Katrina

Having taught in one of the poorest areas of the world as part of Peace Corps and in one of the poorest areas of the United States as part of Teacher Corps, I am somewhat familiar with the effects of poverty (although only from a distance as I grew up in an upper class household. In fact, I figured out that after 1989 the next time I stepped foot in a public school in America was my first day in the Teacher Corps.) Thus being somewhat familiar with the issues of poverty the aftermath of Katrina is, to me, about economics and poverty on every level, from the personal to the national.

On a personal level poor people had little means to leave New Orleans.

On a local level New Orleans didn't have the resources to deal with such a devastating storm because the city is one of the poorest in the nation.

On a state level Louisiana didn't have the necessary resources because the state is one of the poorest in the union.

On a national level FEMA didn't have enough resources because its budget had been cut.

No one, on any level, had enough resources. No one had enough money.

I read something the other day that shocked me. One in five children born in America is born into poverty. 20% of our children live below the poverty line. That is staggering to me. We are the richest country in the world and 20% of our children live below the poverty line. We are the richest country in the history of the world. And 20% of our children live below the poverty line.