Browsing newspapers over a cup of coffee in the morning the other day, the writer noted a good piece of news: "Columbia Professor Honoured by Dhaka University". Dr. Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Dhaka University Statistics Department Alumni Association (DUSDAA). He was recognised for his outstanding professional, academic and research achievements.
Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury, who joined Columbia University in 2004, is also vice-chairperson of BRAC which is particularly concerned with poverty alleviation, education, and health. He is the founding Dean of BRAC University's James P. Grant School of Public Health and founded the Research and Evaluation Division of BRAC.
The good news about Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury uncannily brought to mind the stark reality of child poverty in the USA.
"Nearly half of children in the United States live dangerously close to the poverty line," according to the findings of a new research conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The 'Basic Facts About Low-Income Children', NCCP's annual series of profiles on child poverty in America, illustrates the severity of economic instability and poverty conditions faced by more than 31 million children throughout the United States. Using the latest data from the American Community Survey, NCCP researchers found that while the total number of children in the U.S. has remained about the same since 2008, more children today are likely to live in families barely able to afford their most basic needs.
Dr. Renée Wilson-Simmons, NCCP director, said, "These data challenge the prevailing beliefs that many still hold about what poverty looks like and which children in this country are most likely to be at risk." He added, "The fact is, despite the significant gains we've made in expanding nutrition and health insurance programmes to reach the children most in need, millions of children are living in families still struggling to make ends meet in our low-growth, low-wage economy."
According to NCCP researchers, the number of poor children in the U.S. grew by 18 per cent from 2008 to 2014 (the latest available data), and the number of children living in low-income households grew by 10 per cent. NCCP defines a low-income household as one where incomes fall below 200 per cent of the Federal Poverty Threshold (e.g., $48,016 for a family of four with two children in 2014). A family is considered poor if its earnings are below 100 per cent of the poverty threshold (e.g., $24,008 for a family of four with two children in 2014).
Children under 18 years represent 23 per cent of the US population, but they comprise 32 per cent of all people in poverty. Many more children live in families with incomes just above the poverty threshold. Among all children, 44 per cent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (21 per cent) live in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children's experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of children and their parents. It highlights the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their less disadvantaged counterparts. There are nearly 72 million children under age 18 years in the United States. About 44 per cent - 31.4 million - live in low-income families and 21 per cent - 15.4 million - live in poor families.
Is poverty-level income enough to support a family? Research suggests that, on average, families in the US need an income equal to about two times the federal poverty threshold to meet their most basic needs. Families with incomes below this level, such as families making below the following incomes, are referred to as low income: $48,016 for a family of four with two children; $38,110 for a family of three with one child; $32,634 for a family of two with one child. These dollar amounts approximate the average minimum income families need to make ends meet, but actual expenses vary greatly by locality. In 2014, the cost of meeting basic needs for a family of four required about $85,800 per year in Boston, Massachusetts; $61,500 in Akron, Ohio; $57,200 in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and $53,600 in McAllen, Texas.
Has the percentage of children living in low-income and poor families changed over time? The percentage of children living in low-income families (both poor and near poor) has been on the rise-increasing from 39 per cent in 2008 to 44 per cent in 2014. During this time period, the overall number of children of all ages increased by less than one per cent, while the numbers who were low income and poor increased by 10 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.
How do children compare to the rest of the population of the USA? The percentage of all children under age 18 years in low-income families surpasses that of adults. In addition, children are more than twice as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families. Does the percentage of children in low-income families vary by children's age? The overall percentages of children under 18 years who live in low-income and poor families are 44 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, yet there is variation by age group. Younger children are more likely to live in low-income and poor families than older children: 47 per cent of children under age 3 years-5.3 million-live in low-income families; 47 per cent of children age 3 through 5 years-5.6 million-live in low-income families; 45 per cent of children age 6 through 11 years-10.8 million-live in low-income families; 40 percent of children age 12 through 17 years-9.7 million-live in low-income families
Does the percentage of children in low-income families vary by race/ethnicity in the USA? The percentages of low-income and poor children under 18 years vary by race and ethnicity: whites comprise the largest share of all low-income children (37 per cent, 11.4 million) while Hispanics make up the largest share of poor children (36 per cent, 5.6 million). Black, American Indian, and Hispanic children are disproportionately low income and poor.
The writer is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnaagr University.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
