Poverty in America

An article appeared on CNN's Belief Blog a couple of month's ago entitled "5 Misconceptions About Poverty in America". It was authored by Rev. David Beckmann, who is President of Bread For the World and the Alliance to End Hunger.  

Here are a few of his 5 misconceptions:

1. “Poverty doesn’t exist in the United States.”
Although poverty often appears less extreme in the United States than in other countries, it is nonetheless real. There are 46.2 million Americans living in poverty, according to data released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The poverty rate increased to 15.1% in 2010, from 14.3% in 2009. That's nearly one out of every six Americans — the highest rate since the Census began tracking poverty data in 1959.

2. “There is no such thing as extreme poverty in America.”
Deep poverty means living below 50% of the poverty line, which would be an income of $11,157 for a family of four and $5,672 for a non-elderly person living alone.

Many think this level of poverty is exclusive to people living in developing countries, but the number of people in America living in extreme poverty has reached a record high: 20.5 million in 2010.

3. “If you live above the federal poverty line, you’re doing just fine.”
$23,000 a year is too little for most two-person households to live comfortably in America, let alone a family of four. Most people don’t understand that having a job doesn’t mean you’ve made it out of poverty.

In fact, working full-time at minimum wage earns you only $14,000 a year. But there are also millions of Americans living above the federal poverty line who are struggling to make ends meet.

It is a hard time of year for many people. Many of us make plenty of money, but feel poor because we can't buy all the things we want to or have the kind of car we want.  In fact, we are doing fine. But some of us aren't doing fine and they could use our help. Around here, that may mean the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which accepts donations here.   

NIFB is proud to say that 96% of its budget goes directly to feeding the hungry. This efficiency has earned NIFB a four-star rating by Charity Navigator, an independent evaluation of charities.  

In St. Marys, Ohio, where I grew up, that means the AGAPE Food Pantry, where my dad, at age 90, still volunteers by packing boxes of food on Tuesdays every week.    

So find a place near you and help out. Children should not go to bed hungry.