The number of U.S. residents who are struggling to survive on just $2 a day has more than doubled since 1996, placing 1.5 million households and 3 million children in this desperate economic situation. That's according to "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America," a book from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that will be released on Sept. 1.
The measure of poverty isn't arbitrary -- it's the threshold the World Bank uses to measure global poverty in the developed world. While it may be the norm to see families in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia struggle to survive on such meager income, the growing ranks of America's ultrapoor may be shocking, given that the U.S. is considered one of the most developed capitalist countries in the world.
Where's the source material mentioned so that we can look at it?
ReplyDeleteThe feds spend over $900 Billion for the 70+ welfare related programs medical, food assistance, housing assistance, etc. No mention that those kids would qualify and get free school lunches and breakfast. No mention if these families are getting any other kind of government assistance as focus is just on TANF. Where is the focus on those programs failing these people?
Let's look at some numbers. $2 per day x 365 days is $730. Fed minimum wage is $7.25 an hour or 100 hours per year. So, a family of 4 needs to have one earner work 400 hours to make this position correct.
Finally, no mention of how many are immigrants legal or illegal. Why is that?