From Deseret News archives:
Needy families must be top priority
In Utah, there are almost 100,000 children living in poverty. The official 2004 poverty threshold is $19,311 for a family of four. If a parent works full time earning only minimum wage, he will take home less than half of the federal poverty threshold. And studies show it may take double that level just to make ends meet. It's time to support hard work and make sure the children in these families stay healthy, do well in school and grow up to become productive adults.
The economy may be beginning to show signs of recovery, but it is a slow and weak recovery in comparison to similar periods in our nation's history. Salaries and wages have increased by only 2 percent, while corporate profits have skyrocketed more than 15 percent.
Census data show an increasing number of families in Utah rely on food stamps and Medicaid to make ends meet. In Utah 134,586 individuals rely on food stamps and 222,000 thousand receive Medicaid, including 140,000 children.
The Senate and House agriculture committees may cut as much as $3 billion from the food-stamp program. Since 80 percent of food-stamp households are families with children, this is the largest child nutrition program.
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