Hunger In The Richest Nation On Earth

(The drawing above was found on the blog silver glimmer dust.)

Everyone knows that hunger is a serious problem in the world. We often see the pictures of people (especially children) starving to death in other countries. As hard as it is to see that, there is at least some justification, since some of those countries are simply too poor to feed their growing population.

But hunger is not just a problem in the developing world among poor countries. Sadly, there is far too much hunger in the nation commonly referred to as the "richest nation on Earth" -- the United States. And that is much harder to justify, since this nation does have the funds to eliminate hunger among its citizens -- it just doesn't have the will to do so, or the moral drive.

The hungry in this nation may not have the extended bellies of dying children in other countries, but that does not mean they don't suffer from hunger far too much (while the rest of us gorge ourselves on seconds and thirds and make ourselves fat). We already know that more than 1 in five children in this country depend on food stamps to have any kind of food on their table. But it is not just children, and it is not just one part of this country that has people going hungry.

The Gallup Poll has released a new survey on hunger in the United States. The survey included 177,662 random adults surveyed in all fifty states between January and June of 2012. The poll has a 0.3 point margin of error (with a 1 to 2 point margin of error for the individual states). And the results of that poll should bother any American with even a shred of empathy or common decency.

The question asked in the survey was -- Was there at least one time in the last 12 months when you did not have enough money to feed yourself or your family. About 18.2% of all Americans answered yes to that question (that would translate into around 60 million people). No state is immune from this hunger. The poll showed North Dakota with the least hunger -- the only state in single digits with about 9.6%. The state with the most hunger was Mississippi with about 24.9%. That means hunger in this country ranges from about 10% to about 25%, and even that lower percentage is shameful in a nation as rich as ours.

There were 15 states with the percentage of hunger being at 20% or above. You can go to page 2 of the link above to see how each state ranked, but here are the worst 15 states with the highest hunger percentages:

1. Mississippi...............24.9%
2. Alabama...............22.9%
3. Delaware...............22.1%
4. Georgia...............21.6%
5. Nevada...............21.5%
6. Arkansas...............21.5%
7. Oklahoma...............21.4%
8. Tennessee...............21.3%
9. West Virginia...............20.9%
10. Louisiana...............20.7%
11. South Carolina...............20.4%
12. Florida...............20.3%
13. Alaska...............20.0%
14. North Carolina...............20.0%
15. Texas...............20.0%

So what would the Republicans like to do if returned to power in November? They want to cut food stamps, free school lunches for children and a myriad of other social programs that help hurting Americans. And they would cut funds for public education (the only route out of poverty for many Americans). And they would make these cuts so the rich and the corporations could have massive new tax cuts.

I don't see how anyone with an ounce of morals, common sense, or empathy for their fellow man could possibly vote Republican in the coming election.