ANALYSIS

Earlier this evening, I watched a disturbing report about families in Los Angeles County lining up to receive charity donations on Thursday, 10/1/09. These families are all under the poverty line and are making every sacrifice possible to obtain basic necessities. While we comfortably relax at home, there are hard working parents camping outside for days so their children can receive new shoes, clothes and basic school supplies like pencils and backpacks.

During the brief interview, a little girl began to cry when asked about her family's economic situation and her hope for the future. Images like these are extremely difficult for me to see, and it immediately made me think about this problem that we often ignore.

After some quick research, I came across some census data titled Poverty, Jobs and the Los Angeles Economy: An Analysis of U.S. Census Data and the Challenges Facing Our Region. Here's some interesting findings:

* Almost two out of five Los Angeles County residents do not have enough income to meet their basic needs

* An estimated 1,505,004 million people, or 15.4 percent of Los Angeles County residents, live below the federal poverty threshold, considered in this report to be a measure of extreme need.

* More than 20 percent of the County’s children live in extreme poverty.

* Many people are very poor even though they are working (60 %).

* Latinos and African Americans are most likely to be extremely poor, with rates two-and-a half times as great as those of non-Hispanic whites.

* There were 2.1 million children or adults uninsured for all or part of the year in Los Angeles County. The lack of health insurance represents an added burden for Los Angeles County’s poor.

It's incredible to see how the most powerful country in the world fails to improve these situations each year. Los Angeles is the "entertainment capital of the world", but the same city has the "unglamorous distinction of being a capital of working poverty." This information is only referring to Los Angeles, but there's similar or even worse scenarios throughout the 50 states.

At the very least, a portion of money that's being invested in war and corporate bailouts should be used to help our own people. It's irresponsible to promote "peace and prosperity" throughout the world when our own domestic situation needs urgent attention. Our people don't ask for luxuries, they just want to have basic needs to support their family and get by. It's difficult to tell a family to have patience when they're starving.

Before we save the world, we need to save ourselves.