Snyder of the blog Economic Collapse, published an article at AlterNet.org on November 8, 2011, titled "Extreme Poverty Is Now at Record Levels--19 Statistics About the Poor That Will Absolutely Astound You ." Here are the nineteen:
#1 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of "very poor" rose in 300 out of the 360 largest metropolitan areas during 2010.
#2 Last year, 2.6 million more Americans descended into poverty . That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.
#3 It isn't just the ranks of the "very poor" that are rising. The number of those just considered to be "poor" is rapidly increasing as well. Back in the year 2000, 11.3% of all Americans were living in poverty. Today, 15.1% of all Americans are living in poverty.
#4 The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010.
#5 There are 314 counties in the United States where at least 30% of the children are facing food insecurity.
#6 In Washington D.C., the "child food insecurity rate" is 32.3% .
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
