Amid bankruptcy, Detroit has a bigger problem: Column

• 60%25 of Detroit%27s kids live below the poverty line.
• The U.S. child poverty rate has crept upward even with the economy recovering.
• If Congress doesn%27t prioritize children%27s needs%2C we have more to worry about than bankruptcy.

Last week, the city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, leaving many of its residents wondering what this will mean for their families, their neighborhoods and their economic security. Whether it turns out to be a real opportunity to turn things around — or a trajectory to an uncertain, grim future — remains to be seen.

The problem is that even before bankruptcy was declared, Detroit's children were in deep trouble. An astounding 60% of the city's kids live below the poverty line — nearly three times higher than the national rate of child poverty. What's more, with the city officially broke, Michigan experiencing massive budget cuts, and federal sequestration in full swing, programs needed to provide essential services to poor children — from anti-hunger programs to day care — are in greater jeopardy than ever before.

And while Detroit may be the only major city in America filing for bankruptcy, it is far from the only place where children are living in dire conditions.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's latest "Kids Count" report, the U.S. child poverty rate has crept upward even as the economy begins to recover. Nearly one in four children are trapped in a cycle of poverty, all too often accompanied by hunger, poor housing, reduced access to medical care and substandard schools. And the fact is that kids who grow up under such conditions are far more likely to fail in school, wind up in the criminal justice system, and become dependent on society rather than contributing to it.

A recent study out from First Focus shows that federal spending on programs serving the country's children has decreased three years in a row, falling by $35 billion. These are the very programs that provide vital nutrition, education, health, income support, housing, child abuse prevention, job training and safety services.

Many other countries have long understood the devastating consequences of poverty and are making the necessary investments to achieve a prosperous future. That's a big reason why so many nations are surpassing the U.S. in terms of graduation rates, school success, and other measures of well-being.

During President Obama's recent economic development speech at Knox College, he emphasized the enormous challenges facing poor people struggling up the ladder to the middle class. This increasingly hard climb, he said, represents a "betrayal of the American idea." With lack of key programs to support them, poor children are not only held toward the bottom of that ladder, but are slipping through its rungs.

While Democrats and Republicans often disagree on the size and model of health and other benefit programs that comprise the safety net for poor children and families, we can only hope that every political leader recognizes that allowing our children to wallow in poverty spells disaster for the country's future economy and international influence.

On a positive note, a number of congressional leaders, almost all Democrats, have been vigorously defending programs that are designed to help alleviate poverty, like expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit for working poor families or raising the minimum wage. And President Obama has weighed in heavily, asking Congress to support universal access to early education and programs that will help families pull themselves out of poverty. Even the former Senate Majority Leader Republican Bill Frist has called for a definitive plan to end child poverty.

Still, the political odds are stacked heavily against the millions of children who are mired in poverty. But why are we surprised? Poor children and their advocates have little clout in the halls of power. People seeking elected office reach out and respond to people with the financial capacity needed to help win elections, hardly a description that could be applied to, say, the children of Detroit.

As budget negotiations heat up in Washington later this summer we'll be looking for Congress to prioritize the needs of children as an investment that is essential to the nation's future. If they don't, we'll have a lot more to worry about than the bankruptcy of a great American city.

Irwin Redlener, MD, is president of the Children's Health Fund and a senior faculty member at Columbia University's Earth Institute.

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