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| Poor children in mining community |
Recent statistics indicate the United
States has the highest rate of child poverty in the developed world.
1 in 5 children are poor, a condition that will impact not just America but the entire world.
While new research tells us of the
relatively high rate of child poverty in a country that has long been
considered the richest in the world, the fact so many of the nation's
young people lack proper nutrition, health services and opportunities
reflects a future where disparities of income, education and overall
well being may actually increase. As corporation executives gain in
income, and the rich grow richer, a growing segment of the population
will find it more difficult to climb the ladder out of poverty
Horatio Alger style. Yet the philosophical overview that prevails in
the upper classes that the poor are poor because of their own lack of
will is likely to remain, as it has for decades, thereby presenting
an ongoing barrier for the impoverished to participate equally in the
future growth and economy of the country.
Researchers remind us that with poverty
comes higher rates of depression and aggression, creating
consequences of social problems extending to increased rates of crime
and mental health
problems
And because union membership is dwindling, the pressure on the upper economic echelon for equitable
distribution of wealth through reasonable wages has lessened. This
means opportunities for adequate income relative to the cost of
living is shrinking as well, meaning many in the middle class are
drifting closer and closer to poverty themselves.
Globalization also has an effect on the future of everyone, which can add to the rates of
poverty experienced in the US. In order to attract investment to a country,
businesses and organizations race to reduce wages and buy resources
cheaply, which has increased poverty and inequality for most people.
For the United States to attract investment means it too must meet
the demands of a world looking for the best at the cheapest rates.
This will serve to increase poverty, as it is the poor who cannot pay
to educate their children and whose children lack the nutritional
safeguards that underpin learning who will reach for those jobs that
pay less and less for more and more work.
The growing poverty in America is not
just confined to US borders but will impact other countries also. A
vast network of communication systems and transportation capabilities
has connected much of the world materially and socially. The
decisions made by a dominant country can create consequences for
other countries in the network of nations that interrelate
economically and politically. Pressures from within create social
problems that lessen a nation's will for fighting wars abroad. So
while security needs increase, the will of the people to maintain
security outside of its own national borders lessens. The poor,
having less access to education and health care, will increasingly
lack the interest and sophisticated knowledge to interact with others
or appreciate their needs as well. Politicians can pander to the
fears aggravated by poverty and loss.
Poverty is a problem throughout the
world, and surely poor children are a concern for everyone. Many
people outside the US may not worry about the poor children of
America; but as America loses its will, its interest and its capacity
for helping others, the numbers of poor children in every country
will increase. We are no longer a world where the problems in one
country do not affect others, so the news about the relatively high
rate of poverty in the United States is important for everyone.
