The Decade of Lost Children – Charles Blow Column/Children’s Defense Fund Report!

Dear Commons Community,

Charles Blow’s column in the NY Times today is entitled, The Decade of Lost Children.  He refers extensively to the latest report of the Children’s Defense Fund (July 2011) that paints a sad picture of the state of America’s children.  While black and Latino children fair much worse than white children, the overall situation is not particularly good and because of the recession is getting worse.  From the CDF Report, the bullet points below tell the story.

Tony

How America Ranks Among Industrialized Countries in Investing in and Protecting Children

  • 1st in gross domestic product
  • 1st in number of billionaires
  • 1st in number of persons incarcerated
  • 1st in health expenditures
  • 1st in student expenditures
  • 1st in military technology
  • 1st in defense expenditures
  • 1st in military weapons exports
  • 17th in reading scores
  • 22nd in low birthweight rates
  • 23rd in science scores
  • 30th in infant mortality rates
  • 31st in math scores
  • 31st in the gap between the rich and the poor
  • Last in relative child poverty
  • Last in adolescent birth rates (ages 15 to 19)
  • Last in protecting our children against gun violence

 

 

 

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