Obama's recovery in full swing... The percentage of US residents living in poverty is on the rise, according to the Census Bureau. We shine a light on the diverse faces of America's underclass: America's poor: The grim statistics ● U.S. population: 313.7 million (June 2012) ● U.S. poverty rate: 15.1% (2010), up from 14.3% in 2009 ● U.S. unemployment rate: 8.2% (May 2012) ● Real median household income: $49,445 (2010), down 2.3% from 2009 ● People without health insurance: 49.9 million (2010), 16.3% of the population The numbers are startling. But it's names and the faces tell the raw story. Gary Thompson is one of those faces. At age 68, he's broke and sick, and he sleeps in a charity mission surrounded by homeless strangers in Atlantic City, N.J. It's not a pretty picture. In general, poverty in America today is disturbingly unattractive. It is gritty and pervasive and hard to break out of. It's a story of men and women all around us who are suffering great pain, frustration and deprivation. It sounds banally dramatic, but only, gratefully, because most of us have never endured those circumstances. For the minority that has -- and, let's be clear, it is a small minority -- the suffering is substantial, and it has not lessened in recent years. Political divisions have made sure of that. Partisanship has frequently hindered or scuttled initiatives that each political party has proposed. Democrats and Republicans manifest very different notions of how to cope with poverty. Some of us believe that people should take full responsibility for their actions under all circumstances and that "neediness" is a character flaw overcome through hard work and determination. That's one point of view. Others believe the government's main purpose is to care for the well-being of its people -- not just the "cans" but also the "cannots," the "have-nots" and sometimes even the "do-nots." They believe compassion is integral to civil society, that government's role is to make sure Americans are safe and healthy, and that if you don't or can't work, or can't get by on your paycheck, you should not be relegated to Dickensian penury. We profile five people who come from different backgrounds and circumstances but now find themselves in America's underclass -- the working and nonworking poor. Some of these people have lived most of their lives in poverty. Others are new to it. Most say they never could have imagined they would be as dependent as they are today on friends, family, charities and government programs to support themselves and care for their families. More...
"Abstract: For decades, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty,” but the bureau’s definition of poverty differs widely from that held by most Americans. In fact, other government surveys show that most of the persons whom the government defines as “in poverty” are not poor in any ordinary sense of the term. The overwhelming majority of the poor have air conditioning, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities. They are well housed, have an adequate and reasonably steady supply of food, and have met their other basic needs, including medical care. Some poor Americans do experience significant hardships, including temporary food shortages or inadequate housing, but these individuals are a minority within the overall poverty population. Poverty remains an issue of serious social concern, but accurate information about that problem is essential in crafting wise public policy. Exaggeration and misinformation about poverty obscure the nature, extent, and causes of real material deprivation, thereby hampering the development of well-targeted, effective programs to reduce the problem." http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/07/what-is-poverty I wonder how many people who are "poor" would be "poor" if the schools educated children instead of simply providing lifetim employment to union memmbers? I wonder how many of the "poor" would be "poor" if the government had been honest and told them that they could not survivie with nothing but Social Security? I wonder how many "poor" would be "poor" if they worked. I personally help poor people. I do not help drunks, junkies, or deadbeats.
This is true. Obama is creating his Utopian society (government drones) by letting them in and ignoring their illegal activities.
The US has had a history of high poverty and low social mobility. The real question is: why don't you do anything about it?
Very well said!!!! And although this is off topic a little, wouldn't the country and the world be better off if the west side of Chicago was bombed into oblivion instead of great hard working cities like Berlin and Dresden???????
