What is poverty in America

LadyJazzer wrote: OH, the horror... And in some districts because of the poverty levels, over 70% qualify for free lunches anyway.

But, hey, we should just let them starve, right? That's the TeaBagger way... Rather starve a few hundred kids than let even ONE kid get fed who might be able to pay, right?

How about it from this angle, giving out free lunches to everyone to save a few kids pride is taking money from education dollars, how many teachers will lose their jobs? How big will class sizes become in order to make poor kids feel better. Even though the kids still realize they are poor.
That budget can't just be expanded every time.

How about this? Teachers are paid by states & counties; (Does the phrase "Amendment 23" ring a bell?)

The kids are fed from the FEDERAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM...

Next deflection? No, we should just let them starve, right? That's the TeaBagger way... Rather starve a few hundred kids than let even ONE kid get fed who might be able to pay, right?

LadyJazzer wrote: How about this? Teachers are paid by states & counties; (Does the phrase "Amendment 23" ring a bell?)

The kids are fed from the FEDERAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM...

Next deflection? No, we should just let them starve, right? That's the TeaBagger way... Rather starve a few hundred kids than let even ONE kid get fed who might be able to pay, right?

The Fed school lunch program is finite, if they feed even more kids who can take care of themselves, will food quality fall even more? Even less fresh vegtables and fruit?

Well, it will give you something to stay up nights worrying about... One kid just MIGHT get fed who could have paid for it.

What a pathetic life you live.

food quality fall even more? Even less fresh vegtables and fruit?

rofllol

What a moron.

Should we take it even farther, if the Feds are feeding the kids at home with food stamps and the kids at school with the lunch program, should they take the kids from the parents? If the parents can't provide them with food, they are probably neglecting them with heat, safe homes, etc.
Are kids the responsibility of goverment or the parents?

So --- not supporting Obama = racist
not supporting social policy/welfare in its current manifestation = pathetic

I voted for Obama - and I believe there's some legitimate need for welfare.

What other stigmatizing labels might one procure for reasonable questions?

LadyJazzer wrote: Well, it will give you something to stay up nights worrying about... One kid just MIGHT get fed who could have paid for it.

What a pathetic life you live.

food quality fall even more? Even less fresh vegtables and fruit?

rofllol

What a moron.

Typical leftie arguing tactic, lose the debate so trot out the insults.

"W" is so dumb! etc.

You call a stupid statement like "food quality fall even more? Even less fresh vegtables and fruit?" (because a few kids get a free lunch) "losing the debate"? You're dumber than I thought.

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Science Chic wrote: www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/health/policy...aid.html?_r=2&ref=us
First Study of Its Kind Shows Benefits of Providing Medical Insurance to Poor
By GINA KOLATA
Published: July 7, 2011

When poor people are given medical insurance, they not only find regular doctors and see doctors more often but they also feel better, are less depressed and are better able to maintain financial stability, according to a new, large-scale study that provides the first rigorously controlled assessment of the impact of Medicaid.

While the findings may seem obvious, health economists and policy makers have long questioned whether it would make any difference to provide health insurance to poor people.

The new study , published Thursday by the National Bureau of Economic Research , avoided that problem. Its design is like that used to test new drugs. People were randomly selected to have Medicaid or not, and researchers then asked if the insurance made any difference.

Health economists and other researchers said the study was historic and would be cited for years to come, shaping health care debates.

As an economist, Dr. Finkelstein was interested, among other things, in whether Medicaid did what all insurance — homeowner’s, auto, health — is supposed to do: shield people from financial catastrophe. Almost no one had even tried to investigate that question, she said. The study found that those with insurance were 25 percent less likely to have an unpaid bill sent to a collection agency and were 40 percent less likely to borrow money or fail to pay other bills because they had to pay medical bills.

So if they have medical insurance, they're less likely to be an economic burden in other areas - seems like a good idea to provide this coverage then.


http://www.truth-out.org/poverty-just-say-it/1313932122
Poverty. Just Say It.
Sunday 21 August 2011
by: Kathy Mulady, Equal Voice Newspaper

Some worry that the conversation about the “P” word is more about the “nouveau poor” than about the 37.3 million people who were living in poverty before the recession. Others say it is the crumbling middle class, changing demographics and raised consciousness of people living closer to the edge that have sparked the conversation.

As the 2012 election comes into focus, it’s urgent, they say, that public and political discussions about the economy move well beyond job creation and into a critical debate about raising the standard of living for all Americans including the poorest of the poor.

“Somebody has to tell the truth about poverty in America,” said public television and radio host Tavis Smiley who earlier this month hit the road with Princeton University professor Cornel West on The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience. They recorded the stories of struggling families and at the same time, prodded President Obama and other politicians to start talking about the poor.

They talked to middle-class families who have lost their homes to foreclosure, warehouse workers struggling to survive on minimum wage, and hundreds of people unemployed for months or years. “We have seen countless people on this tour who were the middle class and are now the poor,” Smiley said.

“People across the country are extremely dismayed that all of the burden for deficit reduction will fall on the backs of the poor,” Sanders said in a recent conference call with Campaign for America’s Future. Child care, health care, Social Security, nutrition programs for children and seniors, affordable housing, food stamps and education are all on the chopping block, he said.

Chopping block? Actually more Americans are on food stamps and unemployment benefits than ever before.