More than 38 million men, women and children are living in poverty in United States of America (USA) - one of the richest countries in the World. The percentage of children growing up in poverty is increasing from 15.6% in 2000 up to 17.1 % in 2005. (www.census.gov has the latest analyzed data for 2005 with some projections for 2008.)
Growing up in poverty means less chance for the child to graduate from high school and more of a chance to become a number in
But the fact that millions of Americans are poor doesn't seem to be a big deal to the majority of American voters, since that issue is not in the focus of the presidential campaigns of either the Democrats or Republicans. Will a middle class American be forced to replace his 6-liter engine SUV for a car that does not consume as much gas? That seems to be a more important subject than the existence and future of Americans in need.
The cost of gas is much more present in media coverage of the campaign than the quality of public education and poverty issue together. In a country where people still pay less than a half the price for the gallon of gas than, for example, in
Stories about Barak Obama's half-brother or about the sexual life of Sarah Palin's daughter are all over the news during the elections, as if there are no bigger and more important issues for American citizens. How about the quality of public education?
Issues affecting the middle class are instead the main topics of the elections. The middle class is the majority of votes for the candidates. But according to economic expert Rolnick, the middle class is doing just fine. Despite the recession, the middle class is not stagnating. And occasional recessions are normal in every healthy economy, Rolnick said.
A lot of Americans may argue about this and disagree. But focusing on the form rather than on the essence seems to be a common characteristic of media and politics in the
Leave a comment