How do the "poor" live so well in the US?

[Ravi]

Granny shops atta Goodwill, an' DAV, an' Thriftstores for the Blind...

... she says its a good place to buy slightly used clothes, an' appliances, an' color TV's if ya don't mind the screen bein' a lil' dim...

... Uncle Ferd says its a good place to get computer parts like 56k modems now dat dem rich folks moved up to cable, an' 5¼ floppy drives so's ya can keep yer secret files on floppies dat most people don't use no more...

... possum thinks its a good place to buy used flashlights so's he can read at night when Granny turns off the lights.

It's mind boggling that you actually have 20 positive rep points.

 

[Dr.House]

If we're going to go around the world spouting off about how great we are, then we'd better make damn sure that our poorest citizens are not that bad off.

Define "not that bad off"....

Does it include a cell phone with data plan, flatscreen and an XBOX 360?

 

[Mr Natural]

If we're going to go around the world spouting off about how great we are, then we'd better make damn sure that our poorest citizens are not that bad off.

Define "not that bad off"....

Does it include a cell phone with data plan, flatscreen and an XBOX 360?

Pocket change.

 

[Dr.House]

If we're going to go around the world spouting off about how great we are, then we'd better make damn sure that our poorest citizens are not that bad off.

Define "not that bad off"....

Does it include a cell phone with data plan, flatscreen and an XBOX 360?

Pocket change.

So those folks aren't poor, right?

 

[Mr Natural]

Define "not that bad off"....

Does it include a cell phone with data plan, flatscreen and an XBOX 360?

Pocket change.

So those folks aren't poor, right?

Not nearly as poor as you'd like them to be.

 

[Dr.House]

Pocket change.

So those folks aren't poor, right?

Not nearly as poor as you'd like them to be.

You know nothing of my personal life...

Nice try, though....

 

[Mr Natural]

So those folks aren't poor, right?

Not nearly as poor as you'd like them to be.

You know nothing of my personal life...

Nice try, though....

I don't want to know anything of your personal life.

But thanks anyway.

 

[Dr.House]

Not nearly as poor as you'd like them to be.

You know nothing of my personal life...

Nice try, though....

I don't want to know anything of your personal life.

But thanks anyway.

Well, you pretended to...

Creepy....

 

[syrenn]

The American poor appreciate what they have more than say a rich person. They do have T.V.s, Washers and Dryers, PlayStations, DVDs, etc... But they have those by either saving their penny's, or the trusty ole lay-o-away. Once they have them they appreciate them, knowing they are not easily replaceable and keep them taken care of.

Not so.... ever see how they treat the public housing they are given?

Saving their pennies would also imply they they are working for those pennies they save... Pennies that are part of an entitlement program..... are not something they have saved.

Of course they are easily replaced.... with the same method that they were originally obtained.... abusing the system.

 

[sparky]

There are citizens who stood by this country through thick and thin, some merely ask for the social contract granted them long ago, some have asked nothing in return

you polluted people who see only with welfare queen glasses on direly need , and most likely will, walk in their shoes

~S~

 

[syrenn]

There are citizens who stood by this country through thick and thin, some merely ask for the social contract granted them long ago, some have asked nothing in return

you polluted people who see only with welfare queen glasses on direly need , and most likely will, walk in their shoes

~S~

And there are some who are born into the welfare system.... grow up in the welfare system...and are more then happy to suck off of that teat for the rest of their lives.

 

[waltky]

Ravi wrote: It's mind boggling that you actually have 20 positive rep points.

Granny says to tell ya...

... it must be `cause ever'body likes ...

... what she an Uncle Ferd gots to say.

 

[Neotrotsky]

At least Michelle understands the poor and their cell phones

 

[Againsheila]

How do the "poor" live so well in the US?

Under President Obama, government will spend more on welfare in a single year than President George W. Bush spent on the war in Iraq during his entire presidency. According to the Congressional Research Service, the cost of the Iraq war through the end of the Bush Administration was around $622 billion. By contrast, annual federal and state means-tested welfare spending will reach $888 billion in FY 2010. Federal welfare spending alone will equal $697 billion in that year.

Indeed, Modern Poverty Includes A.C. and an Xbox

Data from the Department of Energy and other agencies show that the average poor family, as defined by Census officials:

● Lives in a home that is in good repair, not crowded, and equipped with air conditioning, clothes washer and dryer, and cable or satellite TV service.

● Prepares meals in a kitchen with a refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave as well as oven and stove.

● Enjoys two color TVs, a DVD player, VCR and — if children are there — an Xbox, PlayStation, or other video game system.

● Had enough money in the past year to meet essential needs, including adequate food and medical care.​

We don't have cable or a/c and we're not poor. There's got to be something wrong with these figures. I know a lot of poor people without cable or a/c. Yeah, some have more than one tv, tvs they got for free as those with money upgraded to the flat panel tvs. Hand me down vhs players and tapes shouldn't count against them.

Video games system are old now too, many poor have old game systems other people got rid of....I can see it now..."I'm buying a new tv, you want my old one?" "Sorry I can't, they'll take away my foodstamps."

 

[sitarro]

At least Michelle understands the poor and their cell phones

I wonder if he got a shot of her 600 dollar "designer" purple tennis shoes.

 

[Neotrotsky]

At least Michelle understands the poor and their cell phones

I wonder if he got a shot of her 600 dollar "designer" purple tennis shoes.

ouch!

 

[Stashman]

The American poor appreciate what they have more than say a rich person. They do have T.V.s, Washers and Dryers, PlayStations, DVDs, etc... But they have those by either saving their penny's, or the trusty ole lay-o-away. Once they have them they appreciate them, knowing they are not easily replaceable and keep them taken care of.

Not so.... ever see how they treat the public housing they are given?

Saving their pennies would also imply they they are working for those pennies they save... Pennies that are part of an entitlement program..... are not something they have saved.

Of course they are easily replaced.... with the same method that they were originally obtained.... abusing the system.

I agree and there are some that do abuse the system. But don't doctors charge medicare 3x more than there normal price? Doesn't big pharma charge up too 20 bucks for a damn aspirin while you are in a hospital. My dad received a power wheel chair from a company which contracts out to medicare recipients and medicare was billed $5500.00. This same chair if you were to walk into that company and purchase it with cash would cost $1500.00.
Why is there not talk about these issues, which far outweigh the maybe 20 percent that get gov. checks yet do not deserve them?

BTW, the poor make up our countries largest work force, which means they as a collective pay more taxes than anyone. If you are able to work than you are not eligible to receive a Government check. It's that simple. So your theory how all poor get entitlements is not so.

 

[Harry Dresden]

The difference between the rich and the poor is that the poor work harder, make less, have real grassroots morals and values, and all of this and statistics show they are the happiest.

Half of everything the rich own they own because their neighbors have it. So they go through life trying to impress and keep up with the Jone's. They hold way more debt than the poor, and are usually the most miserable folks I've met. They whine the most. In fact they whine and cry so much that it was the nations poor that bailed them out.

You will never have the moral fiber of the poor.

lots of non-poor people work pretty dam hard too........and the things they buy they appreciate too....

 

[Againsheila]

The American poor appreciate what they have more than say a rich person. They do have T.V.s, Washers and Dryers, PlayStations, DVDs, etc... But they have those by either saving their penny's, or the trusty ole lay-o-away. Once they have them they appreciate them, knowing they are not easily replaceable and keep them taken care of.

Not so.... ever see how they treat the public housing they are given?

Saving their pennies would also imply they they are working for those pennies they save... Pennies that are part of an entitlement program..... are not something they have saved.

Of course they are easily replaced.... with the same method that they were originally obtained.... abusing the system.

I agree and there are some that do abuse the system. But don't doctors charge medicare 3x more than there normal price? Doesn't big pharma charge up too 20 bucks for a damn aspirin while you are in a hospital. My dad received a power wheel chair from a company which contracts out to medicare recipients and medicare was billed $5500.00. This same chair if you were to walk into that company and purchase it with cash would cost $1500.00.
Why is there not talk about these issues, which far outweigh the maybe 20 percent that get gov. checks yet do not deserve them?

BTW, the poor make up our countries largest work force, which means they as a collective pay more taxes than anyone. If you are able to work than you are not eligible to receive a Government check. It's that simple. So your theory how all poor get entitlements is not so.

When my youngest son <low functioning autism> was in school, they wanted to know why he didn't get medicaid <so they could charge the state for his speech therapy>. I said we didn't qualify. They said they know doctors who get it for their kids, how is it we don't qualify? I pointed out that they LIE, we don't. Yeah, doctors lie, they put their assets in trust funds so their special needs kids can get all kinds of help that my kids didn't. You need money to pay a lawyer for that stuff.

So called "entitlements" are not just for the "poor".

 

[Neotrotsky]

Ravi wrote: It's mind boggling that you actually have 20 positive rep points.

Granny says to tell ya...

... it must be `cause ever'body likes ...

... what she an Uncle Ferd gots to say.

Interesting