Fortieth to fourth, fortieth to fourth, fortieth to fourth that’s all we’ve been hearing Governor John Hickenlooper tout even though the facts do not back him up. But we’ve got a new one for him – fortieth to fourth to tenth and forget the kids! That’s right PeakNation™, in 2012, Colorado had a greater percentage of kids in poverty than even during the nadir of the last recession. As The Denver Post reports:
Despite an improving economy, more Colorado children were living in poverty in 2012 than at the trough of the economic downturn, according to an annual report that evaluates the well-being of children in the state.
… About 224,000, or 18 percent, of the state’s more than 1 million children lived below the poverty threshold of $23,000 in annual income for a family of four in 2012, according to the Kids Count report set for release Monday. The numbers signal a rise in child poverty since the recession, when 210,000, or 17 percent, of youngsters in the state were from poor families.
What good is any job growth if we leave the children of Colorado behind? What’s worse is that this appears to be only a Colorado problem:
Listening to #KidsCount presentation. CO is 3rd highest rate of children’s poverty in the U.S.! #coleg #COKids
— Linda Newell (@SenNewell) March 24, 2014
Third?!? That’s not like us. When we top rankings, we do it for being the most outdoorsy, the fittest, the most craftiest of beer makers. Child poverty? Topping that list is unacceptable.
But isn’t that the way Hickenlooper’s policies have been leading us? Where job growth is led by cronyism and backroom deals. And, young families with children have been turned out in favor of pet projects. A truly robust economic recovery is one that lifts everyone, great and small. When the Governor along with fellow Democrats feels it’s their jobs to choose which industries succeed, the chosen few get wealthy while leaving a lower-middle class closer to falling into poverty.
Hickenlooper’s economic plans may work from some Coloradans, but our increase in the child poverty rate shows that it definitely doesn’t work for all Coloradans.