Who is Responsible for World Hunger?

Did you know that there are nearly a billion hungry people in the world. When I say hungry, I mean mal-nutritioned or do not get the proper food needed to survive on a daily basis. Do the math: that is nealy 15% of the world's population. In the United States alone, one in five children go hungry each day! Shocked yet? Every single day, over 20,000 children will die from starvation, but seriously, who is to blame?

The facts never lie, but, in retrospect, who is to blame? In the United States, we have the right to earn as much money as we want and spend it on whatever we choose, so long as it is legal! Nothing in the United States Consitution says how we must donate or help those in need. Technically, the hundreds of United States children dying each day is not a problem to us wealthy, well-to-do folk.

Look at the picture on the right. Do you feel obligated to do something about this? Do you feel responsible and the one to blame for this? Although a scary statistic, who really is to blame for this? Let's break it down.

1. Government: isn't it always so easy to blame government for our problems or the problems of the world? I mean, we pay thousands of dollars toward taxes, why not take a small chunk from there to help people in need? The United States is in trillions in debt (currently over 14 trillion). Why not just put ourselves in 15 trillion in debt and use that money to help people in need?
2. Laws: I have also seen laws such as minimum wage laws and other working laws blamed for our poverty levels. In New York, minimum wage is, at present, $7.25 per hour. This is not bad compared to the rest of the country and the world. Why not raise the minimum wage, so poor families with multiple children will have a chance to feed these children?
3. The Actual People Suffering: My mother always told me whenever I got into a predicament that nobody is responsible to help you but yourself. These people got themselves in this situation by having too many kids, not working enough, etc. Why help them when they can help themselves, but are too lazy?
4. Ourselves: This is the big one. Should we blame ourselves for world, or even nationwide, hunger? Instead of buying a new Mercedes, should we buy something cheaper and donate to a foundation? The questions can go on and on.

Let me be completely honest: Do you think government actually cares about these people in dire need of food and water? As of a few months ago every single United States Senator is a millionaire. After number crunching and doing a little research, I found a disturbing statistic. If every single Senator in the United States government donated 10% of their worth to fight nationwide (not worldwide) hunger, the amount of hungry children would decrease from one of every five children to one of every thirty, approximately.

Unfortunately, tampering with the minimum wage or child labor laws (as in allowing children of younger ages to work to help support the family) are a seldom occurrence. I remember when the minimum wage in New York State was raised to $7.25 from, I believe $7.15. It was a shock to everyone, and it was only ten cents! Children are too valuable to the human perspective to have working in sweat shops and factories, despite the problem still occuring illegally around the country.

Blaming ourselves doesn't seem right either, does it. We don't want to because that would mean taking action.

Seriously, a child is quite helpless and cannot fend for itself when it comes to hunger issues. This is a selfish argument to make!