One of the best measures of a just and compassionate society is the care afforded to its most vulnerable members. The level of child poverty in America depends on how it's gauged, but it's safe to say one quarter of U.S. children live in conditions that contrast appallingly with conditions found in the mansions of the 1 Percenters.
2010 U.S. Census data show childhood poverty spiked during the Great Recession:
- In 2010, more than 15.7 million U.S. children, 1 of 5, lived in poverty
- More than 1.1 million children fell into poverty from 2009 to 2010
- The 2010 child poverty rate, 21.6 percent, was the highest since the Census began its American Community Survey poll in 2001
- In 2011, 22 percent of U.S. children lived in homes that were food-insecure
- In 2011, 1.1 percent of children experienced the highest level of food insecurity, food intake reduced and eating patterns disrupted
- In 2011, food insecurity was twice as prevalent in households led by blacks (32 percent) and Hispanics (35 percent) than households led by whites (16 percent)
- In 2011, food insecurity was more than twice as prevalent in single-mother households (40 percent) than in married-couple households (16 percent)
- In 2010, 44 percent of children living in homes with incomes below the federal poverty line experienced food insecurity
- In a 2009 survey of 35 industrialized countries, the United States had the second-highest child poverty rate at 23 percent, just below Romania's 25 percent rate
- In 2007, the United States ranked 31st out of 35 industrialized countries in public spending on families, including tax breaks, cash transfers and services
- Compared to other industrialized countries, the absence of public services such as health insurance and early childhood education exacerbates U.S. childhood poverty (factoring in relatively weak U.S. family services, as many as one-third of American children are living in poverty)
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