NY Times Op-ed: "Poverty is Poison"

Today's NY TImes ran an op-ed called "Poverty is Poison" by Paul Krugman. It highlights domestic childhood poverty by citing some recent studies and giving an overview of the history of childhood poverty in our nation. This one deserves some nice LTE's to let them know we want to read more like it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=poverty&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Here are some quotes:
"Living in or near poverty has always been a form of exile, of being cut off from the larger society. But the distance between the poor and the rest of us is much greater than it was 40 years ago, because most American incomes have risen in real terms while the official poverty line has not. To be poor in America today, even more than in the past, is to be an outcast in your own country. And that, the neuroscientists tell us, is what poisons a child’s brain."

"Poverty rates are much lower in most European countries than in the United States, mainly because of government programs that help the poor and unlucky. And governments that set their minds to it can reduce poverty. In Britain, the Labor government that came into office in 1997 made reducing poverty a priority — and despite some setbacks, its program of income subsidies and other aid has achieved a great deal. Child poverty, in particular, has been cut in half by the measure that corresponds most closely to the U.S. definition."

Thank you to my online friend, Birdalone, for forwarding a great piece!