It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Guess What Percentage Of American Children Are Living In Poverty.

page: 2
24
<< 1   >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Jul, 10 2012 @ 10:00 PM
link   
reply to post by AndyMayhew
 



I don't believe you one bit but as I have done with other posters who claim they live just great on very little money, I'll call your bluff.

POST YOUR BUDGET

I don't need personal details but list your general expenses and income. Include the money for smoking , drinking and over eating (as you said you do). I assume you have kids (since this is what the thread is about), so include them too.



posted on Jul, 10 2012 @ 10:03 PM
link   
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan
 


I do wonder, what those numbers would be, without the illegal immigration problem.Very good point. As someone said, we should figure out our priorities. We can all figure it out, as a Country, right after American Idol, and Jersey Shore come on though.



posted on Jul, 10 2012 @ 10:21 PM
link   
The area I live in offers free school lunch programs for the poor at several elementary schools in the worst parts of town. I have been to a few locations due to volunteer obligations that I hold. I will tell you this, not getting enough to eat is NOT the problem here. A good thirty percent of those children are overweight, and when they are done eating, the gameboys, phones, ipods come out. I would like to know where they fall in the requirements.

I grew up with a single mother, and for a time, we were poor. However, I did not know this at age seven, because I had enough to eat, clean clothes, and a tv to watch. I remember wishing I had a bike,my Mom could not afford this, but what I really wished for was a Dad. There are so many opportunities to be had in America. I could write you a list of free programs available in our city for just about everything you can imagine. There is aid to be found in just about every category. I think the real focus with the truly poor, should lie in the family dynamics. With good self-esteem, coming from a great family, you can do amazing things.



posted on Jul, 10 2012 @ 10:25 PM
link   

edit on 7/10/2012 by Turq1 because: wrong thread



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 01:10 AM
link   
These days it takes two working in order to provide for children (and then some). I don't know the figures, but look at the number of men in prison or jail for BS offenses (no harm done) whose families are on welfare at least until he gets home. After that, he's facing finding a job with a prior felony which is almost impossible. Dollar General won't even hire you to load trucks. A building supply company in our area (now out of business) wouldn't even hire someone who had ever been charged (not convicted) of writing a bad check. The taxpayers are left carrying the load once more...

There are a number of factors to add into this scenario; incarceration is a major one...



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 02:20 AM
link   

Originally posted by Daughter2

I don't believe you one bit but as I have done with other posters who claim they live just great on very little money, I'll call your bluff.

POST YOUR BUDGET


I'll bite on this. I'm retired and my income is about £12,000 a year. I believe that puts me below those lucky people who somehow manage to rake in £30,000 pa in benefit!

I have a few thousand for emergencies.
However I think that still makes me 'poor'.
True - I don't have a family to provide for. But the downside is that as a single householder, I don't have anyone to share expenses with.
How do I manage? Well a biggy is that I paid off the mortgage (though only recently).
Otherwise - my car is 8 years old but runs fine for now.
I still have an old fashioned CRT TV and I won't replace/update it unless it goes bust.
I don't have expensive holidays and my clothes come from charity shops or discount stores. However I do like good food, organic where possible. Plus occasional good alcohol too!
Healthwise the 'free at the point of care' system in the UK works just fine for me - I don't have to worry about medical bills. The only thing is I have had to subscribe to is a private dental plan (due to the local shortage of NHS dentists). That costs £20 per month.
I have Sky Freesat (so free satellite TV) plus internet that costs about £15 per month.
My computer is a few years old. It works just fine - as with the TV, I didn't buy into the hype that I need to keep upgrading it.
I have no loans outstanding because I only buy what I can afford.
Basically I keep warm and I eat just fine - I even have money left over each month for saving or small extravagances. That makes me comfortable and not impoverished even though my budget is tiny

I jumped off the materialistic bandwagon years ago and am grateful for what I have. I don't compare myself to the neighbour who has the latest car and plasma TV, or the celebrity who has a closet full of designer shoes, I compare myself to the many who have trouble getting even the basics - like those scratting around the rubbish tips of Mumbai or African kids who have to trudge miles for water.
Too many in our society are unable to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I need'.
edit on 11-7-2012 by starchild10 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 08:34 AM
link   
reply to post by tothetenthpower
 


I agree with others who say that UNICEFS chart is Bullshet. Hell, one US city has the same number of people as some of these countries if you can even call them countries. They are so tiny. I'm not going to use a tiny little piece of land with just few people on it as an example for a nation of 300 million. That's just stupid.

But that does not take away from the fact that the United States does have severe poverty in some places. Appalachia and the Urban cities across America have a lot of poverty. And no, the kids do not have I-phones and PC's and in some cases, even if they did have one, it had most likely been "permanently borrowed".

Also, Goodwill sells TV's for dirt cheap so I will not suggest that because they have a TV with an antenna , they are not poor. These kids really are poor. And we need to stop ignoring that by acting as though they are not as important as the kids we see on "Save the Children" commercials because they live in America.



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 08:37 AM
link   
reply to post by skepticconwatcher
 


What makes people think that poor people actually buy these objects? All I have to do is go to my local rubbish dump and find a plethora of electrical goods that have been thrown out but still work perfectly.



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 08:40 AM
link   
reply to post by Kryties
 


EXACTLY

I have seen many times where a mattress or other furniture was set on the curb to be removed by the city and anyone can have access to it so I am pretty sure some of the poor show up and get what they need.



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 08:49 AM
link   
You cannot compare Congo to America, they are 2 completely different nations, and as such, a poverty level must be assigned to each nation on a scale, there is one it does exist (honest) .1st world, 2nd world and 3rd world. It's like comparing apples,oranges and kiwi fruit, 3 different fruits spawned from 3 different trees.

While poverty in a 1st world nation isn't anywhere near the poverty of a 2nd or 3rd world nation, the foot fits the shoe when accounting for the possibilities of the younger and growing generations. Education, Infrastructure, Medicare and opportunities being a key factor in keeping those nations in there World position.

I despise the fact people think it's not beneficial for a family to buy a new LED TV for $500 when its going to last them 10 years+ (which is $50 a year, not a bad investment for 7300hours x 3people = hours of entertainment)[2 hours per day] or a basic computer for the same price that if is used for the same hours for educational and entertainment purposes.

So a family of 3(Mother, Father and Spouse) 43,000 hours of possible educational and entertainment use of 2 hours of each per day for $1000 over 10 years, doesn't sound like a horrible investment in my eyes.

Think about the fact you pay a house loan over 30 years and give a banker more than $100,000+ in profit in that time ONLY for lending you the money when the house itself would have cost less than $90,000 to build if it was built today (on average) lets not forget if the house is 20 years old even less considering the average wage was considerably lower back then, is complete bull#.

I wanted to try to keep this short, and i feel like there are so many more scenarios i could bring up, but i won't(probably will if i get attacked regarding my opinion on the situation).

My own situation isn't bad or borderline poverty at all, in my home country of Australia i'm on almost triple the minimum wage. I do overspend and that's my choice, If i knuckle down to save for a property, i'd live on less than $200 a week and that's excluding bills, petrol and work expenses to pay for a house solo over a 30 year period, it's not sustainable, unfortunately others don't understand this.



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 09:00 AM
link   
Tenth, I am not surprised at this. The poor and middle class have been getting killed through inflation! The US SNAP food stamp program established in 1984 (I believe) had an asset cap of $2000. Today, here in Virginia and some other states the asset cap is the same! It has never been adjusted and through inflation those $2000 dollars only have the buying power of about $750.....

just look at all of the other government programs which are falsely adjusted for inflation!

John Williams of www.shadowstats.com publishes a wide variety of economic data based on old government computing methods used before the books started getting cooked at the BLS

www.shadowstats.com...

Here is a link to a paper John wrote in May explaining why the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is worthless!
www.shadowstats.com...


edit on 11-7-2012 by fnpmitchreturns because: add link

edit on 11-7-2012 by fnpmitchreturns because: add paper link



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 09:07 AM
link   

Originally posted by skepticconwatcher
reply to post by Kryties
 


EXACTLY

I have seen many times where a mattress or other furniture was set on the curb to be removed by the city and anyone can have access to it so I am pretty sure some of the poor show up and get what they need.


Down here in Oz we have bi-yearly "Council Cleanups". Basically twice a year everyone dumps all their unwanted stuff like furniture, electrical etc etc out on the kerb and the Councils come along in big trucks and take it all away. It takes a few weeks to get through it all so they stagger the pickups. "Technically" nobody is allowed to touch the stuff but council once it's on the kerb, but literally NOBODY follows this rule and Aussies go on "Council Cleanup" runs and pick up other peoples unwanted stuff.

Right now? I'm sitting on a chair I found down the road plus I have a house full of perfectly functional odds and ends that I found outside various peoples places during one of the cleanups. I think the table I'm sitting at now even came from one....
edit on 11/7/2012 by Kryties because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 01:01 PM
link   
reply to post by starchild10
 


This story is about children in poverty and you went on and on saying how you live at the poverty level and you are perfectly fine. It turns out you AREN'T at the poverty level and you don't have kids to provide for.

PER US STANDARDS, YOU AREN'T LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL!!!!

PLUS


Your house and car are paid for (which is kinda like living off of savings)
You don't even have children.
You have a savings.
You are retired so you don't have the same expenses as a young family (cribs, strollers, diapers ect)




Take you "above poverty income" pay rent, car payments, daycare and food for your kids. You wouldn't be saying how well you live.



posted on Jul, 11 2012 @ 01:19 PM
link   

Originally posted by starchild10
[I'm retired and my income is about £12,000 a year.

I have a few thousand for emergencies.
However I think that still makes me 'poor'.

How do I manage? Well a biggy is that I paid off the mortgage (though only recently).


You are not even poor by UK standards! Pensioners only need 137 a week to be above the poverty level. You have about 250.00 a week! Almost twice the level!
news.bbc.co.uk...

But I don't think you lied intentionally. You really do think you are poor. And 250 a week isn't a lot of money. Even at twice the level you admitted you have to buy second hand stuff.

You like most middle class people aren't aware of what poverty really is like.



posted on Jul, 12 2012 @ 03:39 AM
link   

Originally posted by Daughter2

Originally posted by starchild10
[I'm retired and my income is about £12,000 a year.

I have a few thousand for emergencies.
However I think that still makes me 'poor'.

How do I manage? Well a biggy is that I paid off the mortgage (though only recently).


You are not even poor by UK standards! Pensioners only need 137 a week to be above the poverty level. You have about 250.00 a week! Almost twice the level!
news.bbc.co.uk...

But I don't think you lied intentionally. You really do think you are poor. And 250 a week isn't a lot of money. Even at twice the level you admitted you have to buy second hand stuff.

You like most middle class people aren't aware of what poverty really is like.


You call $250 a week middle class?

What, is it 1979 all over again? I am middle/middle class, and I wouldn't work for 250 every two days, let alone every week. Let me give you some statistics using commonly accepted workforce calculations (FTE Calcs, if anyone in the audience is familiar) applying your gross income to a 40 hour workweek (which is a hallmark of the middle class: regular and steady work):

$250 is equal to $13k a year. If you pay it hourly, they are earning (for that middle class benchmark of 40 hours/week equivalent) $6.25/hr. That is a dollar under minimum wage. And you call that middle class? Is this a relative assessment, and you had to eat dog food for supper?

ETA: i just worked from 8a-3:30a putting together some financials for work. Long day, and i just noticed that you refer to UK monies. So.....the conversion is about $300 USD ($305.75 to be exact, using todays conversion rate). That is an hourly wage of $7.64. Given that you can flip burgers at McDonalds for, right now, between $8.50 and $14.00 (i kid you not) in my home town, or that hotel housekeepers at our local Holiday Inn Express start at $8.00/hr with $0.25 raises every 90 days for the first year, i would still say that anyone claiming that less that 50 cents above absolute minimum wage (which is actually only a wage that felons generally earn) is absolutely insane. Or they are that Third World Success kid from the interwebz.
edit on 12-7-2012 by bigfatfurrytexan because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 13 2012 @ 04:38 AM
link   

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by schuyler
 


That's relative to the economy of the country though. Ofcourse our definition of poverty is different than that of Uaganda's and for good reason.

The point of this is that a 1st world developped nation has more children living underneath the proverty line than a host of other nations whose GDP combined is probably less than the states is.

It's a matter of where are your priorities as a nation as far as I'm concerned.

~Tenth
I am just disgusted by people like you.
If i say something related to the skin colour of ugandan people, i will be called racist and blah blah.
People like you will come out carrying banners with saintly quotes.
Yet you consider yourself different and want a different scale of poverty just because you were born in different part of the earth. lol.
They were born that way.
Did you choose to be born in usa??
The hypocrisy of humans never ceases to amaze me.



posted on Jul, 13 2012 @ 05:49 AM
link   
Interesting chart.

What is of the most interest to me is NOT where the US ranks, but rather take a look at who is #1.

It is Iceland.

So why is this interesting? What has Iceland done that should be of any interest to people in the USA?

Answer: Iceland did everything the people of the US should do but are too scared to do it.

1. They overthrew their corrupt Government and caused the Politicians to step down en mass.


Great little victories of ordinary people

While banks and local and foreign authorities were desperately seeking economic solutions, the Icelandic people took to the streets and their persistent daily demonstrations outside parliament in Reykjavik prompted the resignation of the conservative Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde and his entire government.

Citizens demanded, in addition, to convene early elections, and they succeeded. In April a coalition government was elected, formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement, headed by a new Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.

Throughout 2009 the Icelandic economy continued to be in a precarious situation (at the end of the year the GDP had dropped by 7%) but, despite this, the Parliament proposed to repay the debt to Britain and the Netherlands with a payment of 3,500 million Euros, a sum to be paid every month by Icelandic families for 15 years at 5.5% interest.

The move sparked anger again in the Icelanders, who returned to the streets demanding that, at least, that decision was put to a referendum. Another big small victory for the street protests: in March 2010 that vote was held and an overwhelming 93% of the population refused to repay the debt, at least with those conditions.

This forced the creditors to rethink the deal and improve it, offering 3% interest and payment over 37 years. Not even that was enough. The current president, on seeing that Parliament approved the agreement by a narrow margin, decided last month not to approve it and to call on the Icelandic people to vote in a referendum so that they would have the last word.



2. They arrested bankers who participated in a fraud to enslave the Icelandic people in debt, which then caused bankers all over Iceland to flee Iceland en mass.


The bankers are fleeing in fear

Returning to the tense situation in 2010, while the Icelanders were refusing to pay a debt incurred by financial sharks without consultation, the coalition government had launched an investigation to determine legal responsibilities for the fatal economic crisis and had already arrested several bankers and top executives closely linked to high risk operations. Interpol, meanwhile, had issued an international arrest warrant against Sigurdur Einarsson, former president of one of the banks. This situation led scared bankers and executives to leave the country en masse.



3. To top it all off, the Icelandic people began the process of creating a new Constitution.


In this context of crisis, an assembly was elected to draft a new constitution that would reflect the lessons learned and replace the current one, inspired by the Danish constitution. To do this, instead of calling experts and politicians, Iceland decided to appeal directly to the people, after all they have sovereign power over the law. More than 500 Icelanders presented themselves as candidates to participate in this exercise in direct democracy and write a new constitution. 25 of them, without party affiliations, including lawyers, students, journalists, farmers and trade union representatives were elected.


4. The people put an emphasis on protecting the freedom of information, and those who bring you that information.


Among other developments, this constitution will call for the protection, like no other, of freedom of information and expression in the so-called Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, in a bill that aims to make the country a safe haven for investigative journalism and freedom of information, where sources, journalists and Internet providers that host news reporting are protected.


So does seeing Iceland at #1 shock anyone now? It shouldn't.

I just have to share the last line of the article before I post the source, which by the way this was written in early 2011 and the people of Iceland have accomplished all this since 2008. Amazing how we never hear of this on CNN huh?


Anyway... here is line that just warms my little heart...


The people, for once, will decide the future of the country while bankers and politicians witness the transformation of a nation from the sidelines.


I think people all over the world can learn something from the people in Iceland. so below is the source, and in my opinion worth reading.
SOURCE




top topics



 
24
<< 1   >>

log in

join