New government data shows nearly 50 million Americansâ"including a quarter of all childrenâ"struggled to get enough to eat last year. The Department of Agriculture found that nearly 17 million children lived in households in which food at times was scarce last year, four million children more than the year before. The government data has startled even anti-poverty advocates. Vicki Escarra, president of Feeding America, said, "This is unthinkable. Itâs like we are living in a Third World country.â The total number of Americans going hungry is likely even higher. The report is based on 2008 data when the unemployment rate maxed out at 7.2 percent. Since then the unemployment rate has jumped to over ten percent. David Davenport runs the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. David Davenport: âI anticipate that as the months go on, the next four to six months, weâll continue to break distribution records, weâll continue to have to expand programs like the mobile pantry, and weâll continue to have to do more and to do it with less resources.â
Combined with the fact that 25,000 children die daily because of the very preventable cause of starvation. (Thats 100 million deaths a decade)
I declare capitalism to be the most oppressive and evil system in the world.
Guess why there is no news of ANY poverty occurring in the world while almost the whole world is filled with it? The capitalists control your media too!
That's because there IS no new thing about poverty... It's always been here and it always will be.
It is a shame that that many children went hungry. How are the children in other Capitalist countries? Maybe it's not Capitalism. Maybe it's just America.
It is a shame that that many children went hungry. How are the children in other Capitalist countries? Maybe it's not Capitalism. Maybe it's just America.
America is great, and despite how strongly I disagree with Drace and many other users on their economic views, I do agree that there are many problems with America that should be fixed. Many of these problems are ignored or don't get enough attention from the people.
It is a shame that that many children went hungry. How are the children in other Capitalist countries? Maybe it's not Capitalism. Maybe it's just America.
Haha, America is the wealthiest country. It is rather the most fortunate of the countries. To say that 1/4 children in America, the capital of the capitalist system, are starving, is a huge blow. (get the pun? lol)
The majority of the entire world is living under poverty! http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
That's because there IS no new thing about poverty... It's always been here and it always will be.
Your saying this as if the majority of Americans know the facts about poverty. They think everything on Earth is fine if Paris Hilton, Honnah Montana, Jonas Brothers and Twightlight are still alive.
This is false and a brain dead way to look at it. As said, there is enough food to feed everyone. To ignore this massive poverty and inequality in the world is just ridiculous.
Many of these problems are ignored or don't get enough attention from the people.
You mean total economic and political reform? They don't get attention because the rich don't want people to have attention of whats going on in the world.
If the facts of poverty, and the true cause of the war in Iraq, and the economic issues were revealed to the masses, would you think they would be less fond of their system and the capitalists that rule them?
This has been shown historically and logically. Those in power want you to know as little as possible.
Interesting that all the people freaking out about how much aid the US always sends to other countries have not peaked their heads in this thread. We spend VAST amounts of money on victims of disaster and the starving. But everyone says it is not near good enough. Down with Capitalism. Hmm... The instant someone says this another person, as I stated earlier, says we should not care about the rest of the world at all and just take care of ourselves. Europe is to blame for the complete political destabilization of Africa which they did intentionally to prevent them from becoming an economic threat. Before they were suddenly set lose to do whatever they would they were in quite good condition. Blame Europe for this mess. They did it and did it knowingly.
Haha, America is the wealthiest country. It is rather the most fortunate of the countries. To say that 1/4 children in America, the capital of the capitalist system, are starving, is a huge blow. (get the pun? lol)
Yeah, I get it... but it doesn't really prove that it's Capitalism's fault. Personally, I think the problem lies in the government being too big (too much power). We are being forced to live by more and more laws and regulations, many of these costing the middle class and lower a fortune. Instead of the government figuring out ways to make insurance a non-profit organization (or find a better system), the government makes more laws and more punishments against those without insurance, forcing people to pay for a money draining safety net to catch people only 3 feet from the ground.
The economy is in a slump because America has a crappy court system, crappy education system (colleges and how much you are forced to learn, despite it's uselessness).
If the facts of poverty, and the true cause of the war in Iraq, and the economic issues were revealed to the masses, would you think they would be less fond of their system and the capitalists that rule them?
I hate those people for being power hungry and greedy, not capitalist. I think people should be allowed to grow rich, but not through exploiting people through laws.
Bill Gates, he became rich because he gave the people Microsoft. People enjoyed Microsoft, Bill Gates took advantage of what the people wanted. However, people who profit off credit cards (pure scams), insurance (required rip offs), and other forms of cons and control are the people I hate.
This has been shown historically and logically. Those in power want you to know as little as possible.
This has worked for and against people in both capitalist systems and non-capitalist systems.
The reason people get rich is because the government is too big and because it focuses on controlling the people rather than controlling companies to make sure they aren't screwing everybody over.
Interesting that all the people freaking out about how much aid the US always sends to other countries have not peaked their heads in this thread. We spend VAST amounts of money on victims of disaster and the starving.
Sending foreign aid doesn't solve the problem The problem exists at its core. -- capitalism.
The capitalistic globalization policies do a lot more degree of damage is done than this aid provides for.
And we only spend $24 billion a year on foreign aid a year. Thats not alot compared to how much is spent on military. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnGj9sKfLls
And often the aid is done as a strategic action. US gains influence in other countries when it sends AID.
Europe is to blame for the complete political destabilization of Africa which they did intentionally to prevent them from becoming an economic threat...Blame Europe for this mess. They did it and did it knowingly.
LOL? Explain yourself? America is the largest, wealthiest, and most imperialistic capitalistic nation. It is god dam ignorant to blame a whole continent over this as opposed to America.
It was Europe that controlled most of the countries of Africa which had been former colonies. When they removed their support all at once a huge political hole opened and it led to great instability. Africa was progressing quite well economically and this would lead to increased competition in the future, and they did not want that to happen. So they conveniently abandoned their former holdings.
It was Europe that controlled most of the countries of Africa which had been former colonies.
This is only true to a point. And you cant blame Europe for this whole mess, I think you can blame the power hungry rulers, regardless of where they are from.
We spend VAST amounts of money on victims of disaster and the starving
Wrong.
The US ranks twenty-second of the 22 most developed nations in % of GDP contributed to foreign aid. As former President Jimmy Carter commented: 'We are the stingiest nation of all'. Denmark is top of the table, giving 1.01% of GDP, while the US manages just 0.1%. The United Nations has long established the target of 0.7% GDP for development assistance, although only four countries actually achieve this: Denmark, 1.01%; Norway, 0.91%; the Netherlands, 0.79%; Sweden, 0.7%. Apart from being the least generous nation, the US is highly selective in who receives its aid. Over 50% of its aid budget is spent on middle-income countries in the Middle East.
Europe is to blame for the complete political destabilization of Africa which they did intentionally to prevent them from becoming an economic threat...Blame Europe for this mess. They did it and did it knowingly
Europe is primarily at fault for the Africa situation, but so is the entire world for allowing it to happen
The worst country of all was Belgium or rather their King Leopold. But I won't get into that now...
Ok, firstly Americans don't deserve to be hungry, we're far to rich, if we're hungry its because we haven't gone to the refrigerator in the last hour. Africa and Asia can have people considered hungry, people there don't have a refrigerator, let alone a billionth of the stuff we have.
You point a finger at capitalism, is it wrong, yes, so is every other form of rule. If you want to point a finger at everything that is wrong then I only warn you to take time to eat and sleep, because you will be doing it for the rest of your life. Those who have children they can not feed are wrong in there ways, rich people are wrong, most of the world is wrong.
But then that is the world we are in, there is no changing that, or is there, can an individual change the world, yes. can an individual change the world by complaining about it? No. I am no hypocrite, I have done more for the starving than most around me, do I still leave in leisure? yes. In order to help the world the rich must fall, the lazy must rise (literally), we must all work to fix ourselves and our world. To fix our world we need a government that is not afraid to face the rich and tell them they will lose there wealth for the great good. We all have a place in fixing the world as our ancestors have all had a place in allowing it to get this way.
