Spent the afternoon at the RIT Board of Trustees meeting. We had a fascinating presentation by demographer Dr. Harold (“Bud”) Hodgkinson.
Hodkinson is a wonderful presenter. But even his wit and presentation skills couldn’t change the depressing nature of the numbers he shared with us.
Particularly striking—and distressing—were the numbers reflecting child poverty. Twenty-two percent of children in the United States live in poverty. Twenty-two percent. That’s the highest rate of any developed nation. And yet, as Hodgkinson pointed out, there’s little or no public outcry or outrage over this horrifying number.
He also showed numbers that illustrated just how bad the gaps are between the “haves” and the “have nots” in the US. For example, the US is #1 in the world in per capita spending on health care, but #29 in the world on life expectancy. And the top 20% income bracket in the US makes 49.6% of the total income, while the bottom 20% makes 3.6% of the total income.
Interesting food for thought. More tomorrow.
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