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| Subject: Have you looked in your own backyard? | |
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Author: jw |
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Date Posted: 12:41:59 11/12/07 Mon In reply to: Oropan 's message, "Wonderful socialist countries!" on 11:00:19 11/12/07 Mon One interesting note on this report about hunger in (capitalist) america, if not for GOVERNMENT SOCIAL PROGRAMS, capitalist america would have one of the 4 highest rates of childhood poverty, another shameful statistic for our dysfunctional capitalist system. "The Economic Policy Institute has found that without government assistance, the United States ranks among the top four countries with the highest rates of child poverty. " We can not make social progress until we put social values above economic greed. Hunger and Poverty in the United States As America is the wealthiest and most abundant nation in the world, it is no surprise that many Americans think of hunger and poverty occurring only in developing countries. While most Americans have encountered someone suffering from hunger and poverty in the United States, few of us may have actually realized it. The face of hunger and poverty in the United States is quite different from the images we often see in developing nations. Rather than outright starvation or homelessness, the face of hunger is a child who is malnourished because her parents do not earn enough to buy healthy food and sometimes has to skip meals. The face of a poor person in the United States is a single parent who works full time, but still can’t afford to pay for food, rent, child care, medical bills, and the costs of car to travel to work. It is ironic that as the world’s wealthiest nation, hunger and poverty in the United States still persist. Evidence shows that millions of families and children live in poverty and experience hunger: The U.S. poverty rate in 2005 was 12.6 percent, not statistically different from 2004. Some 37 million Americans lived in poverty, about the same as 2004 but higher than the 35.9 million in 2003. The percentage in poverty was little different from 2003 and 2004 but up from 11.3 percent in 2000. The statistics come from the Poverty page of the U.S. Census Bureau Website. (Also see the Census press release of August 2006). The federal minimum wage has not been raised since 1997 and is currently $5.15. The proportion of children in poverty was down slightly in 2005. The number of children in poverty was 12.9 million in 2005, more or less the same as 13 million in 2004 and nearly 12.9 million in 2003. In 2005, 17.6 percent of American children were poor compared to 17.8 percent in 2004. (U.S. Census Bureau). The Economic Policy Institute has found that without government assistance, the United States ranks among the top four countries with the highest rates of child poverty. The U.S. median family income increased about 1.1 percent from 2004 to 2005, to $46,326, but the median income for working-age families actually decreased. All of the increase was in families over 65. The percentage of people without health insurance coverage rose from 15.6 percent in 2004 to 15.9 percent in 2005 (46.6 million people).. A current indication of hunger is participation in the Food Stamp Program. Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reports in its News and Analysis that over 26.1 million people participated in the Food Stamp Program in August 2006. That was 362,000 more than in August, 2005. The number participating in August 2006 was nearly 8.4 million higher than in August 2001. Yet, the program may be missing as many as four in ten eligible people. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that the prevalence of food insecurity went down from 11.9 percent of households in 2004 to 11.0 percent in 2005. The total number of people who lived in food insecure households fell from 38.2 million in 2004 to 35.1 million in 2005. However, the prevalence of “very low food security” (formerly called “food insecurity with hunger”) remained unchanged at 3.9 percent of households and the number of people actually rose in 2005 from 10.7 million to 10.8 million. See USDA Briefing Rooms. Food insecurity remained higher than in 1999–2001. See Food Research and Action Center press release, November 15, 2006. Many factors contribute to the persistence of hunger and poverty in this nation, including low wages, lack of access to safety-net programs like child care and Food Stamps, inability to take advantage of most tax benefits aimed at middle- and upper-income households, and a lack of opportunity to accumulate savings and other assets. Because of its persistence even in times of plenty, hunger and poverty can seem like an intractable problem. Yet hunger and poverty do not exist in the United States and around the world because there are not enough resources. The issue is one of priorities. As former Sen. Mark Hatfield once said, “We stand by as children starve by the millions because we lack the will to eliminate hunger. Yet we have found the will to develop missiles capable of flying over the polar cap and landing within a few hundred feet of their target. This is not innovation. It is a profound distortion of humanity’s purpose on earth.” RESULTS has been working for more than 20 years to build the political will to end hunger and poverty in the United States. Its efforts have included strengthening the nation’s safety net programs, including the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Child Care Development Block Grant, Head Start, Food Stamps, and Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infant, and Children programs, as well as the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit. Additionally, RESULTS advocates for innovative solutions to poverty, such as U.S. microenterprise and Individual Development Accounts. In December 2003, the National Anti-Hunger Organizations, including RESULTS, issued a Millennium Declaration to End Hunger in America, calling on “the president, Congress, and other elected leaders in states and cities to provide decisive leadership to end hunger in America.” This was followed by the Blueprint to End Hunger issued in June 2004; read our press release for more details. >Venezuelans scramble for food amid oil opulence By >Brian Ellsworth >Sun Nov 11, 11:14 PM ET > > >CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan construction worker >Gustavo Arteaga has no trouble finding jobs in this >OPEC nation's booming economy, but on a recent Monday >morning he skipped work as part of a more complicated >search -- for milk. > > >The 37-year-old father-of-two has for months scrambled >to find basic products like cooking oil, beef and >milk, despite leftist President Hugo Chavez's social >program that promises to provide low-cost groceries to >the majority poor. > >"It takes a miracle to find milk," said Arteaga, who >spent two hours in line outside a store in the poor >Caracas neighborhood of Eucaliptus. "Don't you see I'm >here slaving away to see if I can get even one or two >of those (containers)?" > >Venezuelan consumers are increasingly facing periodic >shortages of basic food products as the economy shows >signs of overheating amid record revenues from an oil >boom. > >The shortages have increased skepticism of Chavez's >economic policies and provided a political backdrop to >campaigning this month for a referendum on a new >constitution that he says is needed to make Venezuela >a socialist state. > >Businesses say price controls on staple foods are so >low they discourage investment and force stores to >sell at a loss. > >The government says the problem is caused by growing >demand by poor citizens who benefit from social >programs, exaggerated media hype and food hoarding by >unscrupulous businesses. > >Supermarket shelves remain stocked with aged whiskey >and imported wine, but for up to 25 percent of staple >food products this year supplies have been irregular, >according to public opinion and economic research >group Datanalisis. > >The group says Venezuelans waste several hours a week >trawling for food. Retailers ration their supplies, >and some even stamp customers' hands so they do not >line up twice. > >Friendships are won with a text message tip that a >store has just put milk on the shelves. > >CHAVEZ CONTROLS > >Opposition comparisons to bare shelves in Chavez's >ally Cuba are still greatly exaggerated, but even poor >Venezuelans who back the anti-U.S. president complain >of being stuck in long lines or having to visit >several stores to get groceries. > >"We've warned about this from the beginning -- all of >these price controls in the long run end up producing >shortages," said Ismael Perez of the industry group >Conindustria. > >Perez said businesses fear holding sufficient >inventories due to an anti-hoarding law -- a problem >highlighted by a seizure this month of 125 tonnes of >powdered milk from Switzerland's Nestle, the world's >largest food company. > >Chavez remains widely popular after winning a >landslide re-election last year and pollsters say he >will win approval in a December referendum for a >constitutional overhaul that will let him run for >re-election indefinitely. > >The former soldier this year nationalized swaths of >the economy and stepped up enforcement of price >controls the state decreed in 2003 but that businesses >had largely ignored. > >Now the combination of the controls and unprecedented >consumer spending has left businesses like Cueva de >Iria, a typical bakery that sells coffee, pastries and >fresh-baked bread, struggling to find ingredients it >needs. > >"Everything relating to flour and sugar is a problem. >We call our providers and they say they don't have >any," manager Lino Alves said. "We only have enough >milk to put in coffee." > >TRAFFICKING POWDERED MILK > >A black market has sprung up where informal vendors >illegally peddle bags of sugar, beans and precious >powdered milk -- for as much as double the regulated >price. > >The state's consumer protection agency, backed by >military reserves, often shutters supermarkets for >selling above the fixed price, but vendors offer their >goods from makeshift stands in downtown Caracas in >plain view of authorities. > >"This is an insult, but I can't find it anywhere," >said Jose Ferrer, paying nearly $12 for a can of >powdered milk regulated at $6. "I have to buy it for >my kids, there is no other way." > >The economy grew by a record 10 percent in 2006, and >millions of Venezuelans receive government stipends to >participate in education and community development >programs. > >One of Chavez's most popular programs is a chain of >subsidized supermarkets scattered across rural areas >and in hillside slums that sells food at fixed prices >unaffected by rampant inflation -- though it too has >been hit by shortages. > >"I like everything the president is doing, he's >helping poor people," said Maria Pena, 48, a homemaker >waiting in line for milk. "The only thing I do not >like is waiting in line." [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Yes and as a direct result of US policies our infant mortality rate is terrible | Bev | 14:00:25 11/12/07 Mon |
| Re: Have you looked in your own backyard? | Oropan | 08:57:08 11/28/07 Wed |