Childhood Poverty

I decided to take a look at childhood poverty since (as a child) my family was always in and out of being below the poverty level. My father worked in several different lumber mills and was laid off often due to the ups and downs of the economy. The only thing that saved us from living in shelters was my father's parents who were able to financially support our family in hard times.
I checked the internet for childhood poverty in other developed countries and came across a chart (see below) showing United States as ranking second highest in childhood poverty. This is shocking to me! I knew we were up there on the list but had no idea that we sat at 2^nd place. 

I also found another article ‘Social expenditures and child poverty’ that states;

The United States stands out as the country with the lowest expenditures and the highest child poverty rate.

Allegretto (2004).

I have to say I am not only shocked by this information I am also embarrassed for our country! How could we allow this to happen to our Nation’s children?

Chart:

UNICEF

DEFINITION
Child poverty index is defined as the share of the children living in the households with income below 50% of the national median.

Child poverty (most recent) by country

http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/child-poverty-in-america.pdf

Showing latest available data.

1	Mexico:	26.2
2	United States:	22.4
3	Italy:	20.5
4	United Kingdom:	19.8
5	Turkey:	19.7
6	Ireland:	16.8
7	Canada:	15.5
8	Poland:	15.4
9	Australia:	12.6
10	Greece:	12.3
10	Spain:	12.3
12	Japan:	12.2
13	Germany:	10.7
14	Hungary:	10.3
15	France:	7.9
16	Netherlands:	7.7
17	Czech Republic:	5.9
18	Denmark:	5.1
19	Luxembourg:	4.5
20	Belgium:	4.4
21	Finland:	4.3
22	Norway:	3.9
23	Sweden:	2.6
	Weighted average:	11.9

DEFINITION: Child poverty index is defined as the share of the children living in the households with income below 50% of the national median.

SOURCE: UNICEF via NationMaster.

Social expenditures and child poverty—the U.S. is a noticeable outlier
Sylvia A. Allegretto
June 22, 2004

http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_06232004/

This Snapshot is a sneak preview of information compiled in the forthcoming EPI book The State of Working America 2004/2005.

Snapshot for June 23, 2004.

Social expenditures and child poverty—the U.S. is a noticeable outlier
All advanced industrialized countries make an effort to reduce the number of children who live in poverty, but poverty remains a harsh reality for many children in every country. The data used in the figure below compare social economic expenditures and child poverty rates of the United States to that of 16 other rich, industrialized countries that, like the United States, belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The United States and these other countries face similar global conditions with respect to trade, investment, technology, the environment, and other factors that shape economic opportunities. Thus, this comparison provides a yardstick for gauging the commitment of the U.S. government to reducing child poverty and its lifelong effects.

The figure (please see link above to view chart) clearly illustrates that those countries with higher social expenditures — as a percentage of gross domestic product, or GDP — have dramatically lower poverty rates among children. The blue line in the figure shows the correlation between expenditures and child poverty rates for all countries. Individually, the Nordic countries — Sweden, Norway, and Finland — stand out, with child poverty rates between 2.8% and 4.2%. The United States stands out as the country with the lowest expenditures and the highest child poverty rate — five times as much as the Nordics.

The paucity of social expenditures addressing high poverty rates in the United States is not due to a lack of resources — high per capita income and high productivity make it possible for the United States to afford much greater social welfare spending. Moreover, other OECD countries that spend more on both poverty reduction and family-friendly policies have done so while maintaining competitive rates of productivity and income growth.

Source: Author's analysis of OECD and Luxembourg Income Study data.

This Snapshot was written by EPI economist Sylvia A. Allegretto.