Across region, poverty among children rising at quicker rate than rest of U.S.

Ian S.
Atwater, MN     11/03/2009 11:00 PM

Will second that. That's quite a bit. See, should have never been married. That's where we went wrong.......: )

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Denise S.
Atwater, MN     11/03/2009 10:59 PM

Larry I am not that gullible! she doesn't know me from a hole in the wall, and for that fact neither do you! Don't try to tell me either one of you would help me out if I needed it! She may help a family member or a friend, but not a stranger! Please!

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Barb K.
Olivia, MN     11/03/2009 10:57 PM

The biggest cause of "child poverty" is single parents. Choices, choices, choices.

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Denise S.
Atwater, MN     11/03/2009 10:55 PM

Holy Talito batman!!! I am thinking I need a divorce stat!!!

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joe r.
Willmar, MN     11/03/2009 10:54 PM

We do need to really get a handle on the child poverty issue, because it is only going to get worst.

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Barb K.
Olivia, MN     11/03/2009 10:53 PM

Denise - when you pay in more than you get back you are NOT getting money from others. I have no problem with tax credits that reduce your tax liability. However, there are lots of people who get more of a tax refund than they had withheld. The tax code greatly benefits unmarried couples with children. Depending on the situation an unmarried couple can get over a $10000 "refund" of money they've never paid in while a married couple with exactly the same income would have to pay taxes. Does that seem fair to you? This is one of my biggest issues with the tax code but I haven't been able to get any of our state or federal politicians to try to change that.

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Denise S.
Atwater, MN     11/03/2009 10:35 PM

Hey barb, I do work 3 jobs, and I have 3 children. I am lucky enough to be married to a man with a pretty good job that covers most expenses! My children receive discounted meals at school and my 3 yr old gets a reduced rate for preschool. We get the child tax credit. Does that mean I am taking money from others? We add alot of money with our taxes...I am pretty sure that the money we get back isn't close to what we put in each year! We do not receive any form of public assistance, but if I needed help would you come to me and offer to help or if I asked would you help? I have no family other than my husband that could help me so if I needed it would you do it? Yea...didn't think so!

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Barb K.
Olivia, MN     11/03/2009 10:26 PM

Joe - I didn't say $48,000 for a person, that was household income. And, again, if you calculate the "wage value" of all the benefits some households receive it could easily reach $48,000. I acknowledged that there are some people who, through no fault of their own, need help. Like I've said before, it is our personal responsibility as individuals to help them. Instead of looking to government first, government should be the last place to look for help. There is nothing wrong with working overtime or having a 2nd or even 3rd job. Been there, done that. What I'm saying is I think there are just too many different programs, refundable tax credits and so forth. It makes it way to easy to have someone else pay the bills. I don't think I will ever believe that I am entitled to what someone else has earned. Most of the time we are in situations because of the choices we have made. And if we make bad choices we must live with the consequences and do what we need to do to improve our own lives. We should not expect someone else to clean up our messes.

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Ian S.
Atwater, MN     11/03/2009 10:03 PM

o The average annual cost of meeting basic needs for a family of four with two workers in Minnesota is about $56,000. To cover these costs each worker must earn $13.41 per hour. Thirty-eight percent of Minnesota jobs pay less. o More than a million jobs in Minnesota pay less than a family-supporting wage of $13.41 per hour. * o At the minimum wage of $6.55 per hour, a couple with two children would have to work 164 hours a week to meet basic needs. o If one parent stays home with the children in a family of four, the other must find a job that pays $17.66 per hour to cover basic needs. Fifty-four percent of jobs in Minnesota pay less. o If the value of the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the late l960s, it would be $9.80 per hour. Twenty percent of jobs in Minnesota pay less. ** o A single person with no dependents must earn $12.05 per hour to meet basic needs. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of Minnesota jobs pay less. o The average annual cost of meeting basic needs for a single person with one child is about $37,500-nearly 23,000 higher than the federal poverty line. To cover these costs a person must earn $18.07 per hour.

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joe r.
Willmar, MN     11/03/2009 9:44 PM

Thanks Denise for pointing out to Barb about being so insensetive to the needs of people who are struggling. The legislator who told Barb about the average income for a person receiving welfare comes out to be $48,000 doesn't appear to be very accurate and is exaggerating. Depending on how many children live in the household, it varies from possibly twenty thousand which is probably the highest. Welfare is short term, and is used to get people back on their feet, and back into the work force, which is how it is designed. When you made the comment why work if people are collecting forty eight thousand, is so far fetched it makes me wonder what legislator came up with this math? The reasons there are child credits for certain programs is because 35% of families are making under or just above the poverty level and we are talking working families, which is why many take a second job. Lets not forget that some employees don't offer health care, or cost of living raises, and if they do, it hardly amounts to anything close to keeping up with inflation. Birth is very costly compared to decades ago, and the certain kinds of milk, and medication needed to help some infants cope are costly. Families depend on some help especially with utilities, milk, and baby food. The elderly especially depend on help such as heating assistance, and rental supplements. Lets face it inflation rises faster then earnings especially with the average family of three kids. Barb more and more families depend on some type of assistance especially if they have sick children or children with disabilities. Welfare fraud is a small percentage and those committing it are not getting rich, but never the same they are draining the money resources for those who can legally collect welfare. Some families only get food stamps, while others get both. Many make below the poverty level so they are allowed to get Minnesota care, but hardly any working couples with children qualify.

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