Oprah Momentarily Joins Human Race; Focuses On Poverty In The U.S.
Posted August 15th, 2008 in Activism, All, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Entertainment News, Healthcare, Inside New Orleans, Politics and TV Moment of the Weak
Oprah whispers, “I see poor people.”
We’ve been known to call out talk shows for their total lack of social relevance, so it seems only fair to offer a rare shout out to the Oprah show for today’s special feature on poverty in America. Oprah (who shouldn’t be so shocked seeing as she grew up in an impoverished Mississippi community) invites Anderson Cooper, who has been at the forefront of reporting on the poverty exposed by Hurricane Katrina, to discuss his experiences reporting on the devastation and poverty since the storm, and sends him into impoverished communities around the nation to expose the extent of poverty in the U. S. The episode is a refreshing use of a national platform to discuss a very real, very serious issue. Finally, a talk show with something to talk about.
Facts about poverty in the United States:
- Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.
- In 2006, 46 million Americans have no health insurance.
- Over a third (36%) of families living below the poverty line are uninsured.
- More than 9 million children lack health insurance in America.
- Eighteen Thousand people die each year in the United States because they are uninsured.
- The United States has higher child poverty than seven other major industrialized western countries (UNICEF, State of the World’s Children Report 1993, 1992). The U.S. child poverty rate is dramatically higher than those of Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
