Most of us have seen images of the terrible destruction that occurred when the huge tidal wave sparked by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean hit the coastal areas of the surrounding countries. Some of us have even been brought to tears by those images. It is a horrific disaster. Hundreds of thousands of innocent children and adults will have lost their lives. Fortunately for the survivors of this catastrophe, aid is pouring into the region in unprecedented amounts. It is expected that billions of dollars will be donated to help this area of Asia recover. The lives of those who have survived this tragedy will never be the same, but because of the generosity of millions of people around the world, their suffering will be made more tolerable.
Concurrently, in the United States of America millions of children are suffering from the devastation caused by a financial tsunami called poverty. This tidal wave of despair has spread across the country from sea to shining sea. It has impacted the lives of children in every corner of the country. It has left many with little if any hope of surviving. Millions of children have been left homeless and many more are in poor health because of this economic disaster. Their future does not look bright.
Too many times the greatest outpouring of donated financial aid is spawned by causes that are very high profile. The media drives these events day in and day out until you feel you almost have to contribute. Unfortunately, the tsunami that has devastated America's children has gone grossly unreported. It is imperative that we reach out to help the unfortunate victims in Asia, but we should not do it at the expense of the millions of children suffering right here in the United States. Give and give generously without forgetting that the tidal wave of poverty has wreaked extensive damage for centuries here at home. The United States is a generous country. Let's make sure that that generosity encompasses our citizens as well.
Poor children lag behind other children in terms of health, are more likely to do worse in school, become teen parents, and experience poverty as adults (Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997; Federal Interagency Forum 1998; Gottschalk, McLanahan, and Sandefur 1994). Moreover, trends in child poverty, according to official statistics, are not encouraging. After a period of improvement in the 1960s, child poverty worsened over the last three decades. The percent of children living in families with incomes below the poverty line declined from 27.3 percent in 1959 to 14.0 percent in 1969. Over the next decade the child poverty rate fluctuated around this level, slowly inching upward. By 1981 the poverty rate was up to 20 percent, and has since remained at this higher level. In 1997, 19.9 percent of children in the U.S. were poor (Dalaker and Naifeh 1998).
As of 1997, children comprised about 40 percent of the poverty population, though only about a quarter of the total population. Child poverty has risen and remained high for the last three decades for a number of reasons. The growth in the number of children in single-parent families is clearly an important factor (Devine and Wright 1993). The poverty rate for children in female-headed families was 49.0 percent in 1997, while the comparable figure for children in dual-headed families was just 9.5 percent (Dalaker and Naifeh 1998). Labor market changes, such as the rise in earnings inequality and declining wages of young adults (many of whom have children) have also played a role, as has the decline of cash transfers in real dollars (Danziger and Gottschalk 1995; Danziger and Weinberg 1994; Hill 1985).
According to the National Center for Children In Poverty, about 85 percent of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing, and stable child care. Even a full-time job is not always enough to make ends meet, and many parents cannot get ahead simply by working more. As earnings increase-particularly as they rise above the official poverty level-families begin to lose eligibility for work supports. At the same time, work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation, increase. This means that parents may earn more without a family experiencing more financial security. In some cases, earning more actually leaves a family with fewer resources after the bills are paid.
More than one-third of children in the United States live in low-income families, [1] meaning their parents earn up to double what is considered poverty in this country. The federal poverty level for a family of four (2004) is $18,850.
* 16% of American children¿more than 11 million¿lived in poor families in 2002, meaning their parents' income was at or below the federal poverty level. These parents are typically unable to provide their families with basic necessities like stable housing and reliable child care.
* 37% of American children¿more than 26 million¿lived in low-income families in 2002. Their parents made less than 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL). These families often face material hardships and financial pressures similar to those families who are officially counted as poor.
After a decade of decline, the rate of children living in low-income families is rising again, a trend that began in 2000.
[1] Low-income is defined as twice the federal poverty level, or $37,700 for a family of four (2004). Estimates in this fact sheet were prepared by Ayana Douglas-Hall and Heather Koball of NCCP based on the Current Population Survey, March supplement 2003.
The statistics go on endlessly, and they tell a similar story. Children living in the United States need our help. To insure the health of our nation, we must improve the health of our children. In a report from WHO/World Bank Working Group on Child Health and Poverty entitled A Special Report, they state, "every child -- rich or poor -- has the right to health and health care. Health is a fundamental human right, universally recognized and agreed upon by states. Children's right to health and health care has been particularly recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The burden of ill-health is greatest among the poor, whether in poor regions of the world, in poor countries, in poor communities or in poor households within communities. Poor children are therefore denied their fundamental right to health and development. They do not have a fair chance of a healthy start in life. Children in poor families are more likely than their wealthier peers to die in the first month of life, in the first year of life, and before they reach the age of five. Children in poor families are sick more often, and more seriously, than children in better-off families. Poorer children are less well nourished than wealthier children, and are more likely to lag behind in growth and psychosocial development. The effects of these inequities are not only immediate. They also lead to low performance in school and on the job."
Assuming you agree with what has been said here about poverty in the United States, you must agree we have to do something about it. Although I cannot stress enough how important it is to help the ravished countries of Asia affected by the recent unpreventable natural catastrophe, I also feel strongly that we must help the children in the United States as well.
There are countless charitable organizations in the United States focused on improving the health and well being of children in the country. I implore you to seek out and support these charitable organizations with your financial contributions. Our children will benefit and our country will be stronger because of it. We should never turn our backs on the needs of the rest of the world, but we should not abandon the needs of our children here at home in the process. American children deserve a healthy happy life.
