America the Beautiful
Wednesday, 06 November 2002
By Lemon Aid
The USA considers itself a shining example of democracy, freedom and "aspiration". Yeah?
· One in 11 families, one in nine Americans, and one in six children are officially poor. · The most affluent fifth of the population received half of all household income last year. The poorest fifth got 3.5 per cent.
· The official poverty line is an income of $18,104 pa (£11,570) for a family of four. A single parent of two working full-time for a minimum wage would make $10,712 (£6,846).
· 40 per cent of homeless men are veterans.
· Up to a fifth of America's food, worth $31bn, goes to waste each year, with 130lb of food per person ending up in landfills.
And that's just the tip of a very, very big bloody socio-political iceberg!
- LEMON AID