1 out of every 7 Americans are poor!

[Gadawg73]

It all boils down to "needs based" formulas on who "needs" the tax funded programs for the "poor".
The party on the throne at the time will always adjust the "needs" formula based on the voting trends of the day. Political polling of the day will dictate that trend to the king and his "advisers".

He who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

 

[Bullfighter]

[Unless you're homeless, nobody in the U.S. is poor. I suggest you travel out of the U.S. once in your life if you want to see what it means to be poor.

Every Mexican in the United States claims they are poor even when they are behind the wheel of a $50,000 SUV that they didn't pay one peso for.

 

[Cecilie1200]

It is expected that when the figures are released in a few days that between 14.7 and 15% of Americans (1 out 7) were poor in 2009. Not record levels but the biggest one year increase since 1959 when they first started keeping track. More bad news for the Demos just before the election. If the news keeps getting worse the election of 2010 might end up being called a massacre instead of a landslide for the Republicans.

US poverty on track to post record gain in 2009 - Yahoo! News

43 million out of 300 million?

Here's an interesting fact: When the rich get richer, the threshold for poverty is raised too. So while a person making under $40,000 50 years ago wouldn't have been considered poor necessarily, as time went on, the poverty line was raised so that that person would be considered impoverished. Amazing how these numbers can be deceptive..

agreed.

There are poor in America. Several million street people at the least. But by global standards there are not 43 million poor in America.

Mexicans flock here so they can be so poor.

We don't judge on global standards, nor is there any reason we should. People don't live in the US just so that they can say, "At least we're better off than Rwanda!" They don't vote on policies - or politicians - with an eye toward a higher standard of living than Togo. That is not where the bar is set in this country, and it shouldn't be. We're Americans; we can do better than that, and it's completely reasonable of us to want the opportunity to do better than that.

And as an added bonus, it'll be funny to watch all the years liberals have taught people in this country to be whining victims coming back to bite them in the ass.

 

[Charles_Main]

It is expected that when the figures are released in a few days that between 14.7 and 15% of Americans (1 out 7) were poor in 2009. Not record levels but the biggest one year increase since 1959 when they first started keeping track. More bad news for the Demos just before the election. If the news keeps getting worse the election of 2010 might end up being called a massacre instead of a landslide for the Republicans.

US poverty on track to post record gain in 2009 - Yahoo! News

What do you expect when between legal and illegal immigration you have about 4 million poorly educated, and Economically impoverished people flooding into our country across our southern border every year?

I mean come on people think a little bit.

 

[loosecannon]

We don't judge on global standards, nor is there any reason we should. People don't live in the US just so that they can say, "At least we're better off than Rwanda!" They don't vote on policies - or politicians - with an eye toward a higher standard of living than Togo. That is not where the bar is set in this country, and it shouldn't be. We're Americans; we can do better than that, and it's completely reasonable of us to want the opportunity to do better than that.

pardon me for rolling my eyes and saying "whatever, dear".

We live in the world. Our lifestyle is supported by the world's resources and labor. And while it wouldn't be apropo to compare our living standards to those of Togo or Haiti, it is certainly apropo to measure povery on a global standard or according to a global mean.

$2/day is $2/day whether you live in AZ or Oz.

 

[Charles_Main]

We don't judge on global standards, nor is there any reason we should. People don't live in the US just so that they can say, "At least we're better off than Rwanda!" They don't vote on policies - or politicians - with an eye toward a higher standard of living than Togo. That is not where the bar is set in this country, and it shouldn't be. We're Americans; we can do better than that, and it's completely reasonable of us to want the opportunity to do better than that.

pardon me for rolling my eyes and saying "whatever, dear".

We live in the world. Our lifestyle is supported by the world's resources and labor. And while it wouldn't be apropo to compare our living standards to those of Togo or Haiti, it is certainly apropo to measure povery on a global standard or according to a global mean.

$2/day is $2/day whether you live in AZ or Oz.

No even close. 2 bucks a day in the USA would be a joke. But in some countries 2 Bucks a day likes like earning 50 Bucks a day here because the cost of living is so much lower.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

How much do they weight?
Are we going to tip over?

 

[KissMy]

Midnight Shopping On The Brink Of Poverty

Despite torrential rain outside and flash-flood warnings across the area, the couple arrives to shop. Tracy Young says they've been doing this midnight run on the last day of every month for so long now that they're on a first-name basis with Gloria, their cashier. Tracy Young says. At a stroke or two after midnight they begin unloading their carts at the checkout. Tracy says they set aside $500 for groceries a month. With five kids, the money they get never lasts until the next monthly check.

"It's usually about a week and a half," she says. "We try to figure out what we need to do about a week and a half before the end of the month." That's why they're here at midnight: It's when their food stamps and government checks for their 3-year-old daughter kick in on the first of every month.

Shelf-Stocking Patterns For The First Of Every Month

Wal-Mart noticed that sales were spiking on the first of every month. In a recent conference call with investment analysts, Wal-Mart executive Bill Simon said these midnight shoppers provide a snapshot of the American economy today.

"And if you really think about it," Simon said, "the only reason somebody gets out and buys baby formula is they need it and they've been waiting for it. Otherwise, we're open 24 hours, come at 5 a.m., come at 7 a.m., come at 10 a.m. But if you're there at midnight you're there for a reason."

And so Wal-Mart has changed its stocking pattern. It brings out larger packs of items in the beginning of the month, and smaller sizes toward the end. It makes sure shelves have plenty of diapers and formula.

"It's definitely an indicator in terms of people who are struggling," says Charles Fishman, journalist and author of The Wal-Mart Effect. "That tells you there's a large swath of America that is still very carefully calculating how much money is available and how they're spending it on even the most basic things like diapers and milk and bread. That's not the sign of an economy that's shaken off the recession."