I’ve never been a big fan of the “won’t someone *please* think of the children!” gambit in political policymaking, but I guess I’m a little more sympathetic how that I have kids of my own. That’s probably why this story by Robert King about a report from the Anne E. Casey Foundation caught my eye.
Apparently Hoosier kids (and kids nationally for that matter) are losing ground in a number of indicators. 20% of Hoosier children are living in poverty (up from 18%).
Indiana children lag behind the national average on eight of 10 key indicators, according to the report, released today. In terms of the overall well-being of kids, the state ranked 33rd nationally, down from 31st in the 2009 report.
Low birth weight babies are increasing as are babies in single-parent families.
Most of the gains documented by the Kids Count, now in its 20th year, were made in the late 1990s, Beavers said.
A healthier economy then was a big factor. But so were expanding government support for children’s health insurance and day-care programs. That’s an important lesson now, Beavers said, as governments with shrinking budgets look to make cuts.
“Children’s programs are critical going into the next budget period. Kids get only one chance to be a child, and they can’t wait until the recession is over to be born, to go through school,” she said.
Or, as Mr. Young put it:
I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light
Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away, and she’s gone to get a hit
She hates her life, and what she’s done to it
There’s one more kid that will never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world.
Just as there are a Black Caucus, a Woman Caucus, Progressive Caucus, Jewish Caucus, and whatever else, in Congress and Legislative bodies, I want there to be members who comprise a Children Caucus. The voting age also should be lowered. America’s economy is being destroyed, by design, and the statistics Dave linked, about the suffering of our kids, is giving me heartburn.
Just as there are a Black Caucus, a Woman Caucus, Progressive Caucus, Jewish Caucus, and whatever else, in Congress and Legislative bodies, I want there to be members who comprise a Children Caucus. The voting age also should be lowered. America’s economy is being destroyed, by design, and the statistics Dave linked, about the suffering of our kids, is giving me heartburn.