25% of american children now living in poverty (bankrupt, expenses, foreclosure)
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I don't doubt that there are thousands of heart-breaking stories out there of misfortune that has fallen on heretofore productive, self sufficient families. That said, the shock headline of "25% of kids living in poverty" paints a picture of mass deprivation in this country that I don't believe is true. They trot out some very sad, anecedotal examples but don't really make that case that 1 out of 4 kids in this country live in a household that lacks the resources, between earnings and assistance, to feed and house them.
I feel empathy for the people who's stories were highlighted. That doesn't mean I have to buy the line that a quarter of American children are living in similar circumstances.
Yeah and like most Americans you live in a bubble. Get in your car and criss cross American cities and rural areas. You don't believe 25% of American kids are living in poverty? LOL! You need to get out more buddy. Most American cities like Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, and small rural towns are FILLED WITH POVERTY stricken communities and families. If I lived all my life here in Orange County I would think there wasn't even such a thing as poverty too. But I grew up in St. Louis and was also exposed to rural midwest towns during my childhood. 25% of American kids living in poverty is HIGHLY believable.
What percentage of them were born to unwed mothers? Unwed mothers that didn't finish high school? That's the problem that has to be fixed.
There has always been a powerful force in our society that confuses religious dogma with morality. They obstruct every effort by normal, well-meaning people to reduce the number of children born in our country.
They believe that babies are a gift from Jesus, or something, and go apoplectic when anybody suggests that pregnancy might usefully be prevented or terminated.
Then they form political movements and screech their church-lady dogma among themselves loudly enough for the foolish and gullible to hear them, and what follows is an impenetrable wall of mean-spirited piety. Aww, and little babies, too.
Homeless children: the hard times generation - 60 Minutes - CBS News
According to a story on 60 minutes, 25% of American children are now being raised in poverty. That is the largest percentage since the great depression. How do you think that will effect the mindset of those children’s generation as they mature and become adults.
I think that is way overblown.
What is considered poverty?
Our poor in America have a higher standard of living than 90% of the rest of the world.
When their parents have no cell phones, ipods, bling, etc. then i'll be a believer.
We're currently part of that statistic. But we won't be for long. And as I've recently learned, people are WAAAAY wrong about what you get from 'public assistance' these days!
We're self-employed. We were doing VERY WELL for ourselves for about 9 months - but overcoming a lot of debt from the previous years and a partnership gone wrong with my FIL (never trust family!). About 6 months ago, our biggest client ordered a LOT of new work - but then put it all on hold - after we'd ordered the parts necessary, racking up huge amounts of debt and as those parts needed to be modified, nothing could be returned. We were assured that it would all be released from hold at the end of January.
We did not have medical insurance - I am not eligible for it. But then Superbowl Sunday I got sick - VERY sick and ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks. The second day I was in there, dh called our client - because our savings were now gone and our credit lines are used up, we've spent the $$ we had for taxes - just waiting on the work to be released. But we got a shock - our client contact told dh he was leaving for another job the following day, that the corporation has had a lot of fraud and he was tired of covering for his boss. He gave dh his boss's number and hung up. He called the 'boss' - who told him it would be late April before anything else is released or work already completed would be paid for.
We have a LOT of medical bills. We have a lot of debt. We have almost no cash and we're behind on everything. So, once I was released from the hospital, I applied for 'public assistance'. We made $2500 in Feb, plus two churches that we go to/volunteer at gave us $350 for the scrips. So we only qualified for $85 in food stamps. Our monthly bills (not including unsecured debt) come to $3700. We had to borrow $$ from my dad to make this month's bills (but not all of them - he's out of work too). We cashed out life insurance policies to make this month's mortgage and car payments - though we are behind on both of those too.
The most this state gives a family of 5 (we're a family of 4, btw) is $668 in food stamps per month and $350 in financial aid. That's it. Any income, gifts, cash outs, etc lower those amounts. Because our cars are newer (though we're upside down in them) we don't even qualify for the financial aid - too many 'assests'. I did not/do not qualify for the Medicaid - though our children do, temporarily.
Dh was lucky enough to find a good job (got the call yesterday!) - and will hopefully start next week, full benefits. I'm looking for work still. We're financially 'dead in the water'. There was NO WAY to foresee this. Not looking forward to the talk with the IRS, and trying to deal with the still incoming medical bills is ... stressful, to say the least.
I too thought that 'public assistance' was a LOT more than it is - and was shocked. While waiting in the office for our 'lone star' card last week, there was a disabled man in there who just got a raise from whoever was paying him disability - it went from $925/mo to $1010/mo - he had been on Medicaid. But the Medicaid limit is somewhere around $950/mo. He had also been recently hospitalized - and that is where he found out that the state cancelled his medical coverage because he makes 'too much'.
I don't know how anyone can LIVE on the amounts the state provides - I am a conservative, with libertarian leanings. But the experiences I've had in the last couple months, including the things I saw and heard in that ONE DAY in the 'welfare' office, have me in a bind - I know there are those who 'ride the system' - but how many out there are like us - stuck with NO WAY OUT. It is/was terrifying.
Just wanted to add my $0.02
Generational welfare receipients are to be pitied. But I wonder how many folks out there are like us -
Our poor in America have a higher standard of living than 90% of the rest of the world.
When their parents have no cell phones, ipods, bling, etc. then i'll be a believer.
If it is true, obama's doing a hell of a job!
You are free to believe what ever you choose, but the facts remain.
Poverty is considered less than $22,000 a year.
It is true that we have a better standard of living than 90% of the world, but it is not uncommon in the rest of the world to have families living off $2 a day.
I think your prejudices have altered your opinions. When the unemployment rate was 4% anyone who was physically able to work could find a job. Today that is not the case.
There are millions of families who for the first time in there lives cannot find work. With government cutbacks and layoffs coming, we are going to see a lot more of this going forward. Be careful not to judge the unemployed too harshly, as one day you may find yourself one of them.
Homeless children: the hard times generation - 60 Minutes - CBS News
According to a story on 60 minutes, 25% of American children are now being raised in poverty. That is the largest percentage since the great depression. How do you think that will effect the mindset of those children’s generation as they mature and become adults.
Most of these children are living in poverty because they come from single parent homes. How will it affect them? They will simply grow up and raise their own in single parent homes too.
Consider this too folks - those 'poor' that have TVs, IPods, diamond rings, etc - those may be assests they had BEFORE they fell below the poverty line.
We've been trying like heck to sell my wedding/engagement ring set (pawn value is less than 5% of their appraised value - no one else will buy them or loan against them), the Hummels I inherited years ago - no one will buy those either. Same thing with the handbags I bought over the past 10 years, coin collections dh had as a child, other collections/collectibles... I have a book collection'valued' at $3000 - I've got it on ebay now. Starting bid is $9.99 (we were getting THAT desparate before yesterday's call) - not one nibble yet. We have quite a few things on ebay right now 'valued' in the hundreds or thousands - yet no one is buying. As we could only keep the lights on for about 3 more weeks, we'd made arrangements to move in with friends in another state - THAT is poverty. Yes, my kids have DSes. Yes, we have a nice TV. But then life throws you a curve and you find out that all your 'nice stuff' is worthless - and none of it pays the light bill.
BTW - the job dh just got? They're paying 50% LESS than they used to 5 years ago for a similar position. Most of the jobs he interviewed for were the same - all offering MUCH less than they used to - because they know folks are desparate. One of the jobs he interviewed for was $13/hr... $13/hr?! My uncle used to make 4 times that for a similar position! But there he was - one of over 100 guys in a room, all of them overdressed and dying for the job. And that job won't even start for another 3 weeks - dh has gone through 2 interviews for that position already.
It's scary out there people. Don't think it can't happen to YOU. It can.
Consider the unemployment stats. Consider the forclosure stats. You may see kids with ipods and such who had them before things crashed but this does not mean they are not hurting now. Given this is a rising stat, my guess would be most of these children are children of those who are unemployed or forclesed or working part time. Many of *these* kids will feel a very strong impact because they will have gone from lots to little. It will give them a realistic sense of value, unless the parents blow it, but it will also give them the prespective of someone who has had all the expectations vanish. I had a huge crash in my life, and the most lasting thing which will never go away is that I will never trust in the future, and I will never expect things to not change. Once you learn that life can change in an instant, you never see it the same again.
So long as the economy doesn't keep sinking and these kids end up with nowhere up to go, it can also give a gift. Learning real value and need over the image our society presents is something which can reap benifits for a long time. I have learned that stuff is just that. I have toys but they are used and enjoyed. Learning to ask if I really want it, why do I want it and will I ever really use it has helped me through an income which will never be past poverty but doesn't stop me from enjoying life. I wish back when my dad lost his job and they almost lost the house instead of keeping it a secret, (I was 15) they had let me in on it and given me an appreciation of life as it really is. I probably would have done a lot better at it when the brick wall hit.
Not necessarily. A hallmark of the poor is they tend to spend a large amount of thier resources on entertainment. It's not unusual around the poor school district where I live to see children with all manner of electronic gadgets, four wheelers, and phones, and horses while living in shacks.
Too much on entertainment? Unwed, single mothers? Drug addicts? The poor own horses? People choose hunger for their children?
Obviously, there is a lot of ignorance in this thread. Many of the posters IGNORED the article/video in the OP, so they could further their own ignorant agenda.
Life is different now than it was 2, 3, 5, 10 years ago. "Financial security" is an illusion. It takes time to qualify for financial aid, food stamps, etc. You also have to have no income (or savings) for 2-3 months before qualifying for these programs. Food banks are very low on resources. Churches are tapped out.
BTW - I've lost THREE pant sizes, due to my illness and having less food, plus stress, etc. We don't have money for new clothes, not even thrift store clothes. My 'skinny' jeans from the back of the closet are hanging on me, and every shirt I have is massively oversized. If I'm lucky enough to get a job interview, I have no idea what I'd wear. The pastor put out a request at church for clothes in my 'new' size, plus one smaller, but nothing has come in yet.
Like many of the posters here, people in general are ignorant and think that the government is handing out housing, free utilities, clothes, food stamps and cash. Maybe everyone in America needs to go through what our little family has been experiencing in the recent past.
Homeless children: the hard times generation - 60 Minutes - CBS News
According to a story on 60 minutes, 25% of American children are now being raised in poverty. That is the largest percentage since the great depression. How do you think that will effect the mindset of those children’s generation as they mature and become adults.
The majority of these 'poor' children never know they are poor and are none the worse for it. If your concerned about the welfare of children shine you light on fatherless homes. Or schools that can't or will not remove violent disruptive 'students' from the classroom. And while your at it give $20 to your kids teacher for supplies. It cost taxpayers $100 to do the same. And while your at it do something about those scrawney ever shrinking dollar candy bars. The ratio between bar size/cost is the worst in the industr ........... Lighten up. I'm kidding. About the candy bar.
I beg pardon if these things have been said.
Last edited by robertjohnson; 03-09-2011 at 08:39 AM..
Reason: misplaced vowel
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