Poverty statistics in the United States are absolutely astounding:

“In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty.”

Even more troubling, in 2011, the most extreme type of poverty, (households that live on  $2 or less a day before government benefits) included a staggering 2.8 million children. In 2013, children who lived in poverty reached 16.7 million children living in “food insecure” households.

47 million American people depend on food banks within the US.

How does Poverty affect Children?

Poverty affects children in three important ways (other than being food insecure or malnutrition):

  • Intelligence – A study conducted by Charles Murray compared the earnings of 733 full sibling pairs with differing intelligence quotients (IQ’s). He referred to the sample as utopian in that the sampled pairs were raised in families with virtually no illegitimacy, divorce or poverty. The average earnings of sampled individuals with an IQ of under 75 was $11,000, compared to $16,000 for those with an IQ between 75 and 90, $23,000 for those with an IQ between 90 and 110, $27,000 for those with an IQ between 110 and 125, and $38,000 for those with an IQ above 125. These figures are probably even higher than the initial study done by Charles Murray (1998). Income Inequality and IQ. Washington: AEI Press. Imagine what these figures would be in 2013?
  • Education – poverty-stricken households contain children are less likely to go to school, or graduate high school.
  • Unemployment – Partly because of lack of education, children who live in poverty, grow up without graduating and, therefore, unemployment among those children is significantly higher.

Poverty and Children’s Futures

While poverty in the United States is a growing problem, there is no short-term solution. Most of the answer lies in economic growth and the US government. So, how is economic growth possible when the US is providing less employment, less incentives for businesses not to ship their products oversees, less tax breaks, higher insurance and healthcare costs? Short answer: It’s not.

I don’t believe that there is a solution to poverty unless their is a complete and total radical overhaul of the government. Combined with trillions of dollars in government debt (which families have taken on in the form of higher taxes), poverty is only going to increase over time as families struggle to find employment and buy more expensive groceries. Sadly, our children will have to take on the debt and in some cases the poverty that other generations before them have incurred.