American, 50% of our citizens are poor or low income. Shame!

[hortysir]

Sounds about right.

1/2 of America has less than the other half.

I wonder what kind of sophisticated algorithm was used to arrive at such an astute conclusion

I suppose had you read the link you might understand the absurdity of your conclusion. But as the guy above stated, why read it's always the same crap.

I suppose had you paid attention to the article you would have realized that it merely mentions "census data", yet fails to link or reference exactly where this data can be found.

I don't recall any income questions on my census form.
There may have been, but I never answer income questions

So you're both right;
it IS the same old SHIT.

I don't see anything anywhere near 50% but, hey, I can't read:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/hstpov4.xls

 

[hortysir]

Shit.

Killed another thread with facts.

 

[earlycuyler]

So a fork has been stuck in this ?

 

[hortysir]

11.7% below poverty level.

Highest since 1983

 

[expat_panama]

Does it mention the two TV's, computer, cell phone that thees "poor" own ? Wonder if a poor Mexican in Mexico has that stuff ? Or Somalia ? Sheesh.

A comment only callous conservatives would make.

Please tell me why caring about poor Mexicans and Somalians is "callous".

 

[expat_panama]

...What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

Leftist love to move our focus away from actual statistics over to personalities, blame, and motivation. This attempt at misdirection is a primary cause of the economic downturn. This thread is based on a cheap Yahoo rant with no links to statistics, only a link to a "census.gov". That's shameful.

Let's start right here and begin focusing on economic well being. From USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau:

• Median household income, 2009 $50,221
• Persons below poverty level, 2009 14.3%
• High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2005-2009 84.6%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2005-2009 $185,400
• Homeownership rate, 2005-2009 66.9%

Now we finally have hard facts, and they show that the theme "50% of our citizens are poor or low income" is untrue. We don't know whether the motivation for posting the falsehood was shameful political deceit or mere stupidity, but imho the motivation is less important here. What's important is connecting to reality, and reality is good.

 

[editec]

American, 50% of our citizens are poor or low income. Shame!

And the next 30% aren't doing all that well , either.

 

[SAT2]

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income - Yahoo! Finance

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

 

[spectrumc01]

Well if a "lower" unemployment rate is because of Obama then this is Obama's fault too. This guy blows then! But in reality poor is a relative term. Very few people are poor or in poverty in America. If you have electricity, running water and food, then guess what ... you ain't poor!

By those standards why don't you just cut to the to the quick and say, "if your still breathing quit bitchin', you ain't poor you have the richness of life to live for. Somewhere in the world people are dying, and you living here in the US, alive and all, should be ashamed of yourself for thinking you are poor. It is much better to be breathing in the US than anywhere else."

 

[spectrumc01]

Does it mention the two TV's, computer, cell phone that thees "poor" own ? Wonder if a poor Mexican in Mexico has that stuff ? Or Somalia ? Sheesh.

what you are describing are criminals who are comitting fraud, not POOR people. There is a difference. Bernie Maddoff wasn't rich, he was a criminal.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Does it mention the two TV's, computer, cell phone that thees "poor" own ? Wonder if a poor Mexican in Mexico has that stuff ? Or Somalia ? Sheesh.

A comment only callous conservatives would make.

No.
A comment by someone with a brain.

You have to realize that the majority of the poor - are poor - by their own doing.

 

[spectrumc01]

In the OP I suggested no finger pointing or blame and all Americans should be ashamed that approximately 50% of our country's citizens are in economic difficulty. Yet immediately the victims are blamed and the facts noted in the article are denied. Some go so far as to suggest anyone with a TV and Cell phone can't be poor or struggling.

What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

Never taking blame for anything is the American way. Just like the OWP are accused of not taking responsibility for themselves, conservatives want to put the blame on the poor for the condition of the economy. This way they don't have to take any personal responsibility for the mess the economy is in. Poor people don't owe back taxes, poor people didn't bail out anyone. Poor people didn't start any wars, poor people didn't write the tax code, they don't get any tax payer bonuses, and so on and so on.

 

[SAT2]

Does it mention the two TV's, computer, cell phone that thees "poor" own ? Wonder if a poor Mexican in Mexico has that stuff ? Or Somalia ? Sheesh.

A comment only callous conservatives would make.

No.
A comment by someone with a brain.

You have to realize that the majority of the poor - are poor - by their own doing.

Yes. They made stupid choices...in picking their parents.

 

[Stephanie]

In the OP I suggested no finger pointing or blame and all Americans should be ashamed that approximately 50% of our country's citizens are in economic difficulty. Yet immediately the victims are blamed and the facts noted in the article are denied. Some go so far as to suggest anyone with a TV and Cell phone can't be poor or struggling.

What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

My heart bleeds purple Kool-aid..
People who are POOR have the same opportunities as the rest in this country to MAKE themselves, NOT POOR.
but here ya go

 

[Wry Catcher]

Does it mention the two TV's, computer, cell phone that thees "poor" own ? Wonder if a poor Mexican in Mexico has that stuff ? Or Somalia ? Sheesh.

A comment only callous conservatives would make.

No.
A comment by someone with a brain.

You have to realize that the majority of the poor - are poor - by their own doing.

We all have brains; some are ruled by emotion, others by reason. The comment was and remains stupid because it was solely based on bigotry. No evidence is offered that all of those suffering from the Bush recession live with modern luxuries or that the poor are poor by their own doing. If for a moment you opened you mind and shut out the reactionary rhetoric which is primarily emotion based you might, maybe, possibly have some credibility.

As it stands you've offered evidence that you are a callous conservative and a proud and loud member of the echo chamber - in short not intelligent enough to offer reasoned arguments.

Have a nice day and thanks for sharing.

 

[SAT2]

My heart bleeds purple Kool-aid..
People who are POOR have the same opportunities as the rest in this country to MAKE themselves, NOT POOR.
but here ya go

Not really.

 

[spectrumc01]

In the OP I suggested no finger pointing or blame and all Americans should be ashamed that approximately 50% of our country's citizens are in economic difficulty. Yet immediately the victims are blamed and the facts noted in the article are denied. Some go so far as to suggest anyone with a TV and Cell phone can't be poor or struggling.

What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

My heart bleeds purple Kool-aid..
People who are POOR have the same opportunities as the rest in this country to MAKE themselves, NOT POOR.
but here ya go

You are obviously of the older generation and probably haven't been out there in the real world for quite sometime now. Let me tell you that there is no comparisson between the opportunities the wealthy children have as compared to the poor children. The wealthy children growing up have every opportunity and more. The poor children have maybe a quarter of the opportunity if that.

 

[Stephanie]

In the OP I suggested no finger pointing or blame and all Americans should be ashamed that approximately 50% of our country's citizens are in economic difficulty. Yet immediately the victims are blamed and the facts noted in the article are denied. Some go so far as to suggest anyone with a TV and Cell phone can't be poor or struggling.

What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

My heart bleeds purple Kool-aid..
People who are POOR have the same opportunities as the rest in this country to MAKE themselves, NOT POOR.
but here ya go

You are obviously of the older generation and probably haven't been out there in the real world for quite sometime now. Let me tell you that there is no comparisson between the opportunities the wealthy children have as compared to the poor children. The wealthy children growing up have every opportunity and more. The poor children have maybe a quarter of the opportunity if that.

yeah, I'm the older generation, and I work TWO JOBS. one for the school district and another for the VFW.
maybe it's this generation that needs to get out in the REAL WORLD....
so again I say....

 

[iamwhatiseem]

A comment only callous conservatives would make.

No.
A comment by someone with a brain.

You have to realize that the majority of the poor - are poor - by their own doing.

We all have brains; some are ruled by emotion, others by reason. The comment was and remains stupid because it was solely based on bigotry. No evidence is offered that all of those suffering from the Bush recession live with modern luxuries or that the poor are poor by their own doing. If for a moment you opened you mind and shut out the reactionary rhetoric which is primarily emotion based you might, maybe, possibly have some credibility.

As it stands you've offered evidence that you are a callous conservative and a proud and loud member of the echo chamber - in short not intelligent enough to offer reasoned arguments.

Have a nice day and thanks for sharing.

"Bush recession".......these two words shows your ignorance on the topic and your inability to get beyond what you are pre-programmed to believe.
There is nothing you can say that has any bearing to reality and your opinion on the topic is useless as it is based entirely on preconceived ideas.

 

[Wry Catcher]

In the OP I suggested no finger pointing or blame and all Americans should be ashamed that approximately 50% of our country's citizens are in economic difficulty. Yet immediately the victims are blamed and the facts noted in the article are denied. Some go so far as to suggest anyone with a TV and Cell phone can't be poor or struggling.

What motivates people to be so callous, so unwilling to even discuss a statistic and possible causes? Why do they place the blame on the poor and the poorly compensated? Is it because to actually think about the issue would create a cognitive dissonance or do they lack empathy?

My heart bleeds purple Kool-aid..
People who are POOR have the same opportunities as the rest in this country to MAKE themselves, NOT POOR.
but here ya go

Sure they do (LOL). Stating all poor people are poor for the same reason suggests you rely on emotion and not reason in stating your case. In doing so anyone who actually thinks understands you're nothing more than an echo and there is nothing substantive in your words. For the poor it's not always about not being responsible; illness, accident, and the fortunes of birth are a few of the variables you overlook.