Hunger in America: Good News and Bad News

First the good news - Hunger in the United States declined in 2005 to 11 percent from 11.9 percent in 2004.

Now the bad news - there are still 35 million hungry people in one of the most affluent countries in the world. 12 million of those 35 million were "food insecure" meaning problems getting enough food throughout the year.

How to deal with the problem is certainly a quandary and I'll be the first to admit that I don't do enough to help the poor - and I would extend that onus onto the church, at least given my reading of the scriptures. That's not to say that the Church isn't doing much already - it is - but we should be on the front lines and this should be a big deal.

I would also say that there is a role for the government as well, especially as it pertains to institutional problems (wage fairness, racism, food stamps, unemployment.) I think we need to raise the minimum wage and revive the Public Works Project. The government has plenty to do (infrastructure projects in particular) but do we have the will to offer everyone a job who wants one? Training, wages and benefits are all expensive and would certainly require additional taxation, at least at first. Those employed by the PWP would be paying taxes, however, as well as having income to spend in their communities. Health benefits would also be net beneficial with fewer visits to the emergency room and preventive care heading off catastrophic illness.

There will always be those unwilling or unable to work, but a public/private partnership could, if we had the will to do it, go a long way toward alleviating hunger and poverty in the US.

SOURCE: USDA says 12 mln Americans faced hunger in 2005 (Reuters)