4 Essential Things to Know About Class in February 2011 (Quick and Easy to Understand!)

With President Obama halfway through his first term as president, the recession officially finished and unemployment rates dropping to 9%, many Americans are claiming the sun is shining on America again. However, there are still people struggling. Families are still facing foreclosure. Parents are still unemployed. Children are still hungry. Below is a list of things you need to know to be a well-informed American citizen in 2011.

1. "More than 50 million Americans are still without health care insurance, including more than 7 million children" (http://www.covertheuninsured.org/). Although Obama's health care plan was passed in March 2010 (almost a YEAR ago), with more Republicans in office now and a call for health care reform, health care insurance and coverage is still shaky for many Americans. It was a great victory for the Democrats, but with much controversy and approximately "58% of likely voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law, 44% strongly favor it, 37% are opposed to repeal and 26% strongly oppose health care repeal" (according to Rasmussen Reports) America will have to revisit the issue once again. Look here for a map of America and to view the range of uninsured workers in the state!


2. There are still people going to bed with their stomachs growling. Although the recession is technically over and the future is brightening, food pantries are still hard work. According to a 2010 CNN study, "4 out of 10 visitors to a food pantry are under 18 years old and 50% of food pantry visitors say they often have to choose between food and home utilities" (Why Are Americans Going Hungry?) According to the Hunger Report 2010 by the organization Feeding America, there was a 46% increase in 2010 from 2006 in the number of people who needed Feeding America for food supply (25 million people in 2006, 37 million people in 2010). Out of these 37 million people, 36% of the households had at least one family member working. It's not only the homeless or the unemployed that are hungry, it can be anybody. Finally, the number of children Feeding America is providing food to has grown by 50% from 2006-2010. Hunger is everywhere and affects everyone.

3. The jobs still aren't there for some people. Yes, unemployment has gone down since its spike at 10.1% in October 2009. However, at the end of January 2011, unemployment was still reported at 9.0% (according to tradingeconomics.com) , a pretty high statistic. Jobs and unemployment continue to rock our country and our economy even post-recession. Although a job isn't the key to everything, employment plays a key factor in many of the other topics discussed here, including health care and battling hunger. See the graph below for the fluctuation of unemployment rates:

4. Fourth, and finally, people are still losing their homes. Foreclosures peaked during April 2009, there were still approximately 36,500 mortgage modifications during December 2010 and foreclosures are expected to increase due to "major financial institutions' poor record with modifying home mortgage loans", according to a report released today and the Los Angeles Times. According to Diane Pendley, a co-author of the report, Obama's plan of attack on foreclosures "has made little more than a dent in the large volume of of outstanding distressed loans." According to the Los Angeles Times report, the Fitch Company predicts 4 years of market growth and fluctuation to overcome this real estate crisis.

There are still many problems our country is facing post-recession and inequality is still high. Americans must be aware of these 4 issues to be well-informed and knowledgable regarding our country's status. When these issues are addressed and corrected, our country can be in a better place, and equality and prosperity can (hopefully) return for the majority.