May 14, 2005
Money is no laughing matter, especially if you are poor. It really sucks to be poor. According to a wide range of sources, if you are a member of a low-income household you have a higher likelihood of:
When one thinks of Canada, one does not normally think about difficulties getting food on the table. Unfortunately, worrying about food in Canada is actually very common. According to Statistics Canada, seven percent of high-income and eleven percent of middle-high income households worried about getting food on the table in 2000 to 2001. In low income households that number jumps significantly to forty percent. Thirty-three percent of single moms also worry about food on the table in 2000 to 2001.
So how do concerns about the supply of food in a household relate to the list above and the title of this article?
In most cases, although not all, the food crisis in low income homes is related to a lack of resources for which to purchase goods like groceries. If there were more resources available to households, they would not worry about food as much. In low-income households, could it be that the time and resources spent worrying about and obtaining one's next meal detracts from time and resources to improve one's life in other areas such as health or education? There seems to be a link here. If low-income families had more time and resources, they should be able to spend more time and resources concentrating on health and education.
Those are just my thoughts.