Did you know? Texas and poverty.

[Maddy McCall]

I was reading the 2005 Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual Hunting and Fishing Regulations handbook (what can I say--it sits on the back of the toilet: reading material ;-) ) and was not-so-shocked to learn, in an ad for "Hunters for the Hungry," which solicits venison for distribution to the poor, that:

Texas ranks second out of 50 states in the highest percentage of hungry families, and

An estimated 1.1 million kids, or 32% of all children in Texas, are hungry o at risk of hunger.

Very interesting, also, is that:

"On Friday, the House Agriculture Committee terminated food stamp assistance for 300,000 vulnerable people on the very day that the USDA announced that Texas leads the nation in the percentage of households at risk of going hungry (16 percent). Nationwide, 4.4 million people suffered food insecurity last year, almost a million people more than the previous year. 'Food insecure' households are those that had difficulty buying enough food because they could not afford it."

All info is available online at the Center for Public Policy Priorities website: www.cppp.org.

Isn't it intriguing that Texas, in the wake of a Bush administration, sits at the apex of states in matters of poverty? Why is it so difficult for so many people to see that the very same detrimental effects are being felt, or will soon be felt, across our great nation, in the rest of the 50 states?

If I were the Democratic gubernatorial contender in Texas, I'd certainly use the child poverty statistics as a starting point to describe what I would do differently.

[xchrom]

1. sorta speaks for itself -- don't it?

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Those are horrible numbers, but...

it seems to me that Texas is another place where all too many voters just don't give a shit about the poor or hungry, so that's not a campaign issue.

Even worse, I suspect that a lot of those hugry kids are black and even more are hispanic, so "Let's spend more money to feed the illegal kids" isn't exactly a winning campaign strategy.

It should be, though. Allowing such hunger is not only immoral and unthinkable, it should be an embarassment to all of us.

[justabob]

3. Texas sits at the bottom of all things good, and at the top of all things

bad in all categories... pollution, education, life expectancy, infant mortality.... on and on.

[Batgirl]

4. 3 GREAT things about Texas

James McMurtry, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Robert Earl Keen

[morningglory]

5. Molly Ivins, Anne Richards, Hightower(is it?), great man, though his name

eludes me. Others exist, I am sure.

[TexasProgresive]

7. Jim Hightower

a sawoffed runt of a man who is a true Texas treasure.

[FreedomAngel82]

11. I think I recognize the name

Wasn't he at the anti-war rally in DC the last part of the year with Cindy Sheehan and the one where Laura Flanders and Amy Goodman filmed live? I believe I recognize his name. If it's who I'm thinking about than I'm a fan. He knows Bush pretty well. :)

[FreedomAngel82]

12. Isn't James Moore in Texas?

He wrote "Bush's Brain."

[FreedomAngel82]

10. You forgot Willie Nelson

[Stevepol]

6. Also at heart of voting machine chicanery: McKinney TX and Diebold.

That's why TX is in such a miserable position on all the mentioned polls. If they had free elections and could get a few Dems in to pass a few progressive laws, they would move up the ladder a little bit, at least manage to crawl up from the slime at the bottom of the heap.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Don't forget what DeLay did

[GOPisEvil]

8. Oh I know all about it.

But it's more important to privatize its social services (i.e. make money for large corporations) than to spend money on recipients. The agency for whom I was previously employed oversaw the social welfare system and the administrators of that agency seemed more interested in 'saving money' (i.e. shifting it to corporations) than in serving poor people.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Yes

This is why they use religion and silly issues like Texas cheerleader outfits to get elected.

[Ron Green]

14. Maybe Texas is a bellwether for the rest of the country in its rush toward

the Third World. The Haves and the Have-nots.

[GOPisEvil]

15. It's a toss-up between Texas and Florida.

Trust me, being in state government here in Texas for 13 years has taught me that lately, Texas and Florida are on the forefront of killing the welfare system dead.

[G_j]

16. Blacks Stay Longer in Texas Foster Care

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2025249

Blacks Stay Longer in Texas Foster Care
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5527930,00.html

Friday January 6, 2006 3:17 PM

By LIZ AUSTIN

Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Black children stay in foster care significantly longer, are less likely to be reunited with their families and wait longer for adoption than white or Hispanic children, a study showed.

Black families were no more likely than white families to have a child removed from the home, when researchers accounted for factors such as household income, the age of the victim and the source of the allegation, according to the study conducted by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees the Department of Family and Protective Services.

But because black children exit the system more slowly, they make up a disproportionately large percentage of the foster care population, even when those other factors are considered, according to the study, which was released Monday.
-
"The researchers found poverty was significant, with more than 60 percent of all child removals in Texas involving families making about $10,000 or less a year.
-
"Scott McCown, a former judge, said the state could solve the problems identified in the study by tackling poverty before it leads to neglect."

..more..