Taken from recent article on MSNBC News, an alarming census completed in 2010 shows that 1 in 5 children in the United States live below the poverty line. Based on the federal poverty threshold defined as an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four, children living in poverty rose 1.6 percent from 14.7 million in 2009 to 15.7 million in 2010. Despite the country's position as being one of the wealthiest in the world, the number of people living in poverty has reached an all-time high in the United States.

"Children who live in poverty, especially young children, are more likely than their peers to have cognitive and behavioural difficulties, to complete fewer years of education, and, as they grow up, to experience more years of unemployment"

A little shocked and concerned by this news as I hoped more would be, I hasty researched to see what more I may find about child poverty and poverty in general at home here in Canada. Spending a little over an hour or so looking through Statistics Canada for some answers I could not find, I did stumble upon an out-dated response from the Chief Statistician of Canada, Ivan P. Fellegi on poverty and low income. The most recent version dated September 1997, (Yes I did say September 1997) states the following:

 “Statistics Canada does not and cannot measure the level of "poverty" in Canada"...

Confused? Shocked? Perhaps we shouldn’t be knowing the current level of transparency within our Government. WTF are they talking about? How in this modern day and age with all the advances in technology can a country not compile and record better statistic’s as to the state of our economy? What have they to hide? There must be some kind of records on the current state of poverty and the decline of income over the years, even if they are afraid to talk about it. The response from our Chief Statistician reads more like a disclaimer for the Government more than anything else.

I can certainly understand from a Government’s point of view as to why they may not want to make this kind of information public yet in a free and just society, shouldn’t this be the norm? People have a right to know where we stand in the world on such issues compared to other countries. Personally, I want to see the numbers for myself. We must demand more transparency in the Government and agencies who collect this data and do away with the vague disclaimers which are meant to cast doubt on the authenticity of the data being collected. We need change… and we need it NOW!

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. — Plutarch (46-120 AD)