For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers,
their laughter and their loveliness would clear a cloudy day.
And the song that I am singing is a prayer to non-believers,
To come and stand beside us, we can find a better way.
– From a John Denver song: ‘Rhymes and Reasons’)
June 27, 2018
"Information
Clearing House"
- As a nation, we have lost
our way! In the “political wheeling and
dealing” of Washington government’s elites,
far too many of these elected officials
continue to pursue only their own
self-serving interests. Getting re-elected
is all that matters to these people. So the
agendas and subsequent support of rich and
powerful individuals and groups have become
their priority rather than the common good
and the critical needs of our nation.
One of the “buried issues” you never hear
very much about in Congress or the White
House is the appalling rate of poverty among
children in the United States. But the
primary advocate for children in America,
Marian Wright Edelman, leader of the The
Children’s Defense Fund, has been relentless
in her demands for better treatment of the
poor children in our nation. Here is what
she wrote to the newly-elected president in
January:
It is a national disgrace that 13 million
American children (one in very five) live in
poverty. In fact, children are the poorest
Americans … and the younger these children
are, the poorer they are. All of this
reflects immoral, costly and preventable
poverty, homelessness, hunger, health
problems, poor education, and violence
plaguing millions of children who deserve
better. Put this in the context of our
nation, for despite having the most
billionaires and the highest gross domestic
product among the 35-member countries of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the USA ranks a shameful 32nd
among these 35 countries for income
inequality. The bottom line is that the U.S.
is a world leader in the gap between rich
and poor.
According to the most recent federal data,
six million of the 13 million poor children
in America live in extreme poverty. The USA
is the world’s greatest food-producing
nation, yet 14.8 million American children
live in food-insecure households. There are
more than one million homeless children are
in our schools; 3.9 million children lack
health insurance. And too many poor children
attend sub-standard schools.
|
Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? |
The International
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development reports that children in the USA
experience higher poverty rates than almost
all other developed nations. And these
horrible conditions among the poor in our
nation disproportionately affect children of
color who will become the majority of
children in our country by 2020 and already
are the majority of our children under five.
Ignoring this situation from a governmental
perspective makes no sense! Make no mistake
about this. The impact of neglecting large
numbers of children in poverty will have
long-term negative economic impacts on our
nation. Children who are poor are much less
likely to graduate from high school and
attend college than kids who have not
experienced poverty. Refusing to invest
today by adequately addressing the poverty
issue will only result in much larger
financial and societal impacts down the road
when so many of these poor children become
underemployed and will not succeed in our
society.
Unfortunately, the president’s proposed
budget (February 2018) is focused on
limiting and reducing programs for those who
have much less or very little, i.e., the
most vulnerable children, families, seniors
and other adults. Many of these proposed
Trump cuts are not likely to be acted on
this year. But the president’s budget is a
solid prediction of what lies ahead in the
next Congress – constant pitting of the rich
against the poor.
And why are these cutbacks necessary? That’s
because the 2017 Tax Bill’s “gifting to the
rich” has created a massive $1.5 trillion
national deficit. So, the White House plan
is to offset at least some of this windfall
for the wealthy on the backs of the
unfortunate!
“This is one of the scariest times America’s
children have faced in the struggle to level
the playing field because the last 50 years
of progress in child health coverage,
nutrition and education are under assault,”
summarized Edelman. “We should be building
on what we know works and moving forward,
not backwards, to improve the odds for
children who need our protection. We urge
the American public to stand up and stop
this war on children now.”
In our seats of government, is anyone
listening? Or do any of them care?
Joseph Batory is the former superintendent
of schools in Upper Darby. He is the author
of three books and numerous published
articles on politics and education.
This article was originally published by "Delaware County Daily Times" -
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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