Mississippi's #1!

In underweight babies and child poverty, that is:

A recent study released by UNICEF ranked the U.S. second worst out of 33 industrialized nations in a composite index on child well-being, and it was 29th in regard to the percentage of babies with low birth weights.

According to Kids Count, the latest available federal data, from 2005, showed that 8.2 percent of U.S. babies were born at low birth weight, a level not seen since 1968.

The worst rate — 11.8 percent in Mississippi — was nearly twice the 6.1 percent rate in the best states — Alaska, Oregon and Washington....

...Regarding its key economic indicator, the Kids Count report said 18 percent of U.S. children — 13.3 million of them — were living in poverty in 2006, up by 1 million children from the 17 percent rate in 2000. It said child poverty increased in 32 states during that period.

"It's disconcerting, because between 2000 and 2006 the economy was doing pretty well," said Beavers, who predicted the poverty rates would worsen amid the current economic downturn.

The report's data was based on the official poverty measure as determined by the Office of Management and Budget. Its 2006 poverty line was $20,444 for a family of two adults and two children.

Among the states, the child poverty rate ranged from a low of 10 percent in Maryland and New Hampshire to a high of 30 percent in Mississippi.

Again, can I just say how tired I am of finding our state at the bottom (or top, depending upon how you look at the awful statistics) of lists like these?

I mean, talk about time for change.