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A figure no country, let alone the USA, ought to be proud of

The image of America as a land of wealth and prosperity is misconceived. Yes, there are many enormously wealthy - filthy rich in fact - but beyond that the picture isn't all that rosy, as this report on Press TV clearly shows.

"One of the consequences of the recession is the record number of children descending into poverty, according to a CBS report.

The government considers a family of four to be impoverished if they take in less than $22,000 a year. Based on that standard, and government projections of unemployment, it is estimated the poverty rate for kids in the U.S. will soon hit 25 percent, the report said. Those children would be the largest American generation to be raised in hard times since the Great Depression.

In Seminole County, near Orlando, Fla., so many kids have lost their homes that school busses now stop at dozens of cheap motels where families crowd into rooms, living week to week.

American families have been falling out of the middle class in record numbers. The combination of lost jobs and millions of foreclosures means a lot of folks are homeless and hungry for the first time in their lives. Daily Kos

FACTS & FIGURES

According to a revised report by the Census Bureau, overall poverty in 2009 stood at 15.7 percent, or 47.8 million people. MSNBC

One in five American children lives in poverty and one in four American child is on food stamps. Economic Collapse

More than 16.7 million children live in households that struggle to put food on the table. Elca.org

Critics say the poverty line does not take into consideration certain factors such as rent or the median price of a home. If it did, the percentage of Americans living under the poverty line would raise to 30 percent."

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