Poverty in the USA

Hey,

So I know it seems like poverty is a global thing... after practice, I got home to read some Great Gatsby and my dad had on an MLS game (major league soccer is the USA league). Since all of my poverty stuff has to do with soccer (because I can't relate Jackie O or sweaters to poverty), I decided to take a look at poverty in the USA. Here is something to chew on from 2009:

1. In 2009, 43.6 million people (14.3 percent) were in poverty.
2. In 2009, 8.8 (11.1% percent) million families were in poverty.
3. In 2009, 24.7 million (12.9 percent) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty.
4. In 2009, 15.5 million (20.7 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
5. In 2009, 3.4 million (8.9 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

Wondering why I keep saying 2009? Simple... you know how we are in a recession... well every recession since WWII has not lasted over 16 months (thank you Federal reserve for learning from your BIG mistakes). This was the start of the recession we are in (initial panic) that has lasted since the end of '07. Yeah, as much as this is about poverty, it is also about the economics of food (see header). Do you know food is as affected by recession and cutting back as any other industry... we thought our food was important (actually the only industry that doesn't get cut back on is beauty). Unfortunately, the food that is cheap, fast and filling isn't good for our health... just our wallets and our good old American economy (and its stimulation). But I digress (I'll talk about our economy later), most people forget about American poverty. Note: this doesn't include homeless people or prostitutes or runaways not on the census, nor does it show the borderline people who have to go to places like the midtown assistance center. So it is important to remeber that our nation is lucky, but we luckier... there are a lot of people who are starving here (we don't have to turn to Africa). it also makes us more aware, if you want to help, all you have to do is go outside.

-Catherine Korizno