Childhood Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record

In a recently published study by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Hispanic Center, titled “The Toll of the Great Recession: Childhood Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record, Leads Nation”, by Mark Hugo Lopez and Gabriel Velasco, the obvious results are found in the title. What’s not gleaned from the title is that children of all races have suffered a similar fate while Hispanics have moved into first place. This negative milestone for Hispanics is a product of their growing numbers, high birth rates and declining economic fortunes.

This report focused on children living in poverty by race and ethnicity in the United States. Children are those ages 17 and younger. The data for this report comes from the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplements from various years. The 1993, 2007 and 2010 estimates are based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of March CPS Supplements, including the recently released 2011 March CPS data. Poverty estimates of Latino children with at least one immigrant parent and Latino children with two U.S.-born parents are based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of March CPS Supplements from 1994 to 2011.

Two years ago, there was a fire in an apartment building on Route 9A in the Town of Greenburgh. Once the sprinkler system discharged, the fire department responded and evacuated the building. They requested the Town’s Building Department close it down and declare it unsafe for habitation, which they did. Apparently, the fire and building departments had been dealing with this severely overcrowded, unsafe and dilapidated building of eight apartments with an estimated one hundred-plus occupancy for quite some time. Several firefighters stated with the promise of anonymity, that closets were equipped with mattresses, rooms had multiple mattresses on the floor shared with bunk beds, space heaters via extension cords through holes in the walls, communal hotplates and a significant infestation of rodents and bugs. Most, if not all of the residents were Hispanic and required fire department and social services interpreters to converse.

Many work in menial and low paying labor and day-laborer positions and were packing their possessions in plastic garbage bags once told they must leave. They do not have any benefits, reserve funds, cars, or other locations they could stay. Their children, as most children will be, were clueless to the circumstances they are living. The difference is as they go to our schools, they will learn that they are “entitled” to benefits most tax-paying citizens will never participate.

Supervisor Feiner and his Stepford Board has contributed to this debacle by continually adding more and more low income, Section 8, subsidized housing recipients and others to the Fairview section of the Town. This has had a debilitating affect on the Fairview section of the Town as well as the Town as a whole. We’ve witnessed many a business jump on the exodus wagon while they still could as their clientele also moved away, only to be replaced by people with no “extra” or “spendable” cash. ABG believes it is in part why the A&P, Pathmark and other retailers have left the area. It’s why the County’s Desegregation Settlement did not require the unincorporated section of Greenburgh to participate in building subsidized housing while some of the Villages must.

ABG has written previously about the sanctuary town The Paul and his Board are creating. In effect, they are encouraging the overcrowding and unsafe conditions within the Town. His policies discourage our personnel from doing their job properly. While this issue manifests itself more with the Hispanic community than others, it shouldn’t be tolerated at all. It’s allowed because The Paul has instructed our uniformed services personnel and others to ignore it – until there’s a problem. But, by then it’s usually too late. This policy, whether written or done with a wink and a nod, must stop. People’s lives are at stake. Let’s hope our people will do the right thing despite The Paul and protect lives instead of allowing the pandering we always see from him and our other politicians. Let’s also hope we can all elevate everyone from the poverty level.