Even Middle Class Kids are Malnourished in America

Blog

Even Middle Class Kids are Malnourished in America.

By James Paicopolos

January 1, 2016

School District across the country, continually see low test scores on standardized tests, as millions of malnourished American kids are not making the grade in math and science. Yet right wing-nuts, from both political parties have fought to cut food stamps, instead of increasing the funding and allowing more families to benefit.

Well-nourished Chinese and Russian kids are now racing ahead of American kids, even taking the best seats at American State Colleges and Universities. The result is that mainland China and Russia are becoming number one in technology and will soon be the Silicon capitols of the world. The outcome could be that China and Russia will soon have a greater military might than the USA.

This blog is about malnourished middle class kids, not the poor kids who are already getting food stamps and on welfare. Much attention, has already been brought on to those living on welfare or disability benefits. There has been little discussion however those who work at for all American slave labor wages are in many instances not entitled to food stamps or even the often disgusting school lunches handed out to poor kids.

For an American family to survive comfortably requires at least $75,000 in income, yet the working wage is down around $14,000-$32,000. The rent or family mortgage, credit cards, car payment, insurance, utilities and the State or IRS audit must be paid first before food can be bought for the table. Junk food is cheap. Meat, fresh fruit and vegetables continue to be very expensive. Even a small container of blue berries or a few apples can cost a lot.

It has been reported that one in five children in the USA struggle with hunger, yet this is now considered an underestimate, as the official figures are a “state secret”. Malnutrition, has a new name according to the SNAP program. It is called "food insecurity". See how much better that sounds!

Armed with the new title, programs such as the SNAP program which are in in charge of food stamps, present as doing nearly everything in it’s power to make sure that food is taken out of the mouths of the children, the elderly and the disabled. Right wing nut legislators continue setting up as many barriers to receiving food stamps as possible to insure poor children go hungry, let alone middle class kids.

The sad fact is that most poor so called “middle class” families actually earn too much money to qualify for food stamps to begin with and every penny over the set amount allowed, must be investigated and or reported. The family mortgage, utilities, cell phone charges eat up all the money. What is left over is taken from yet another IRS audit.

A recent study in Hong Kong reported that children are living cramped conditions affect their physical, psychological and emotional development is being stunted massively, according to this major new study on top concerns of underprivileged children.

Various studies have shown how detrimental living in such tight places can be to children. Even sleeping could be a problem – many children say that they couldn’t even sleep well because of the bed bugs and the bad air of New York City..

Subdivided flats – units sliced out of an apartment, usually in old tenement buildings – can range in size from 60 square feet to 130 square feet, which could house a whole family.

One girl living in homeless shelters complained that there is nowhere to do homework – the only table is a folding one brought out for meals. These tight living spaces in homeless shelters affect the children’s school performance, and psychologically and socially also cripple them. There is no privacy, no place to play, and they are excluded socially as they can never bring friends home. Some children get bullied in school because of this as well.