Ted Kennedy's Big, Fat Lie: '36 Million Americans Go To Bed Hungry Every Night'

Fox News Sunday/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Chris Wallace had Ted Kennedy cornered. The Fox News Sunday host displayed Kennedy's 1995 bitter condemnation of welfare reform: "legislative child abuse . . . let them eat cake." It should be noted that as Wallace began to reference the statement, Kennedy objected, blustering that "this is 2006" - as if his past misjudgments are irrelevant even though he would he has apparently learned nothing from them.

Wallace went on to make the point that the employment rate among unmarried women has soared and the child poverty rate has dropped. He put it to Kennedy: "hasn't welfare reform worked?" Fighting back, the senior senator from Massachusetts claimed that Wallace's numbers on child poverty "are absolutely wrong," asserting there has been an increase in the number of children living in poverty in the United States. He then dropped this bomb:

"We have 36 million Americans that are going to bed hungry every night. 36 million Americans! And 12 million of those are children!"

View video of Kennedy's 36-million claim here.

Kennedy's claim is flatly false. According to the USDA, 13 million households, containing 36 million people, reported that at least one household member was food insecure in a recent year. “Food insecure” means that “, such households at some time during the year were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources."

Yet Kennedy counted every person who might have been "uncertain" of having enough money to get food - at any time during the year - as "going to bed hungry every night."

As has been widely noted, the major food-related problem for poor children isn't hunger - it's obesity.Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation is an expert on these issues. Here's what he recently wrote on the subject:

"While hunger due to a lack of financial re-sources does occur in the United States, it is limited in scope and duration. According to the USDA, on a typical day, fewer than one American in 200 will experience hunger due to a lack of money to buy food."

In a country of 300 million, that means something less than 1.5 million people.

It's a shame Chris Wallace didn't have these facts handy. But on thing is clear: Kennedy's claim that 36 million go to bed hungry every night is nothing short of . . .a big, fat lie.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[facedown]

It's a shame Chris Wallace didn't have these facts handy.

He wouldn't have said anything even if he knew better. He's slowly morphing into Heraldo, ratings by any means.

[KeyLargo]

"useful to have Kennedy on to expose his dinosaur liberalism."

It does nothing more than provide a forum for the tub of lard, and give more high-fives at dummy U on how Teddy, just like Bubba gave it to Wallace junior.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Your idea of 'fair & balanced' is to have conservative guests only?

[pandoraou812]

Over the years I have fed so may of my children's friends. To me its just a natural thing to do, we are eating , you sit and eat too. Then I began to notice how many,( usually the boys) would show up at dinner time. As long as we had enough it was ok to have them eat with us. Or I would make some Mac & cheese etc for them. I was totally shocked at how many moms don't cook Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Now I make a huge buffet, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas day, anyone who wants to come is welcome. I have the same boys back each year and watching them grow up and become young men has been a pleasure. They also learned table manners here too. And they always clean up which is wonderful for me. Merry Christmas ~~Pandora~~

[driftless2]

One of the biggest and worst myths perpetrated by lib Big Media is that there are millions of hungry Americans desperate to be fed. I've been to many parts of the U.S. in the last five years, and I can tell you the one problem Americans don't have is lack of enough food. We're too FAT!!!...not "food insecure".

[Churchillspirit]

LOL!

[marsh2]

Our community Christmas party handed out used coats to children and free recycled used toys.

It is not hard to get fat on a diet of cheap pastas,cheese, beans and rice. It is getting the fresh vegetables and fruits down to the kids that is difficult. Sometimes it is a matter of re-teaching people to cook. They have no idea what to do with raw food. In some of our towns, we have started community gardens to help with that. Some of our poor are Indians. Obesity is an issue to them because of a change in anscestral diet from salmon based to pre-prepared food high in carbs. Many have now developed diabetes.

I will not refute that many poor families are involved with drug and alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, abuse tends to run high with poverty. No reason why we should condemn another generation to the viscious cycle.

You can continue to turn a blind eye to poverty in the United States and it will persist - all it takes is for good people to deny its existence and do nothing.

[JewishRighter]

I believe his claim because he obviously is eating everything in sight, leaving all those kids to go hungry.

[4yearlurker]

I worked as a meat cutter in supermarkets for many years. We called the first of the month "Mothers Day". The welfare bums bought more food than I could ever afford. Some had two buggy's full of food! Ted Kennedy is a fat moron.

[jessduntno]

Actually, they get a percentage of the Scotch. How do you think they keep this fat slob happy?