It is always saddens me when I read about the sad state of America with respect to illness, hunger, death, disease, birth, education, employment and more. As Jen often says, how can the conservatives ignore this kind of stuff, and have a healthy conscience? The "world leader", the "world's #1 economy", the country with "the best medical technology"... often lags far behind many other lesser countries in the basics of humanity.
Here is an article from Medscape that may be of interest to some, and surely affects tens of millions of people in "The Land of (a Dearth of) Plenty"
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From Reuters Health Information
Biting Recession Leaves Ever More Americans Hungry
By Nick Carey
CHICAGO (Reuters) Feb 02 - The number of Americans receiving emergency food from the largest U.S. hunger-relief charity and its partners rose 46% from 2005 to 2009, according to a report released on Tuesday.
"Feeding America" said 37 million people, including 14 million children, needed emergency food aid each year, more than 10% of the U.S. population of 300 million. It based the figure on 61,000 interviews and 37,000 surveys of local charitable agencies.
That compares to 25.3 million people in 2005, when the group released its last quadrennial study.
"The findings of this study are nothing short of tragic," said Feeding America chief executive Vicki Escarra. "We have to find a way to feed people in the land of plenty."
The United States is the world's top corn and soybeans exporter as well as a major beef exporter.
Escarra was especially worried about the effects of hunger on children. It affects not only their health but their ability to succeed in school, she said.
Although the U.S. economy returned to growth in the second half of 2009 after nearly two years of recession, unemployment has remained stubbornly high at 10%. Feeding America reported last September that unemployment has played a major role in rising demand for emergency food.
"This is a real challenge for America," said Dennis Smith, director of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. "Hunger has become almost epidemic in this country."
The study also found that black and Hispanic Americans have been disproportionately affected by hunger.
Although each group makes up around 15% of the U.S. population, the report found that black Americans account for 34% of people seeking food and Hispanics 21%.
President Barack Obama has set a target of ending child hunger by 2015. Last year he backed a $1 billion annual increase in school lunch and other child nutrition programs.
Yes, I found this article useful and chock-full-of helpful statistics.
ReplyDeleteThe "official" unemployment rate in the United States, though, currently holds at 10.2 % (that is, counting only people who've recently applied for benefits and those whose benefits haven't expired).
Were the government to include those people who've exhausted their benefits and turned to "welfare" AND those who've stopped looking for work, altogether AND persons who are chronically under-employed... and factored all these "new" people into their tabulations... the adjusted nationwide unemployment rate would look something like 17.4 % (the figure I've been hearing used for several months by labor advocates and charity groups).
Ironically, the federal government subsidizes a few industries that are directly exacerbating the hunger situation here at home.
For instance, we (the taxpayers) subsidize tabacco farmers to cultivate thousands of acres of rich, arable soil for the production of tobacco leaves, exclusively.... instead of food.
Also, millions of acres of American farmland are devoted solely to the production of Ethenol (and similar gasoline additives for automobiles) by-way-of food crops like corn, wheat and sugar beets.
Hence, food meant for our bellies (after slight modifications) ends up in our gas tank, instead.
These are examples of how corrupt and "corporate" the American culture has become.
We'll spend TRILLIONS of dollars on death and destruction.... yet quibble over the few hundred million it would take to eradicate poverty in this country for good.
We deserve our fate.
---TROY---
"President Barack Obama has set a target of ending child hunger by 2015. Last year he backed a $1 billion annual increase in school lunch and other child nutrition programs."
ReplyDeleteYes, and then the Republicans will fight every penny spent in this effort.
For example...
http://www.racewire.org/archives/2010/01/sc_lt_gov_bauer_free_school_lunches_encourage_stray_animals_to_breed.html
Troy said..."We deserve our fate."
ReplyDeleteI would add... AND our degenerating reputation worldwide.
Other world citizens may like the American people in general, but our govenrment is a laughing stock at best and the seat of evil in some minds....
Not so sure i'd disagree.
Some think it's the idea... keep them hungry and ill-educated and they're easy to manipulate...
They either won't vote at all or they'll vote how the Republicans scare them into voting.
This article's points could just as easily apply to health care policies here in the "richest, most advanced country in the world".
It's sad to any of us who remember when we DID stand for things we could point at with pride to the whole world.
Got it in one.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I like Obama, but the one "the most important man in the world" bullshit is really starting to get to me. I abhor terrorism because, more often than not, it's the innocent citizens that get hurt, but I can see why factions want to bomb the fuck out of the country.
Someone brought up "terrorism", which has nothing to do with the topic up for discussion.
ReplyDeleteObviously a ploy meant to obfuscate the issue.
This thread is about hunger in America.
Changing the subject will not change my low opinion of Republicans, either.
But that's a topic for another thread.
---TROY---
I'm not a republican and I was commenting specifically about Jen's comment on what the other world citizens think of the American government. I'm an other world citizen, so I was putting in my two cents.
ReplyDeleteUntil Cam's personal blog becomes a political blog where people who comment are required to stay on topic, I'll just keep on commenting on things my friends say - no matter what it is they're saying
Troy - Thanks for your comments. In response to your comment regarding Deb's mention of terrorism... Surely you cannot deny that the "fallout" of all the innocent lives destroyed through acts of terrorism can often result in the loss of family incomes, which will make the children or spouses of those killed go hungry. In that respect, terrorism IS linked to hunger.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. Your comment is valued. And I love your tangential ass to pieces! Keep on skimming off on a tangent for that is what makes life truly interesting.
Jen - See? I CAN post this kind of stuff once in a while, and also give an opinion!
I'm hungry....
Right now at this point in my life I realize I very well could be one of those Americans in need of food from a food locker. I know very well the thin line we Americans are on at this moment between just making it a poverty, esp those like myself whom are displaced workers, or homemakers. There are just not enough jobs.
ReplyDeleteI was having an interesting and stimulating conversation the other day. I was expressing how I wondered how much worse the unemployment rate and joblessness would be if we were NOT at war. I mean think about it... war is big business and there are a lot of men and women over there (sadly) who would otherwise not be employed instead in the job pool seeking employment with the rest of us. And I also pondered if that might not be an underlying reason why we seem to feel the need to continue to build military and seek to stay in fights long after perhaps we might otherwise pull out?? Is being in the business of war the next "New Deal" to rescue the economy???
I don't think so, P.
ReplyDeleteEven if we weren't at war, the folks in the military, many of them would still stay in simply because it IS a job... a source of employment. That's how it usually works especially for poor people.
Many of my relatives in the South went, and still go, right from high school into the military because the opportunities aren't abundant anywhere else.
I don't think the army ever lays anyone off, do they?
I'd think the wars are a reason more people DON"T go into the military... better to be poor and alive than risk getting shipped off to a war zone, yanno?
The military industrial complex will always drive our economy i think. Even in peacetime.... simply because they have to keep up levels, just in case.
Right now there aren't enough troops to rotate into the war zones so the same poor people keep having to go back numerous times.
And that's because recruitment is so low.
Without these two wars, and the constant threats of starting other ones, we might see more folks entering the military and easing the burden on the unemployment rolls, as well as staffing a strong defense corp.
That's my theory at least.
It would be interesting to find out.
The good thing is that Iraq, at least, IS winding down. They are supposed to have all our troops out by August.
It'll be interesting to see if those folks leave the military. That would definitely not be a good thing for the unemployment scene.
Good points... Jen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they ever honorable discharge or volunteer early retirement when they are up on numbers to keep within their "budget"...( what budget?)
Someone else might be able to answer that question??
We have known this about America for years.
ReplyDeleteWhat also bothers me is that our people are starving and I bet in most countries but, we STILL spend billions we haven't got on food, for food, for the starving in third world countries who still breed like flies knowing suckers like us will try to feed them, never mind our own, they can starve!!!
I feel another GRRRRRRR coming on. *Sorry*
It has been said for years that when American economy goes down, they start a war to bring it back up again.
ReplyDeleteThat's not true, Shayna... or if it is it's because some of us lack the will (to pay taxes).
ReplyDeleteAs i pointed out before, you have legislators (mostly Republicans ) who vote against allocating money for food and education.
This is what leads to the horrible turnout of gifted students in poor areas of our country.
The people seem not to want to fund programs to feed the hungry in this country.
I don't get it.
Me neither. and, it IS the same in New Zealand.
ReplyDelete