Poverty, homelessness climbs among US schoolchildren

[Hannah Bell]

In the two years since the onset of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, the number of children living in poverty increased from 14 million to 16 million, the US Census Bureau reports. The US government estimates that 25 percent of children in America will soon be living in poverty.

On the March 6 installment of the weekly CBS television news program 60 Minutes, reporter Scott Pelley opened with these harsh statistics. He said of the jump in the numbers of children officially in poverty, “that is the fastest fall for the middle classes since the government started counting, 51 years ago.”

The figure of one in four children in poverty is itself is an underestimation. The figure is based on the official US poverty rate of $22,000 a year for a family of four—a ridiculously low sum for a family to live on.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/chil-m30.shtml

[Starry Messenger]

1. k&r

[leftstreet]

2. K&R

[Scuba]

3. OMG, better start another war. Quickly now!!! n/t

[katnapped]

4. But see...that's OK

There's people in Libya that need help and brown people that need to be bombed, so we need to prioritize and stuff :sarcasm:

[Chris_Texas]

5. What these kids desperately need...

...is to have any assistance programs currently available slashed, and more tax cuts handed out to the millionaires who might give their lazy parent's jobs as groundskeepers or maids at their estates.

They need someone with the courage of Obama. Someone that will go up to their poor parents, stick a gun in their faces, and order them to quit buying food, stop with the fancy-schmancy clothes and appartment and car, and instead spend it all buying health insurance from one of our fine american insurance companies.

One source in Washington claims that Obama is ready to act on this crisis with something called "Operation Tin Cup." Under this plan, military forces not otherwise engaged in one of our many wars will go door to door, car to car, tent to tent, and even underpass to underpass, first checking to insure everyone has purchased Obamacare, and second forcing these impoverished families to purchase small tin begging cups. These cups, manufactured by Halliburton in China, will allow our nations poor all the tools they need to bootstrap themselves into prosperty! They serve not only as a handy begging recepticle, they can also hold luke-warm gruel, or a doubleshot of Starbucks Mocha Latte.

Best of all, the program is budget neautral and has bi-partisan support. It will be paid for with a modest across the board cut in Social Security, and is being tacked onto the latest seven-hundred billion Banking Stimulus to ensure fast passage.

[Overseas]

6. K&R.

[lonestarnot]

7. Spewing just continues. First BP the spew from hell, now plutonium from spew out of Japan, and then

this the evil poverty cancer spew from the richie riches. Eventually it will overcome them.

[fasttense]

8. How come our Democratic President can start wars and continue wars

but he can't do a G*D D*mn thing about starving children in his back yard? As if that were not enough but he also CUTS programs that would help them.

We need to teach him how to fight. We must get out in the streets for months and show him how to fight for America, democracy and fairness.

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. Isn't it just amazing how they always have plenty of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

to fight their fucking wars, but have NOTHING for the people in this country who give them all that $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (from paying taxes) to fight their fucking wars? They prefer to leave millions of their citizens homeless so they can start/engage in/fight more wars.

This country SUCKS. Something is horribly, horribly wrong when children are left to go hungry in this country.

[Bragi]

9. Does anyone care any more?

I wonder if these kind of articles inadvertently just help create a helpless consensus that, yep, this is all happening, and people just move on and hope their Tiva doesn't scew up and miss recording General Hospital.

Unless, of course, they are homeless, in which case they don't need any notice that this is happening, nor are they likely to watch the CBS evening news.

Thing is, people seem to be able to understand at one level that the U.S is a uniquely unequal society, and getting more unequal all the time, while at the same time remaining true believers in the American Dream.

Turns out you can export people's jobs, steal their savings, loot their pensions, and foreclose on their hosues, and they STILL don't get it.

It' s all pretty damn discouraging.

[BrendaBrick]

14. I know........

....I'm discouraged also.

Maybe there should be a new forum established dedicated to "triumphs being made" along these lines to keep our spirits up.

I sign many petitions and one which helped to make a difference was the stunt Apple was trying to pull in offering a new app to "cure" homosexuality. The backlash was so great (including media attention) that they had no choice but to pull it:

From change.org:

Amazing! After more than 150,000 petition signatures from Change.org members and saturation media coverage, news outlets worldwide are reporting that Apple has pulled an iPhone application launched by Exodus International that claimed to help "cure" gay and lesbian people.

This is a huge, public victory against the dangerous myth that gay young people can and should be "turned straight" -- a falsehood that contributes to the plague of depression and suicide afflicting these kids and young adults. Our friends at Truth Wins Out, the organization that started the petition on Change.org, are absolutely thrilled.

Apple did the right thing because an incredible 151,125 Change.org members -- including you -- stood together to demand it. We spread the word on Facebook more than 55,000 times. And together we attracted the attention of media around the globe, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, and hundreds of newspapers and blogs.

It's simply amazing. Thank you for making this victory possible.

- Eden and the Change.org team

I know this doesn't address this post directly but more towards your comments on the being discouraged.

[Bragi]

15. Thanks for that

My problem is that I think it makes no sense NOT to be discouraged.

Truth is, because of the corruption of the political system, there isn't a single serious problem in America that can actually be openly, honestly and effectively addressed.

Sigh.

[raccoon]

10. Is USA # 1 among developed nation in this category yet?

"The figure is based on the official US poverty rate of $22,000 a year for a family of four—a ridiculously low sum for a family to live on."

ITA--even in an area with a relatively low cost of living, it would be hard to get by on that amount.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

11. Wow. We live in a country where there is a ton of wealth.

NO CHILD should EVER have to go hungry. And yet...This is sickening and sad. While fat cats on wall street are wiping their asses with one dollar bills, kids are living on the streets with their families in tents. Fucking pisses me off.

[Scruffy1]

12. Thanks Hannah. K&R

Every morning, when I pull onto my street there they are waiting on the bus. Black, brown , yellow and white children of poverty. And this not in a slum, but an older middle class neighborhood.Often they are not dressed well enough against the cold.
So if anyone wonders while I'm still raising hell at my age its because I know the soul destroying
rage of poverty amidst plenty. Every time I think about not showing up for a meeting or protest or badgering some politician there faces remind me of my duty to look out for the next generation.

[Chris_Texas]

13. up