Each day I receive an e-mail from the History Channel indicating significant events that happened on this date in history.
This morning one of the dates used was November 21, 1980 and the historical event was 350 million people, worldwide, sat around their TV sets waiting to find out who killed J.R. Ewing on the TV series Dallas.
The comparison between what happened in this country 25-plus years ago, and what is happening now is astronomical.
When the historians go back in time and write about the significant events that happened on November 21, 2006, I doubt they will include anything about the Washington Post article Some Americans Lack Food, but USDA Wont Call Them Hungry
The USDA report indicates 35 million Americans (12% of the population) were not able to put food on the table for at least part of 2005. Of the 35 million, eleven million stated there were periods when they were hungry.
How Many People Lived in Food-Insecure Households?
In 2005, 35 million people lived in food-insecure households, including 12.4 million children.
Of these individuals, 7.6 million adults and 3.2 million children lived in households with very low food security.
Childrens food security is affected to some extent in most food-insecure households (see the ERS report, Food Assistance Research BriefImportance of Children Nutrition Programs to Agriculture).
However, children are usually protected from substantial reductions in food intake even in households with very low food security. In 2005, 606,000 children (0.8 percent of the Nations children) lived in households with very low food security among children.
How does the Superpower solve the hunger problem in the US?
We change the wording in the report. USDA will no longer use the word hungry to describe people without food, instead the term "very low food security" will be used to describe this group of Americans.
If we use the term "very low housing security" to describe the Katrina victims that still have no place to live, "very low medical security" to describe the estimated 100-million people unable to afford complete health insurance, and "very low food security" to describe the 35-million without sufficient food, that doesnt sound nearly as serious as saying Americans are homeless, without medical insurance and going hungry.
The health and well being of the citizens of this country should take precedence over any other expenditure.
I spoke to a conservative about this hunger issue the other day.
His main concern was that the poor often spend money intended for food on things they don't need, and on things which are harmful to them. He cited cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and lottery tickets. That's why he opposes welfare.
I'll grant that those are legitimate concerns, but I doubt it's the real reason for his aversion for helping the poor. He uses a self-righteous but morally defensible position to cleverly attack a superior moral position, which is our obligation to help the poor.
That's why I hate conservative ideology. They use human frailty as an excuse to ignore Christian values. Jesus didn't differentiate between the deserving and undeserving poor, only conservatives claim the righteous to do that.
Which conveniently allows them to ignore both.
by
rabblerowzer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 227 comments)
on Friday, November 24, 2006 at 10:50:57 AM
The concerns he has are certainly legitimate, but I don't think that anyone can ever begin to truly understand the plight of the poor in this country until they have walked in their shoes.
Most people that are poor don't really want to be in that position, but are caught up in a vicious circle. It takes money to get ahead in life, and they have none. Most of them live paycheck to paycheck (if they are fortunate enough to have a job) and need every penny they earn to purchase necessities.
Maybe they do spend money unnecessarily on cigarettes or alcohol or even possibly drugs which are certainly harmful to their health, but my guess is that part of the reason is to possibility break the monotony of lives that don't vary from one day to the next, one week to the next.
Last month Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize for his micro-credit loans. Small loans to assist the very poor get started in whatever business they choose – granted the people in Bangladesh are far poorer than most poor Americans, but the process is the same. They need a start in life.
Thank you for your comment.
by
Patricia L Johnson (24 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 32 comments)
on Friday, November 24, 2006 at 11:25:41 AM
2 comments
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