The record-breaking number is staggering:
That's 14.6 percent of U.S. households, or about 49 million people. The numbers are a significant increase from 2007, when 11.1 percent of U.S. households suffered from what USDA classifies as "food insecurity" - not having enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...
And as stated included many children:
The report also showed an increasing number of children in the United States are suffering food insecurity. In 2008, 16.7 million children were classified as food insecure, 4.3 million more than in 2007.
This news was also tainted by the promise that the numbers next year will only be worse:
"(T)he escalating unemployment rate and the number of working-poor, lead us to believe that the number of people facing hunger will continue to rise significantly over the coming year," she said. "Research on previous economic recessions indicates that people who fall into the grips of poverty in a time of recession do not recover financially."
With the upcoming jobs summit we need to realize as Americans that it matters that not only are jobs created, but that the jobs that are created do not cause someone to be classified as "working poor". The sad fact these numbers prove is that someone does not have to be lazy, or even unemployed to go hungry. They can just work hard at a bad job and have a couple of kids. It is unfortunate that is the only jobs they can find.
It is time to not only create jobs, but create jobs that rebuild an American middle-class. There are many solutions, including investment of the "fuels of the future" grown and refined right here in the heartland of America. Richard Trumka has some other great ideas:
With unemployment at its highest rate in more than 20 years, Trumka says America needs bold, quick action to put people back to work, in addition to longer term, structural fixes for our economy. The AFL-CIO initiative he announces will include calls to extend help for the unemployed, rebuild the nation's infrastructure, provide aid to struggling states and communities, create federally funded community-based jobs and increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses to spur job creation.
http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/11...
We also need to get EFCA passed to make it easier for "working poor" Americans to organize and negotiate to reach the middle-class.
There are many creative ways to create jobs that will build a middle-class. The real question is will the American people demand that instead of just something that makes the per-centages higher. We need jobs that rebuild a middle-class and if 49 million hungry Americans does not pound that home I am afraid nothing will.
|
