We Can Afford Billionaires... But Not Breakfast for Kids? A Nation's Shame!

WEBVTT

00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:04.797
We can afford billionaires on But Not Breakfast for Kids? Let that sink in.

00:00:05.017 --> 00:00:09.157
The wealthiest country in the world, with private rockets, golden toilets,

00:00:09.357 --> 00:00:14.857
and $40 million Super Bowl ads, can't seem to scrape together the money to feed hungry children.

00:00:17.317 --> 00:00:21.837
You're listening to Bigger Table, where more chairs, fewer walls,

00:00:21.917 --> 00:00:24.057
and greater progress aren't just a slogan.

00:00:24.317 --> 00:00:26.817
They're the mission. Let's get into it.

00:00:27.557 --> 00:00:34.017
According to the OECD, the United States ranks second worst among wealthy nations for child poverty.

00:00:34.317 --> 00:00:37.657
Out of 38 developed countries, we are number 37.

00:00:38.277 --> 00:00:43.837
Only Romania ranks lower. This is not some fringe metric. It's a shameful reflection

00:00:43.837 --> 00:00:45.037
of national priorities.

00:00:45.337 --> 00:00:49.437
When you're outperformed by almost every other industrialized nation on earth,

00:00:49.637 --> 00:00:51.377
you don't have a poverty problem.

00:00:51.597 --> 00:00:53.437
You have a values problem.

00:00:55.617 --> 00:00:56.637
And don't be

00:00:56.637 --> 00:01:00.937
Fooled by how we define poverty either. It's not just about income.

00:01:01.137 --> 00:01:05.657
It's about deprivation of food, shelter, safety, and opportunity.

00:01:06.517 --> 00:01:11.537
Child poverty means going to school without breakfast and trying to focus while your stomach aches.

00:01:11.677 --> 00:01:15.657
It means wearing shoes that are too small, clothes that don't fit,

00:01:15.817 --> 00:01:17.817
and going to bed without heat in the winter.

00:01:18.297 --> 00:01:23.717
In real terms, this means teachers stocking their classrooms with snacks because

00:01:23.717 --> 00:01:27.437
they know, not think, their students won't have eaten that day.

00:01:27.777 --> 00:01:32.657
It means a 14-year-old girl in rural Kentucky is trying to study by candlelight

00:01:32.657 --> 00:01:35.097
because the electricity got shut off again.

00:01:35.477 --> 00:01:39.657
She still shows up to school on time just to have a warm place to sit.

00:01:39.977 --> 00:01:44.157
It means a single mother in Alabama skipping dinner three nights a week so her

00:01:44.157 --> 00:01:49.517
kids can eat and still coming up short at the grocery store because her rent just went up again.

00:01:50.137 --> 00:01:55.977
These are not rare, isolated stories. This is the lived reality for millions of kids in America.

00:01:56.257 --> 00:02:00.197
And it's not just happening in big cities. It's hitting small towns,

00:02:00.477 --> 00:02:02.837
suburbs, and rural counties nationwide.

00:02:05.638 --> 00:02:10.578
Meanwhile, the billionaire class is doing just fine. Jeff Bezos makes more in

00:02:10.578 --> 00:02:12.718
an hour than most families see in a decade.

00:02:13.478 --> 00:02:19.458
Elon Musk is buying social networks as a joke. Private jets fly empty just to wait for their owners.

00:02:20.138 --> 00:02:26.378
Congress? They've approved nearly $900 billion for military spending this year. No questions asked.

00:02:26.598 --> 00:02:31.638
But when it comes to feeding children, suddenly we have to pinch pennies and talk about dependency.

00:02:32.678 --> 00:02:34.298
Dependency on what? Food?

00:02:35.918 --> 00:02:42.098
Other nations make different choices. In France, every school child receives a hot, balanced lunch.

00:02:42.398 --> 00:02:47.338
In Finland, universal child care and education are considered fundamental rights.

00:02:47.658 --> 00:02:51.878
In Denmark, child poverty is almost non-existent by design.

00:02:52.958 --> 00:02:57.738
In the United States, we debate whether a six-year-old deserves lunch if their parents are poor.

00:02:58.558 --> 00:03:03.998
And it gets worse. In 2023, lawmakers in several states voted against universal

00:03:03.998 --> 00:03:08.558
school meals, arguing that they would make children reliant on government.

00:03:08.858 --> 00:03:13.118
It was as if kids eating lunch was some slippery slope to socialism.

00:03:13.618 --> 00:03:17.798
And here's the part no one wants to say out loud. This isn't about cost.

00:03:18.038 --> 00:03:20.958
We have the money. We just choose to spend it elsewhere.

00:03:21.498 --> 00:03:26.578
We'll hand out tax breaks to the wealthiest 1%. We'll subsidize oil companies.

00:03:26.898 --> 00:03:29.718
We'll fund the most expensive military on the planet.

00:03:30.278 --> 00:03:32.638
But ask for lunch money for school children?

00:03:33.318 --> 00:03:39.238
Suddenly we're broke. Right now, over 11 million children in the U.S. live in poverty.

00:03:39.498 --> 00:03:42.218
That's more than the entire population of Georgia.

00:03:42.638 --> 00:03:48.198
Let that number sit with you. An entire red state's worth of kids growing up in hardship.

00:03:50.596 --> 00:03:51.936
And the impacts don't

00:03:51.936 --> 00:03:56.876
End at age 18. Child poverty creates ripple effects that last a lifetime.

00:03:57.496 --> 00:04:01.956
Lower graduation rates, poorer health, greater likelihood of incarceration,

00:04:02.696 --> 00:04:04.996
lost wages, shortened lifespans.

00:04:05.276 --> 00:04:09.116
It's not just a human tragedy, it's economic sabotage.

00:04:09.476 --> 00:04:12.376
We are intentionally weakening our future workforce.

00:04:12.756 --> 00:04:17.136
We are building a nation of instability, and then pretending we're shocked when

00:04:17.136 --> 00:04:19.536
people can't climb out of the hole we threw them into.

00:04:21.056 --> 00:04:23.956
But here's the thing. It doesn't have to be this way.

00:04:24.596 --> 00:04:28.816
Imagine an America where every child starts the day with a full stomach,

00:04:29.116 --> 00:04:33.636
a warm coat, and a shot at a good education, where teachers don't have to play

00:04:33.636 --> 00:04:35.916
parent, social worker, and ATM,

00:04:36.256 --> 00:04:41.236
and where poverty isn't treated like a moral failing, but a solvable policy issue.

00:04:42.016 --> 00:04:47.096
If that sounds radical, ask yourself why. We spend more per capita on health

00:04:47.096 --> 00:04:49.316
care and education than most developed nations.

00:04:49.576 --> 00:04:53.876
We just do it badly because we don't center compassion. We center profit.

00:04:54.356 --> 00:04:58.816
If we can afford yachts, bunkers, and bailouts, we can afford lunch.

00:04:58.996 --> 00:05:03.676
If we can fund endless wars, we can fund breakfasts. And if we won't,

00:05:03.976 --> 00:05:05.416
then what kind of country are we?

00:05:05.876 --> 00:05:09.256
We need to stop asking whether we can fix child poverty. We can.

00:05:09.776 --> 00:05:15.096
The real question is, do we want to? If this makes you angry, it should.

00:05:15.356 --> 00:05:18.436
But don't just scroll past. Share this. Comment.

00:05:18.836 --> 00:05:22.696
Speak up. Because nothing changes until enough of us demand it.

00:05:23.076 --> 00:05:26.416
We don't have a scarcity problem. We have a greed problem.

00:05:26.996 --> 00:05:29.736
And it's time we stop letting children pay the price.

00:05:30.356 --> 00:05:35.096
Let's fix this, not someday, but now. Thank you for listening to Bigger Table.

00:05:35.336 --> 00:05:38.756
If this episode moved you, share it with someone you care about.

00:05:39.336 --> 00:05:42.776
Follow the show for more conversations that matter. And remember,

00:05:43.096 --> 00:05:48.456
more chairs, fewer walls, greater progress. We'll see you next time.

00:05:51.116 --> 00:05:55.416
Thanks for pulling up a chair at Bigger Table. If you believe in more voices,

00:05:55.976 --> 00:05:59.836
fewer walls, and real progress, please help us grow.

00:06:00.336 --> 00:06:03.056
Follow, review, and share this podcast.

00:06:03.756 --> 00:06:06.596
Until next time, keep building a bigger table.

00:06:10.376 --> 00:06:12.876
And I thought this was going to be a dull day.