FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A sobering picture of what's ahead for this nation's children... more than 20 percent of them - one in five - are living below the poverty line.
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A new study shows the economic well-being of families has plummeted to levels not seen since the 1970s... thanks to the recession, job losses and declines in income.
Here are some of the very disturbing findings in the report funded by a private philanthropy group:
- 15.6 million children are estimated to be living in poverty
- As many as 500-thousand children may be homeless
- 20 million children live in families where neither parent has secure employment
- And in the last 3 years... an additional 750,000 children live in households that don't have access to enough safe and nutritious food
- And eating more processed and fast foods means a potential increase in obesity and all the problems that go with that
As for education - which may be one of the few tickets out of poverty - there's no good news on that front either.
This report suggests the amount of time spent in school may even go down... with some states moving to shorter school weeks to save money.
Experts say that chaotic childhoods have a significant effect on health later in life - people who grow up under lots of stress have higher rates of cancer, liver disease, respiratory disease and other ailments.
How are kids expected to get a fair start with all this weighing against them?
There's one small reason to be hopeful, though. The study's authors say children's quality of life overall should start edging up... but that depends on the economy.
Here’s my question to you: What does the future hold if more than 1 in 5 American children are living below the poverty line?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Dave writes:
It's truly sad. So many good jobs sent overseas, and worse where I work: More than half of the employees are folks from India brought over to work cheaply. We are selling out the middle class and soon there will only be rich and poor. Those statistics on children will only get worse. Corporations have no souls.
Mark writes:
Jack, As a teacher, I can tell you from first-hand experience that the cycle of poverty is perpetuated by lazy, uninterested, uneducated parents who don't seem to care if their kids do any better in life than they have. And THAT is our biggest problem in public education.
Joe writes:
We must rebuild our manufacturing sector. America has got to make things to sell other countries. For years, the only jobs I have seen in my home in Peoria, Arizona is restaurant and retail jobs. These will not grow a middle class. America peaked and is in decline. I agree with the sentiment of term limits and kicking out the current career politicians in both parties. And for God sakes, we have to stop spending money.
Jim in Colorado writes:
While the effects on children are probably most important, this is just a subset of the extreme disparity in income in America. Bring up wealth redistribution and some people think that you are attacking the foundations of America - the same America founded with the words, "all men are created equal." While I certainly don't suggest going to the extreme proposed by Karl Marx, it is absurd that money changers take home hundreds of millions of dollars a year while hundreds of thousands of children are hungry.
Ralph in Chicago writes:
In this great country, a single mother can raise a diverse son without the help of the father and that son can become president of the United States. It's not the size of your wallet but the sensibility in your heart.