In every country on Earth, there are people who live in opulence because they were lucky enough to be born into wealth or fortunate enough to live in a society that rewards initiative and hard work. There are though, segments of every society that barely subsist on meager provisions because of economic and social factors that are often beyond their control. America is said to be the wealthiest country on the planet and it has its fair share of extremely wealthy citizens who enjoy special privileges based on their financial worth. However, for all the wealth in America there are still a disproportionate number of people living in dire poverty with no hope of ever exceeding their present condition and it should be a cause of shame for the nation. It is unfortunate, but regardless of the amount of wealth in America, there are at least 31 million children living in poverty which is approximately one in five of all children.
It is unbelievable that in this country any children live in poverty, but the figures for minority children are much worse. One in three (36%) African-American children live in poverty and 31% of Latino children live in poverty and it affects the infant mortality rate and school achievement far exceeding their white counterparts. The numbers are much worse for sixteen states that report as high as 40% of black children living in poverty in 2009 and in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama there are 40% of Latino children living in poverty. There are no states that have children’s poverty levels for white children exceeding 23% and it demonstrates the deepening income inequality in America. There are many reasons for higher percentages of minority children living in poverty, but one specific explanation is the mortgage foreclosure crisis that disproportionally affected communities of color.
Many black and Latino families accumulated wealth throughout the 1990s, but the economic recession erased their gains and unlike their white counterparts have not been able to regain their financial footing. Entire families have been affected and besides job losses and mortgage foreclosures, the Republican practice of eliminating social safety nets like unemployment insurance, food stamps, and health insurance has contributed greatly to the rising number of children living in poverty. The government programs that were put in place to help Americans left destitute from the economic downturn are being eroded by the Republican’s Draconian spending cuts and there are consequences to the families and especially the children living in poverty.
Researchers at Cornell University discovered that children who grow up in poverty are deeply affected in their educational and psychological development. The researchers found that the instability of children who grow up in poverty are affected by their home lives and that environmental stressors hinder their education and there is a direct correlation between a family’s income and success in school. One of the senior fellows at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Jann Jackson, said that the “deepening racial inequality facing the country matters to everyone” because children lacking a decent education are going to be prohibited from succeeding for the rest of their lives. Jackson continued, “This has huge implications for whether or not the next generation is going to be economically secure, educated and prepared to be productive in the workforce. This is about where our country will be 20 years from now.”
In twenty years, there will be more than just minority children living in poverty because Republicans have set in motion a deeper income inequality than exists in America today. The lion’s share of America’s wealth is held by a minute percentage of Americans and as the wealthy’s corporations continue to ship Americans’ jobs to India, China, and South Korea, unemployment is certainly going to continue rising. In a recent report, experts said the number of poor in America is nearly identical by percentage to China where more than half the population are peasant farmers who barely subsist from day to day. It is tragic that a wealthy, allegedly predominately Christian population sits by and watches as such an obscene number of children live in the same conditions as peasants in rural China. Republicans have made sure that our children, and especially minority children, go to bed hungry and are fortunate to eat free school lunches. The Republicans’ spending cuts have decimated Head Start programs and children’s health care so their wealthy donors continue receiving their precious tax breaks.
Americans should feel abject shame that one in five of all children live in poverty, but it is humiliating that over one third of all minority children suffer because the GOP thinks more of a couple hundred wealthy families than 31 million of our own children. To make matters much worse, the Republicans’ spending cuts eliminated millions of jobs many people of color held with no chance of them ever returning. But maybe subjecting more people of color and their children to a life stuck in perpetual poverty is part of a grand scheme to keep the next generation unemployed and under educated. It seems that everything Republicans are doing is meant to keep the majority of the population in poverty because they have made absolutely no attempt at creating jobs or giving struggling Americans the help they need during a tough economy that is not of their doing.
It is sad that there are Republican legislators who can look at children and know that some of them will never have the opportunity to succeed because the their party would rather help the ultra-rich instead of minority children. Educators have known for decades that children who arrive at school well-fed and rested are successful in school and that it translates into a successful life. Unfortunately, the income disparity in the wealthiest country in the world is becoming wider and as long as Republicans continue decimating the safety nets and killing jobs, there will be even more people and their children living in poverty until America becomes a third-world country. Don’t think that it cannot get any worse because Republicans only control the House and if they ever control the Senate and the White House, the majority of Americans will work for minimum wage (if there is one left) and the number of people living in poverty will be greater than any third-world country. At the rate the GOP is going, expect that eventuality within five years and that is being very optimistic; troubling, but optimistic all the same.
Related posts:
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- Democrats Unite And Reject The GOP’s Budgetary Path To Poverty
- Bob Barr Compares the U.S. and China on Domestic Spying
- When Americans Asked For Bipartisanship The Republicans Said No
The fact that any child goes hungry in this country is a crime in it’s self . I feel that the tea baggers that don’t want schools to give free meals because their tax rate might rise should really look deeply into their souls .
I think that if ANYONE goes hungry, it’s a crime. Even with the Republicans in power, there are still lots of programs that help people with children (although they are decreasing and the b*st*rds are trying to defund them).
If you don’t have children (for any reason) in this country, the possibility of getting help diminishes significantly… and the Republicans are trying to make things even harder.
They don’t have any souls!!!
Poverty ‘rates’ are misleading. According to the US Census, in 2007 5.8% of all people in married families lived in poverty,[24] as did 26.6% of all persons in single parent households [24] and 19.1% of all persons living alone.[24] It was Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ programs that had the unintended consequence of removing fathers from homes. SO, MARRIED is key to poverty. Read an unbiased history of that program.
Go beyond emotional rhetoric. The measure of ‘poverty’ based on Orchinsky, has been questioned, as it doesn’t consider many factors such as consumer purchasing. Even inner city poor have cell phones, microwaves, TV’s.
Hunger is not a problem in America. It is obesity, even among the so-called ‘poor’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#Recent_poverty_rate_and_guidelines
That you could post what you did tells me you didn’t read the article or you are one of the republicans that are comfortable with and more than capable of looking at a child knowing he/she will be going to be hungry and is okay with it. No emotion, just fact.
I’ve sat down to dinner with a guy that openly stated he was against child support, because he knew the mother would feed the kid, so what did she need the additional money for? Her nails, spa days. I withheld the smack he deserved and asked him, “Wouldn’t you feel so much better KNOWING your child ate today?” He laughed and I realized I was wasting my time on one of God’s children that should have been smited and smited hard.
I’ve seen the type often… and they like to sit in the front pews and show the world how “Holy” and “Godly” they are on Sunday.
Actually, Liz is absolutely correct in her statement. This article is comparing people that live in villages with dirt floors, no running water, no electricity, an no access to medical to what we call poverty. There really is no comparison to the two. It is a crime that any child go hungry and everything possible should be done to eliminate hunger worldwide. However, this article is more about slamming republicans with emotional innuendos than the truth. Our poverty level would be considered middle class in many poorer countries. I live in a poverty stricken area, and I can tell you without a doubt that almost everyone has running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, a television, and a phone. Many even have cell phones, vehicles, and don’t forget, homes in cities where they are given many subsidies such as EBT cards, subsidized housing, and free medical care. Please show me one poor village in China which has these things. Do it objectively, without trying to throw around emotions, and seriously compare our two cultures. You will not find anywhere near the poverty here which you find in China or any other developing country. I’ve been overseas and have seen it first hand. In all my travels across our great country I’ve never seen anything that comes close to the levels and scale of poverty that this author is comparing us too.
Well I guess we have plenty of room to cut more stuff since our poverty levels isnt as poverty stricken as that of third world countries. Since you seem to be of the group that considers having basic appliances as meaning you are doing just fine good for you. If we are comparing things to other countries then all the wages in America should be cut down to a fraction of what they are today also.
Comparing percentages to possessions is not apples to apples. And then we have people like you who never think that people have jobs, buy things and then lose their jobs. Or never think that we have large numbers of homeless who own a shopping cart. true republican style thining. Gee I have a job, screw the rest
So by that logic we have a lot more rich people so the rich don’t need to cry so much since our lower upper class would be fantastically wealthy in some other countries. Of course at some point the s— will quit rolling down hill and pretty much all Americans will be in the same pot…except that one percent at the top of the heap…without some base of consumption we will be a third world country and if you have spent time in them you know that they are not all that much fun. And you don’t see many new BMW’s in a Lao village. So as time rolls on we we see more Americans being like citizens in Laos, Burundi or Liberia and all Republicans that are feeling so smug right now can continue to feel smug since they still have someone below them so they can keep feeling superior (of course when it gets to the point that American are moving to Mexico for jobs…they can be real proud of their work.
OK. You make a valid point. Yes, many of the poor people you’re talking about have running water, cell phones and electricity. The problem with this article is that it compares a developed country to a developing country. A better comparison would be Sweden, Germany, Libya, Japan, and Korea. These countries have already conquered poverty.
The other problem with this article is that
The reason they have them is because of the New Deal and the Great Society programs, which enabled many Americans, especially whites, to climb out of poverty. Unfortunately, this same privilege was denied to African-Americans and other minorities.
@ Allen:
Been to Appalachia lately? People there & other areas of the USA live in the third world conditions you use as your markers of ‘true’ poverty.
One mile from my home 20 miles north of knoxville there is a family who lives in a trailer house. The kitchen section is open to the elements and there is a blanket over the door leading to the rest of the house. I am sure Allen would run from them in disbeleif
http://townhall.com/columnists/johncgoodman/2011/08/20/are_the_poor_really_poor
@ Liz: Wikipedia? Really? I tell my first year freshman comp students NOT to use wikis as sources for their papers because the info is a)second or third hand and b)unrealiable as any clown can still go in & post whatever they like. Yes, there are monitors now, but given that there is so much info to cover and so few monitors, there is only so much qulaity control that can be done. By using Wikipedia as your primary source of information, you call your entire argument into question.
Also, how many poor people do you know? Those folks w/ cell phones you mention – that’s the ONLY phone they can get as land lines are more than they can afford & many agencies and employers require that at the very least, they have a phone number to call. Microwaves? You can buy a microwave for $50.00 new, where a stove that may or may not come with your apartment, starts at $300 new. Enjoy your ill-informed ivory tower while you can.
Liz that is sick. Find info other then Wikipedia that is a good spot to start looking but its not a credible source. Being Married does not magically get you out of poverty.
A DUBYA tax-cut legacy and unregulated and unfettered corporate greed can be proud of!
Yes. This article should be made an official document of his presidential library. SOmething to look back on, as an achievement to feel excessively proud about.
[...] Story is located here [...]
The irony is that China so desperately wanted to be like US, but somehow in dealing with them, we’ve become them. Ah Capitalism, the great unifier of greed, poverty and Communism.
The single greatest cause of poverty in the US is the destruction of the traditional family (not mentioned in the esssy). Of coirse, that cant be part of the discussion if you dont care about it or feel that is a good thing. SAD
and the biggest reason for divorce is monetary.
The destruction of the American family if it exists is caused by the parents no longer being involved with their families, bot parents working and not always being home, not enough family time. And many more reasons
nope.
Yes, the biggest reason for divorce is money, more specifically stress over money. This is true across multiple income levels and has been true for years.
But even without divorce, what kind of family life exists where both parents work long hours? If you’re white collar, your employer feels free to demand more and more hours from you (off the clock, of course) because you have few options. If you work retail, you probably juggle multiple jobs because employers want to avoid paying benefits, thus will only let people work 20 hours a week. If you are blue collar, you may be still working shifts that take you away from your family even after years of seniority. And that doesn’t include the parents who have been laid off, thrown away by the economy.
What kind of message is that sending to our kids about their futures?
Why is it necessary for both parents to be working? Because employee wages have been deliberately eroded, while managements has exploded. In today’s climate both partners must work if the family is to survive. We are all living in survival mode and the republicans are keeping us there by voting for the health, wealth, and safety of the uber wealthy that are going to turn us into soylent green.
(Forgive me for using that term, but I watched the damn movie, again, yesterday and it is fresh in my mind.)
The republican base doesn’t know that we want the same things and the same opportunities. We need to join and vote against the politicians that are solely concerned for the corporations and the rich that want to protect what they have with the opportunity of taking the last of what we have; republicans included.
Define traditional family.
Seriously. Your “traditional” family may not be mine. Some people define family as not only including mother,father, and children, but grandparents, uncles and aunts, and cousins are all immediate family too (traditional Native families are often like this, as well as some cultures in Europe and from other areas). Indeed, the American “nuclear family” is actually the minority around the world – the norm is polygamy with a family containing more than one wife.
Would you consider a married couple who doesn’t have children a family? We consider ourselves a family. Or will you insist we get a divorce because we can’t have children? (That’s what I’ve heard from dominionists.) Whatever happened to honor and loving someone?
A gay couple can be a family. A lesbian couple can be a family. They can and DO raise well-adjusted children (which I would argue is nearly impossible in a pentecostal/dominionist/fundamentalist household).
The states with the least emphasis on “traditional families” or “traditional family values” have the lowest divorce rates. The ones with the biggest emphasis on “Family Values” have the highest, along with the highest rate of teen pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, and so on. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
The claim about “traditional families” reveals your basic ethnocentrism and ignorance of world cultures. I suggest you consider taking some courses in beginning anthropology or sociology.
I understand your comment and position – HOWEVER – this article is pointing out that no matter how you define family, 30% to 40% of children are living in poverty or below poverty standards.
I know that.
Better than most, I would think… my graduate work was centered on poverty and race issues, and my research involved extreme poverty and homelessness.
The biggest cause of poverty is looking for a job for over a year and being forced to accept government handouts. I was raised by a divorced single mother and we did really well, we had food and medical. My mom had a career and she was able to go to college to get that career to support her children she was home every night and weekend. I on the other hand wasn’t able to finish college. why? the money ran out right before my last semester and even though i was honor roll i wasn’t able to find the funding to finish. you think this was my choice that i was FIRED because my employer wanted to downsize and go to another country? And that after a whole year of looking, being told I am over qualified at McDonald’s but under qualified for another call center job that I am having FUN….
Think again Troll Goober um i mean TG
Because the concept of a 8-5 world where everyone gathered at table at 6 and either read/watched TV together afterward is all but gone especially with poverty. Especially now with any decent jobs being shipped out forcing people to hold multiple crappy minimum wage jobs with erratic schedules insures parents will be working like dogs and not be able to ever see their children. The stress of this lifestyle takes an emotional toll on marriages as well and yes leads to higher divorce rates.
And fatherless households, both Black and White. The percentages may reflect a higher number on the Black side, but there are just as many on the white side, but with a lower percentage reading. This is why percentages are good, but real numbers are understood best by the people.
Thats okay, the % of Americans now dependent on government is approaching China too. Wonder if the two are related?
TG [presumably meaning Troll Goober], care to provide some fact-checking for that claim?
I didn’t think so.
I truly think the poverty occurs before anyone goes begging the government to help with anything. By your logic, people CHOOSE to get pennies for food from the government, quit their jobs, and like it so much that they sit around and never look for another job. In case you hadn’t noticed, there is a worldwide recession, which means not only are Americans not buying foreign goods, no one is able to buy ours either. In a recession, businesses lay off workers. Funny how these businesses are now making tons and tons of profit and still refusing to hire…ah, your blessed capitalism.
Just as a reminder, every dollar in food stamps brings BACK 1.86 to the government by creating demand.
As far as your slap at nontraditional families, wake up. The girl who gets pregnant by her teen boyfriend who can’t keep his pants zipped, gets kicked out of her house, and he goes off to college on his football scholarship has few choices, does she? The right tells her it is sin number one to even think about abortion. The right also tells her she is a good girl for keeping the baby, but that to rely on food stamps, WIC, and housing subsidies is evil. She is bad, she will never get off welfare.
The left offers a hand with the baby, wants her to finish her education, and has no problem with her dream of becoming a productive member of society. The Palin children are fortunate to live in a wealthy household where they can have nannies for their out-of-wedlcok children, nannies for the Downs boy, and whatever their little hearts desire.
I submit that American exceptionalism means we treat every individual with respect, and we take care to educate and feed every one of our children. To do anything less means we are becoming a third world nation, and that is where the GOP would take us.
Here, Here!
OTOH, the Palin children will never get an education, we already know that. They’re all more interested in money than knowledge.
The chances for a poor child striving to get out of poverty by getting an education are far better–we will see to it.
Excellent reply Sally….. broken down so all can understand. and everyone of your words was truth……
Where is the like button, so that I can agree with you?
You are my new BFF!
Think about this. If someone needs medicine to survive, they’re dependent on it, aren’t they? (Try doing without heart medicine when you have a heart condition, or antibiotics when you have a dangerous infection, or anything like that!)
If they abuse the medicine and seek it for some sort of high or because their abuse (seeking a high) caused the dependency, that’s called addiction. If it’s needed to function, the person is said to be chemically dependent (and it’s not an euphemism).
The Republicans, Tea Party, and “Good Christians” (the dominionists and their cousins, the fundamentalists) all confuse addiction and chemical dependency, in talking about poverty and depending on the government for survival. This is a fact: Most poor people would much rather earn an income. We’d rather NOT have to subject ourselves to the abuse, long waits, and aggravation of trying to get government help.
Unfortunately, we don’t have that choice. So when in the name of “reducing dependency” you cut programs, that’s like cutting out needed medicine for someone who needs it to survive.
perhaps the US needs to invade the US to start a massive jobs and infrastructure building programs that will alleviate some of this poverty.
My God!, but that is genius.
Be careful Ann, he gets a big head easily
Really! We can go out and spend money helping every other country on the planet but we can’t help ourselves.
The GOP is not the only problem here. Democrats had the White House, Senate and House for two years and did nothing. The President had/has a big, bully pulpit, yet extended the Bush tax cuts and has put social programs on the chopping block. President Obama has governed like a moderate Republican from Day One.
I will not support a 2nd term for Obama. I will not vote for the “lesser of two evils.” If the Democrats don’t run some REAL Democrats in the primary and nominate a candidate that I can support, they will not get my vote.
Your vote is your business, but for the other readers, it’s important to note that you are incorrect about a few things. Obama only extended the Bush tax cuts in order to get Unemployment benefits extended (a social program but also an important part of helping our overall economy due to the spending done by people on UE). They hardly did “nothing”, unless you call fighting the corporate killing of universal healthcare in order to get a decent version of healthcare reform passed nothing (see ALEC exposed). He has hardly acted like a moderate Republican. A moderate Republican would never have fought so hard for healthcare reform, wall street reform, GM, etc.
first of all social programs are not on the chopping block. You are listening to somebody who was talking silly. All of the programs are exempt as far as the people go, the only thing that is on the chopping block is the payments to the providers. You need to start doing some research on your own because what you have going for you now is not working
President Obama did extend the Bush tax cuts. And what did he get for it? For one thing he got people like you who are not educated. For another thing he got extended unemployment benefits for a few million people and other niceties. He will also be rescinding the Bush tax cuts in 2012.
president Obama has done more for the poor and the middle class than you could ever dream of. While you whine about real Democrats I again urge you to educate yourself and stop listening to Rush Limbaugh
Oh I have such a problem with comments like these! The GOP Trio of Power was in place for 6 years (2002-2008). In that time they destroyed our economy, got us into two wars, increased deregulation so that corporate greed could lead to banks “too big to fail” and took away our privacy. The Democrats are blamed for not being able to fix that in two years! Open your eyes! If the Republican party of “NO” has a chance to continue our way of life will continue to get worse and worse and if we allow another COP Trio of Power you can expect that the homes living in poverty (traditional or otherwise) will continue to increase – followed by crime and riots like we have just seen in England. Be afraid America, be very afraid!
You need to revisit President Obamas first year in office when he had the majority in both houses.He had big dreams and tried to get alot of things through both houses but the BLUE DOGS(DINOS)were the ones that fought against him.Why do you think most of them lost their seats in the mid terms?The only problem was that most of the D’s were so mad that President Obama didn’t have a magic wand to wave around and grant them all of their wishes,that they stayed home and let the R’s take over.We have noone to blame but ourselves for what is going on today.
Yes,I would of liked for him to be able to do more,but I do understand how government works.obviously,you don’t.
The President was also hampered by his advisers telling him the country would turn on him if he appeared partisan against the party of NO, so he sought to include the republicans. What did he get in return? deliberate delays, bill adjustments and additions that were time consuming then when it came time to vote a resounding NO could be heard. They’ve been obstructionists and traitors knowing they resided above the law.
I am so tired of being told what we should do. I would love the opportunity of working, free of charge, for the President so that I could speak for him. However, that is not meant to be.
With you I am not constrained to keep a civil tongue. Keep your vote. Also, make no complaints, because you chose to opt out.
The republicans vote down every job bill that comes across their desk. I thought it was suppose to be “Country first”. Love your country more than you hate your Leader. I have unfettered contempt for all of those silver spoon babies. To lack such profound empathy for the suffering of others requires a special room in hell for them upon arrival.
The entire country is screaming to be taxed and still they want to cut services and kill the dignity of the working class in need of safety nets. It’s reprehensible. THeir children are growing up to be just like them. Have you ever listened to them talk about the poor? To have so much and be so smug..smh.
We would be on a better path, if taxes could be raised.
Moff, to see a long list of what the 111th Congress (President Obama’s first two years) did, go here:
http://www.obamaachievements.com
Then look at Rick Perry and consider what Republicans would do to the country. http://www.politicususa.com/en/why-conservatives-love-rick-perrys-texas
You may still call both parties evil, but you can’t say there isn’t a gulf between them.
we are heading down a long dark road to becoming a 3rd world country. sure not having a pair of parents to raise children is a huge part of the problem. but what caused this? do you suppose the globalization of capital could have something to do with it? no longer having a manufacturing base in america with the moving of millions of jobs to slave labor countries forces people to subsist on unemployment benefits or take a job at a shitty corporation like wallmart. and people are turning to the government for help? c’mon man wake the hell up! that sounds like reaganomic bullshit again. you know, the dense gipper prattling on about the welfare queen driving around in a new cadillac. whatever corruption there is in the welfare system is dwarfed a million times by the greed & corruption of wallstreet & the pentagon. when we let children suffer for whatever reason, we are a doomed society.
The thing about the welfare queen is that that was only ONE person, but it stigmatized the entire program. The republicans are best at demonizing ONE event to make it appear rampant. It gives the republicans the power to demand changes, to hobble the innocent.
Although I am not necessarily questioning the validity of the statistics, and am far from being a Republican, I would like to know where the data came from. Does anyone know?
I would like to know, too. I honestly don’t doubt the story, but “a recent report” from “experts” without further information always makes me uncomfortable – from any source.
well in defense of moff, pres obama also promised to raise the minimum wage to $9.50. he also promised to press for the employee free choice act which would have made organizing a helluva a lot easier. he has done neither which would have made it much harder for the idiotic governors in wisconsin & minnesota if obama had stood up for what is right. incidently obama doesn’t govern like a moderate republican such as oregon former governors hatfield or mccall, he has always been beholden to wallstreet. he is in the words of h l mencken, “trained to know the taste of boot polish”.
Seriously, when has he had the chance? He is taking issues in order and probably would have gotten around to those mentioned in your post, had it not been for having to fight the republicans for every inch gained. He is moving as fast as he can. He is, but one man up against his own and the republicans. GIve him a chance and send him a “reminder” email. Don’t forget to say, “Thank you” for all he has done and is trying to do despite the odds against him succeeding. I’m sure he could use a kind word right about now.
I am one of the many who face hunger everyday. I go without food so she doesn’t. I sell plasma so I have enough gas in the car to look for work, buy food and cover what unemployment can’t. I get 253.00 a week, no food stamp, I get too much and pay 1000.00 in rent. A raise in the minimum to 9.50 will not help. Employers will just stop hiring people full time and make sure that you work less than 36 hours a week so they can hire more part time workers. it costs more to pay for 40+ overtime because that would be time and a half. I also don’t have medical insurance. my taxes go for the President and ALL the people in congress to provide top notch medical for their daughters to have medical care so they can grow healthy and be productive. I resent the fact my vote doesn’t count. That I pay for somebody else to have medical, even when I am working I still can’t afford the medical, or food, or rent or to be able to pay the bills off instead of the juggling game of, “which do I pay this month” and then only pay half which affect my credit and makes the bill higher the next time around. You never catch up at this point. I love being American but not the america I live in now.
Don’t believe for a moment that your vote does not count. It does. The world would be so much more harsh if the republicans were in office. Please vote.
I’m sorry for what you are suffering. The President has lost his popularity fighting for healthcare for us. This will be something you will be able to take advantage of in very short order. Please hold on to that, at least.
The numbers you provide on housing costs lead me to believe you live in New York. People don’t understand the thousands of decisions you make to survive your day and your paycheck. The republican base could make it instantly easier for America if they voted for OUR best interests and not those of the uber wealthy and corporations.
You are concerned that minimum wage being raised will “scare” the corporations from hiring. Think about this, are they hiring now? No. THey are not JOB CREATORS. The only jobs being “created” by these guys that are living la vida loca, is for foreigners on foreign land. They are not interested in anything American except the profits made by the tax codes and ignorance of the republican base.
I can relate; we’re in a similar situation (except I get NO unemployment and our only income is my wife’s part-time job). Once you’re in that boat, they don’t want you to have the chance to climb out of it. They don’t hear things like “If I could get medical care, I could get medicines that enable me to function more like an ordinary person.” or “If you’d help us with surviving, I could do more and have more energy to try to find a job.” They don’t hear “I have to pay so much for my rent that I have nothing left to take care of my family.” If it doesn’t increase their profits and wealth, it doesn’t register.
They go along in their comfortable lives and don’t see the suffering that their decisions are inflicting on others… or they tell us that we deserve that suffering because we’re (lazy/have bad work ethic/cannot budget/whatever). Or if they’re “Good Christians”, because we’re “Sinners!” and must have offended God somehow. (Or if they realize you’ve done nothing to deserve the misery, “God must mean for you to be His Suffering Servant”.)
I must second what Ann says… our vote is the ONLY thing we have left to fight against this injustice. Don’t throw that one resource left to us away. That’s what they want… for us to be completely powerless and unable to resist in any way, and our vote – and our voices – are the only things left to us (so keep telling your story and denouncing the situation as well).
Truth Truth. You nailed it and your recommendtion to keep sharing her story AND yours is vital. If we resonate as one voice, we will eventually be heard.
This is why it is vital to try to reach the republicans. I am not seeking for them to vote democrat, though I would not turn away their vote, but to mindful of the republicans they vote for. NO TEA PARTY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE THAT IS A TEA PARTY CANDIDATE. RESEARCH YOUR CANDIDATE AND FOLLOW HIS/HER FUNDING. The Koch Brothers know how to hide in plain sight. They are dangerous to every American.
Another fine example of American Exceptionalism –
the beacon of light on the hill for all other
nations to follow.
Not in Health care or
Life Expectency – we’re 37th
Not in Education – we’re 10th
Not in Infant Mortality – we’re 29th
as far as the disparity between incomes between the haves and the has not, United States ranks 64th in the world. We are behind such countries as Iraq and Iran. 64th in the world when we should be first in the world with no disparity.
When Americans are working full-time and as many jobs are filled as possible we do not have this disparity. No country can survive and exist with this type of disparity. No person in this country can approve of this and be halfway sane.
Until we either Corporations out the do not hire here or start taxing them heavily for sending work overseas we will have this disparity.there has to be a punishment for sending work overseas just to get cheaper wages and then staying here and not paying taxes themselves.
Without jobs this country will fail and that is exactly what the GOP, the Koch brothers and the tea party want. They don’t want our government to be so small they can flush it down the toilet, they wanted to be so small they can give it to the Koch brothers and other billionaires for nothing
You think it’s a pretty picture? Millions and millions out of work, no healthcare, no money to put into the economy, senior citizens and children with no aid when they need it? Is that the America that Thomas Jefferson wanted? Is that the America that the people who were the three cornered hats in 1776 wanted? I don’t think so
Can’t wait until January 20, 2009 when Obama becomes President. Bush-Cheney policy is making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
If you can’t afford to take proper care of your kids, then don’t have them.
So basically the people who have jobs, then have kids and lose their jobs should probably kill the kids?
How tea buggery of you
Do you support the right to choose and the right to birth control?
Thank you for this excellent article. The statistics are horrifying. No one in our country should ever go hungry, go without necessities or be homeless. If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, I’m positive they are not going to say they want to be poor and on government assistance. No one chooses poverty. But couldn’t ignore the few comments above that showed a total lack of empathy or understanding. Phooey to the traditional family response and the one about not having children. Families come in all shapes and sizes–even one person and a pet can be a family. The absence of dad, mom and 2.5 kids does not create poverty. Don’t have kids if you can’t take care of them makes a generalization that people on welfare just keep on making babies–that sounds like a GOP talking point as justification for defunding safety net programs. Have we become so self centered that we accept and justify that we have hungry and homeless citizens, especially children, and we are apathetic at best, and blame the poor for the circumstances of their lives? Put the blame in the right place–with corporations who moved jobs overseas, our government’s failure to protect our citizens from unfair banking practices and corporate greed, and trade inequities that caused the closure of manufacturing plants in the US. And fight for the rights of all our citizens–we must take care of everyone–it is our obligation. Remember, most Americans are less than 2 paychecks from poverty.
Two paychecks from being homeless.
I’m glad you brought up about a person and a “pet” can be a family. It shows the incredible divide between the conservatives and the rest of us… people talk of our kitties as if they’re things that can be discarded at a moment’s notice (and we’ve been pressured to “get rid of them” because of our situation). The same ones that talk like that also support conservative causes.
Our kitties are our “kids”. The only children we can or will ever have (barring a miracle that would be huge by Biblical standards). We love them and they love us. Their love and snuggles (and antics) help us to cope with being very poor and living in an area dominated by dominionists – a life that is NOT fun.
Too bad people couldn’t count them when applying for aid. It would be nice to not have to worry about them having something to eat every day as well.
Talking about poverty and animals, there have been several articles in the local papers over the last two or three years, where the authorities would take animals from their humans because the humans were homeless. The shelters that took them – it’s not likely they lived to see another day (I heard one dog WAS “put to sleep” because the owner was homeless).
They value people only slightly more than animals. After all, unless one is disabled, one can be a laborer (as in wage slave).
Your criticism is nit-picking. One small point in the article does not negate the focus that poverty is a huge problem in the US.
My comment appears out of place now as it was in response to Drmac–
Dr Mac left the building hun, its apparent that he would rather be a jerk than speak nicely
Yeah. I was going to reply to him, but now can’t.
My first impression (admittedly a glance – we’ve been having ISP problems for the last couple of days) was someone who was comfortable and not aware just how hellish life can be for the poor in this country.
He was too afraid to talk about the poverty
I understand the liberal desire to live in a society without want; but the reality is that the social and immigration policies of the past 50 years virtually ensures higher levels of poverty. Our rulers have dismantled and shipped our manufacturing base to China, Mexico and Asia; we’ve permitted millions of impoverished peons with no skills to settle here; government welfare policies have destroyed families by making them dependent on EBT and AFDC and eliminating fathers’ roles, especially in the Black community. Now the country’s run by plutocrats (Obama is heavily funded by private equity and others, like Goldman Sachs)and the middle class has been decimated. The poverty rates have no way to go but up unless we have a radical change of direction. Liberals also must finally realize that some problems are simply intractable.
Can you please cite your claim that Obama “is heavily funded by private equity and others, like Goldman Sachs)” and when you do, be sure you compare donations to the Republican Party candidates as well as election cycles (note the trends). Thanks.
It sad to see this USA falling apart. Wonder if all the illegals draing our country will stop… I will never vote again because neither party is for the people of America. Oboma should be impeeched and the government should be shutdown like our plants and jobs. I believe every state should be for itsself. I live in Alabama and hope that the immagration law passes. Im tired of going to the store and they have wic and foodstamps. This country isnt a free ride but to many people are able to use it that way thus more money its cost to keep them up. Thay have lots of kids and more government help. I see dirty Americans with clothes and shoes that arent even fit to worn, but their mom and dad work min. wage jobs so of course no help from the government. I hope in the years to come I can afford my property taxes so I wont get kicked out of my house. Lord knows I paid for it already but I will have to continue paying for it to not loose it. Neither party is for the American people. I am sick of being a American keeping the government up and their rich buddies getting them big tax brakes.