Child poverty grows in Michigan

The U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza has become infamous for the number of civilian Palestinians it has killed or wounded, especially children. Pictures and videos of wounded, maimed and murdered children in Gaza have horrified and elicited the outrage, compassion and solidarity of millions worldwide.

The class war waged everyday by the capitalists against the workers and the oppressed is not confined, however, to hot wars of military domination and imperialist subjugation around the world. Other, more insidious forms of oppression are visited upon the majority of people everyday, including here in the U.S.

Take unemployment and poverty. These are the end result of capitalism for the workers and oppressed, who have the value of their labor power stolen by the bosses in the form of profits. The working class bears the brunt of mass layoffs, plant, office and store closings, ever-higher unemployment, budget cuts, increasing foreclosures and homelessness, and other by-products of the capitalist crisis. Every city, town and rural area in the U.S. is affected.

In Michigan, a state wracked by a severe economic downturn for the last decade, children are more and more becoming the victims of this crisis.

A report issued Jan. 13 by Kids Count in Michigan, a collaboration of Michigan's Children and the Michigan League for Human Services, said: “Michigan’s continuing economic woes are spilling over into the lives of the state’s youngest residents with nearly one out of every four young children (under age 5) living in poverty. That means for a family of four, income is no more than about $21,000 [annually]. Two out of every five young children live in low-income households, defined as income under $42,000 for a family of four.”

The Kids Count report indicates a whopping 40 percent increase in child poverty in Michigan from 2000 to 2007, rising from 13.6 to 19 percent.

Racism and national oppression factor hugely in child poverty: “The risk of poverty ... disproportionately afflicts children in minority communities. Young African-American children in Michigan were three times more likely to be living in families with income below the federal poverty level than their white counterparts. Almost half (44 percent) of the state’s young African-American children and 29 percent of Hispanic children lived in poverty compared with 15 percent of white non-Hispanic children.”

The report also stated that the rate of confirmed child victims of abuse or neglect jumped 14 percent between 2000 and 2007. Most of these cases involve “maltreatment” stemming from poverty, especially the inability of parents and caregivers to provide basic necessities such as food, heat and clothing.

Other findings in the report include the fact that “female-headed households with young children are 10 times more likely to be poor than married couples,” and 42 percent of a minimum-wage, full-time worker’s earnings are necessary to cover the average cost of child care for just one preschool child.

The full report detailing the status of Michigan children as of 2006-2007 can be found at www.milhs.org.

As bad as the situation outlined by Kids Count in Michigan is, it should be remembered that the study was concluded before the capitalist economic meltdown began in early-mid 2008.

Currently, Michigan leads the U.S. with an official unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, which is forecast to rise to over 11 percent as the state projects losing another 258,000 jobs in the next two years.

Dependent and vulnerable children will be subjected at ever-increasing rates to a life of poverty and deprivation, hunger and every other ill caused by the ongoing crises of capitalism. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The U.S. is the richest country in the world. Only capitalism and the profit motive of a tiny minority hold back the people from having everything they need for a decent and comfortable life: jobs or income, housing, utilities and water, nutritious food, education, health care, child care, transportation, clothing, recreation and leisure, and every other necessity that should be a basic, universal human right.

The struggle to end poverty, war, racism and economic attacks on workers will strengthen inside this country as the capitalist system continues its downward spiral. The capitalists and the politicians who do their bidding will use everything in their power to place their crisis on the backs of the workers and oppressed.

Every form of fightback that occurs will strengthen the working class and contribute immeasurably to the goal of ending the ills of capitalism once and for all.