News
Willingham, Innocent & Poor
Published September 04, 2009 @ 11:00AM PT
H/t to G.D. at Postbourgie for inspiring me to sit down with the chilling report on the wrongful execution in Texas of an almost certainly innocent man, Cameron Todd Willingham. The investigation and findings pointing to his innocence, and the likelihood that TX may become the first state in the nation to admit to killing an innocent human being, has been extensively covered in the media and on the blogs - including by Matt at our Criminal Justice blog. (Matt's also got an excellent follow-up post about the declining role of the media as a watchdog.)
I highly recommend reading the original New Yorker article if you have a moment this long weekend. Like so many wrongfully convicted, Willingham was poor. At the intersection of poverty and criminal injustice, we need to work to stop the death penalty and improve legal counsel for the indigent.
Do Something: September is Hunger Action Month
Published September 03, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
Feeding America, the nations largest hunger relief charity, is reminding everyone to "Give a little, Feed a Lot" this September during Hunger Action Month.
I think that this sort of campaign is a great call to action. Many of us have really great intentions of volunteering or donating goods, but often lose this philanthropic drive in the bustle of everyday life. We should think of others all the time, but it's nice having a little reminder to do so.
There are lots of events and activities being organization by Feeding America this month (you can find ones close to you by clicking here), but really, there are so many actions you can take on your own to feed needy residents in your community.
How Many Calories Does $1 Buy?
Published August 27, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
The answer depends largely on what type of food you're purchasing.
As I was reading through the recent TIME Magzine cover story on the real price of cheap food, I came across reference to a study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study examined how many calories, of certain kinds of food, one dollar can buy you. They determined that:
A dollar could buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit.
Yeah, you read that right. A dollar can buy you almost 10 times more calories from potato chips than it can from fresh fruit. Is it any wonder that obesity and food security are so intricately tied to income level in this country? I think not.
This statistic has a lot to do with why many people who do not have adequate access to healthy foods are often unhealthy and overweight. Really, it's all about the energy density of the foods we eat. Let me explain.
Taking Stock: Hunger Across America
Published August 20, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
In previous posts, including this one, I've talked about the need for adequate summer feeding programs in order to make sure that children do not go hungry while school is out of session.
But as the economy continues to contract and unemployment continues to rise (although apparently levels of joblessness are beginning to level off), I've come to realize that it's not just children who are in need of food assistance this summer, it's everyone.
From middle-class families to single parents to young couples trying to support themselves on minimum wage jobs, it seems as though no one is immune to the pangs of hunger this season.
With this in mind, I decided to take a look around the country to see how bad it really is out there:
Ask Congress About Medicaid
Published August 19, 2009 @ 01:04PM PT
After Congress failed to meet self-imposed deadlines to put together a comprehensive plan before the August recess, it's clear healthcare reform has run into some major issues. Some of them - like the wailings of a wacky former Governor about "death panels" (sounds like bad siding) are easily dismissed. Others are issues that are not likely to go away, and may well affect what happens to healthcare reform when Congress resumes in September.
The press and many progressive advocates have latched onto the "public plan", shorthand for some sort of government run insurance plan which would serve as a backstop for households when no other insurance option was available. The "public plan" has come to symbolize, for the right, the threat of a "government takeover" of healthcare... and for the left it has become a rallying cry of necessity if reform is to be done right.
Neither is entirely the case. First, I agree with other progressive advocates urging you to call your members of Congress about healthcare reform. But rather than emphasizing the public plan, if you're concerned about healthcare and poverty... ask them how they plan to defend and strengthen Medicaid.
Boycotting Whole Foods
Published August 18, 2009 @ 04:28AM PT
If you're like me, you've been watching steam gather behind the boycott of Whole Foods (WFM) over CEO John Mackey's anti-healthcare reform op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times has a handy round-up of the various rationales behind the boycott - I'm partial to Matt Yglesias's point that it challenges the outsized "social and political power" of CEOs in this country. I'm also delighted to see Mackey's customers - typically affluent, politically liberal - push back on Mackey's political ideology. WFM, from most accounts, provides generous healthcare and is a comparatively good retail/service job - so this isn't a boycott about workers' rights in the traditional sense. Instead, it's a pointed rebuke of the idea that we lack the right to healthcare.
Forgotten Gulf Coast Poverty
Published August 12, 2009 @ 12:57PM PT
Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity and the LA Disaster Recovery Foundation have released an interesting new report demonstrating that coverage of Gulf Coast poverty has declined dramatically since Hurricane Katrina struck almost four years ago. Gulf Coast states LA, MS and AL had some of the highest rates of poverty in the nation prior to the flood; it's a big contributor to the awful aftermath of Katrina in cities like New Orleans and along the rural Gulf Coast. Turns out, poverty is as big if not bigger crisis in the region since the disaster, as more families have plunged into poverty and those already struggling are further consigned to a life of hardship.
Coverage of Gulf Coast poverty was never a major media theme; it amounted to less than 10% of all post-Katrina coverage even in the first 3 months after the disaster. (In fact, looking at 3 month coverage increments, it looks like John Edwards's Presidential announcement was the only thing to inspire more than 10% of press coverage of the issue at any time.) If you're remotely familiar with the issue of poverty in the US, you'll know that it's not a very popular topic - ever. (One need only look at the membership rates of the Change.org blogs for confirmation of this sad reality.) So this report, to me, is no newsflash, just like the reality of Gulf Coast poverty for anyone who's been paying attention.
That said, here's a couple key factoids that we should keep in mind of the absolute necessity to stay focused on investing in and rebuilding the U.S. Gulf Coast:
- "Only 2 in 5 damaged affordable rental units in Louisiana will be replaced or repaired with recovery
assistance"; - The "homeless population of New Orleans has been doubled by the storm."
- A "public housing crisis [has contributed to] an estimated 37,000 Gulf Coast residents living in FEMA trailers as of August, 2008."
60% reduction in rental units, including the demolition of 4,500 public housing units in New Orleans alone. At least 12,000 homeless just in New Orleans, a city of less than 300,000. Here at Poverty in America we write about the Gulf Coast every Wednesday. According to this report, we're doing the bare minimum.
(Photo of a John Edwards 2008 visit to New Orleans, by Rachel Feierman)
