Saturday, 04 July 2009
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yes, right here in America
It is happening in America....It is also happening around the world. It may not be a topic you really want to think about right now at a time when people are spending tons of money on Fireworks and 4th of July celebrations. That is poverty.
According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children.
This is despite abundance of food resources. Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year. 700 million hungry human beings in different parts of the world would have gladly accepted this food.
(The figures below are 1998 figures)
* Proportion of Americans living below the poverty level: 12.7 percent (34.5 million people)
* The average poverty threshold for a family of four: $16,660 in annual income
* The average poverty threshold for a family of three: $13,003 in annual income
* Poverty rate for metropolitan areas: 12.3 percent
* Poverty rate for those living inside central cities: 18.5 percent
* Poverty rate for those living in the suburbs: 8.7 percent
* Percentage and number of poor children: 18.9 percent (13.5 million)
* Children make up 39 percent of the poor and 26 percent of the total population.
* The poverty rate for children is higher than for any other age group.
Child poverty:
* -for children under age 6 living in families with a female householder and no husband present: 54.8 percent
* -for children under age 6 in married-couple families: 10.1 percent
* Poverty rate for African Americans: 26.1 percent
* Poverty rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders: 12.5 percent
* Poverty rate for Hispanics of any race: 25.6 percent
* Poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites: 8.2 percent
About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often.
Domestic food prices in about 46 developing countries are higher than 12 months ago
The number of chronically hungry people in the world, rose in 2008 due to the food crisis & is set to top 1 billion this year
Financial crisis + food crisis = 1.4 million to 2.8 million additional infant deaths by 2015
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Comments (19)
yeah it sure is. i can't escape this heartache =/
Great post! I think a lot of people forget that poverty is not restricted to third-world countries -- it happens right here, too. I had no idea THAT much food was wasted each year. Crazy considering the amount of hungry people all over the world.
I submitted this to featured posts; hope you get picked!
@YouTOme - It is very sad
@PeepThis721 - Yes...many forget...and many wish not to be reminded. Thank you for the wonderful comment.
SubhanAllaah. It is so sad. If every person gave charity every year, imagine the wonders it would do. Thank you for the reminder!
For a look at the root of much of what you've discussed here, please download the 4 documentary episodes found on this page. The doc is titled "Century of the Self", and it's a truly fascinating glimpse into the re-engineering of society over the past century. Be advised that the files are large, and each episode is an hour long or so, but I think you'll find it worth the effort to download and watch them.
Get it, you guys. You will be enlightened. Scroll down for the four separate downloads. You'll be able to download only two at a time, and it'll take an hour or more to get it all, but believe me when I say that it'll be worth it. Be sure to watch the entire four part series - it starts with the early part of the 20th century and moves on to the present day as it progresses.
*edit* Oh yeah, if you have trouble playing whichever file format you choose to get, contact me and I'll help you get the codec you need. Cinepak is Mac-centric, OGG might require an OGG enabled player (free ones are available), and MPEG-4 may require a codec for your Windows Media Player. I can help.
Blessed are you, Eternal Father. You are the creator of all that is, and the Earth and the fullness thereof are yours. Please grant that some of the people reading this comment will download and watch these documentaries about how our minds have been twisted and society has been re-engineered to focus on want rather than need, and on self rather than other. Open eyes and minds today through the working of your Holy Spirit, in the name of your risen son Yahshua, our saviour. Thank you, Father.
There's no reason for it to be happening in the USA where they can't given enough food away. We even run ads on how to get the free food. As for the rest of the world, despotism starves 'em every time.
@yorel - I do not agree that despotism is always the cause of starvation. Poverty happens all over the place.
What I find interesting is that there is such a focus on childhood obesity right now, and schools are limiting what they serve to kids, but what everyone seems to overlook is that poverty and obesity go hand-in-hand in this country. Often, in America, poverty doesn't mean starving to death. It means not getting adequate nutrition, because the foods that are available are not healthy choices. So kids that are overweight and getting their portions of semi-healthy food limited at school, are probably getting little or nothing aside from junk food at home because that is what their family can afford. Go to the store, and ask yourself - why does whole wheat bread cost two or three times as much as white bread? Why are canned fruits packed in natural fruit juice or water, so much more expensive than the same fruit packed in heavy syrup? Why are healthy, nutritious cereals several times the cost of the empty-calorie kid cereals? Nutritional poverty doesn't just affect the poorest of the poor. In fact, government programs offer some relief to them. The middle class, however, suffers high rates of nutritional poverty and does not have access to government programs to relieve it.
What a wonderful post thanks for this.
@radicalramblings - Read the book "Food Matters." It explains a lot about food prices and nutrition. In summary of the book: the U.S. government subsidizes corn and turns it into high fructose corn syrup. HFCS = bad. And cheap.
when you think of poverty do you think of.....THE AMERICAN MILITARY?
did you know that most military families are under the poverty line? that's because they don't get paid jack squat for the services they do for our country.
I have seen the ugliest of poverty and yes, it does exist here in America. I have walked among the tent villages, smelled the human waste and garbage rotting as there are no sanitation facilities. I have fed people who would have gone hungry if it had not been for the little food we had to offer. Yes, extreme poverty exists in America, but you will never see it on the news. Instead, Americans will have to open their eyes and their hearts to a growing problem.
Great post.
@onlyFORaLILwhile - It's insane that those that protect our freedoms should get the shoddiest health care and have to apply for fos stamps, isn't it?
One of the biggest issues I have with those that help(IE the government) is that they do it in such a way that they still keep people under thumb and dependent on them. They also teach poor nutrition disguised as good nutrition.
If you think these statistics are shocking, look up the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Good post!
It is sad that kids would starve in a nation as prosperous as our country.
@onlyFORaLILwhile - I absolutely agree with you!! My husband is retired after 30 years in the military...he was an officer, so we were fine but our son is a career enlisted man..he is an E-6, serving his 3 tour in Iraq. His family is deeply in debt and living on the edge of collapse. It is truly a shame....
Ruth Ann
@radicalramblings - I absolutely LOVE your comment. I agree 100%.
It's a shame how ostentatious the world can be...
All the while I was watching our local fireworks, I was thinking of the money it took to do them...
*sigh*
As for the hunger thing, it can take up to 16 pounds of grain to get 1 pound of meat...
When people think of the hungry they think of Africa...as a generalization. We often forget about our home-land. There are people who need our help here too.