As the presidential campaigns ramp up, some experts are concerned the issue of child poverty is being ignored. Child poverty has gotten worse in many states, including Michigan, since the end of the Great Recession. An estimated one in five children lives in a family below the poverty threshold, meaning they struggle to meet basic needs like food, safe housing, and affordable child care. Bruce Lesley, with First Focus, contends child poverty is a critical matter.
“If they would engage in the conversation, I think they would find a very receptive audience among the public, because kids don’t vote, they don’t have PACs, they’re not donating to campaigns, they’re not top-of-mind, and so it’s a huge problem that we face, Lesley said.
Lesley notes that a study of the first 10 presidential debates found only one of the 501 questions asked were specific to kids. UNICEF ranks the U.S. second-to-last among 35 nations for child poverty.
