Study Says 90% Of Black Children On Food Stamps (?) Wrong!!

I'm sorry. I find this absurd to make that assumption based on a sample of 18000 people. No way. This is NOT to say the problems do not exist, but I did find this to be a bit off the hoof to say the least. The numbers they're releasing is a bit absurd.

I first noticed on Twitter that this story came out. When I saw this title, I had a range of emotions. First, I thought it was some Aryan- Brotherhood-type wanting to start trouble, especially in times as these. Me, being Black I knew there was more to this than meets the eye. Then I saw this on another Twitter account user. Then hearing about this on the radio is what finally did it for me. So finally, I decided to find the article myself. I know this is not accurate because I feel that these methods may have been flawed or defective at the very least. I highlighted some key words that most did not take the time to find (for whatever reason). My goal is not to call anyone out or make ANYONE feel bad but I have to state my case. I know poverty does exist because Jesus Christ himself said that the poor will always be among you. Now, I ask that if you've made it this far, look at where I placed emphasis on what has not been said elsewhere. I'll add my criticism as I go along. My criticism will be mark in italics while the parts I have concerns over are marked **.


CHICAGO — Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say.

- Notice the key phrase at some point during childhood. This does not say that 90% of Black children are currently on food stamps but may at some point in time.


**The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Your neighbor may be using some of these programs but it’s not the kind of thing people want to talk about,” Rank said.

The analysis was released Monday in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The authors say it’s a medical issue pediatricians need to be aware of because children on food stamps are at risk for malnutrition and other ills linked with poverty.

“This is a real danger sign that we as a society need to do a lot more to protect children,” Rank said.

** Food stamps are a Department of Agriculture program for low-income individuals and families, covering most foods although not prepared hot foods or alcohol. For a family of four to be eligible, their annual take-home pay can’t exceed about $22,000.
According to a USDA report released last month, 28.4 million Americans received food stamps in an average month in 2008, and about half were younger than age 18. The average monthly benefit per household totaled $222.
Rank and Cornell University sociologist Thomas Hirschl studied data from a nationally representative survey of 4,800 American households interviewed annually from 1968 through 1997 by the University of Michigan. About 18,000 adults and children were involved.
Overall, about 49 percent of all children were on food stamps at some point by the age of 20, the analysis found. That includes 90 percent of black children and 37 percent of whites. The analysis didn’t include other ethnic groups.
The time span included typical economic ups and downs, including the early 1980s recession. That means similar portions of children now and in the future will live in families receiving food stamps, although ongoing economic turmoil may increase the numbers, Rank said.

Now here's where my problem is and I think someone should ask this. I have done some qualitative and quantitative studies while in college (quantitative methods are insane). My biggest concern when I see something like this (or anything where there is such a strong slant from a single source) is evaluator bias. If the evaluator goes and tries to find what they want to find, they'll do it.

First is I know they did several years (dating back to 1968) so the time frame is not a concern. The thing that does bother me is what type of sample (or groups) they used to reach these conclusions. In other words, were they in diverse areas or in the same cities? Did they go to areas where they KNEW going in that they would find wide spead poverty? For example, if they went into and took the Black samples from public housing alone or mixed that with some rural areas, chances are you may find a number like that. In the 1970's and 1980's, the United States had some major economic meltdowns so that would factor in. In fact, did the sample groups change and if so how often? The study does mention the duration of people who are on food stamps (even as long as a week which you will later read).

Am I saying this is not a problem. No. I'm not trying to trivialize poverty at all. To say the numbers are not high would be right but these figures are a bit high. Now here's my concern gets deeper. I went back to 1968, where there were 18 million Black citizen living in the US (or 10%, where Whites were about 151 million or 75% of the population). In 1990, 29 million Black citizens and about 190 million White citizens (1. ). Now, if you're still with me, keep it up. Now the average birth rate stayed steady at around 2 children per woman. Lets say 25% of American citizens are children, with an average of 2 children per woman being the national fertility rate (2- ). That would put Black children's numbers at 6.25 millions and White children's numbers at 43 million. I decided to take the average of of the population from each group over the period of this study (w/ some overlap). So using those numbers, this report expects me to believe that over the time frame mentioned:
a. If half of White children are on food stamps, this study is trying to tell me that over 21 million different White children will experience the need for food stamps.
b. If 90% of Black children will experience the need for food stamps, that means over that time 5.6 million Black children will be in this position.

An editorial in the medical journal agreed.
“The current recession is likely to generate for children in the United States the greatest level of material deprivation that we will see in our professional lifetimes,” Stanford pediatrician Dr. Paul Wise wrote.
Wise said the Archives study estimate is believable.
“I find it terribly sad, but not surprising,” Wise said.
James Weill, president of Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based advocacy group, said the analysis underscores that “there are just very large numbers of people who rely on this program for a month, six months, a year.”
“What I hope comes out of this study is an understanding that food stamp beneficiaries aren’t them – they’re us,” Weill said.

The analysis is in line with other recent research suggesting that more than 40 percent of U.S. children will live in poverty or near-poverty by age 17; and that half will live at some point in a single-parent family. Also, other researchers have estimated that slightly more than half of adults will use food stamps at some point by age 65.