[Previous entry: "Israeli PM suffers serious stroke"] [Next entry: "Congolese Mineral Wealth As Coveted As Ever"]

01/05/2006:

"Rich Man, Poor Man: Hungry Children in America"

...Although there are several federal and state social-benefit systems in the U.S., a variety of obstacles, such as the high cost of health care and the lack of adequate housing, leads people further into poverty and becomes an abuse of their human rights. Official statistics show that 12.7 percent (or 37 million) of the population in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2004, while 15.7 percent (45.8 million) lacked health-insurance coverage; 11.9 percent of households (comprising 38.2 million people, including 13.9 million children) experienced food insecurity.

It is estimated that 33 million Americans continue to live in households without an adequate supply of food. According to statistics from the Bread for the World Institute, 3.5 percent of U.S. households experience hunger (9.6 million people, including 3 million children.) Children are a disproportionate share of the poor in the U.S. Although they are 26 percent of the total population, they constitute 39 percent of the poor.

UNICEF states that although the U.S. is still the wealthiest country on Earth, with income levels higher than any other country, it also has one of the highest incidences of child poverty among the rich, industrialized nations. Denmark and Finland have child-poverty levels of less than 3 percent, and are closely followed by Norway and Sweden, thanks to higher levels of social spending. In the U.S., 17 percent of children live in poverty.

Minority young children have significantly higher poverty rates than white children. For example, the poverty rate for young black and Hispanic children under age 3 is three times higher than that of white children. Statistics show poverty levels of 24.7 among African Americans, 21.9 percent among Hispanics and 8.6 percent among non-Hispanic whites.
commondreams.org