Why Do Black Conservatives Scare Liberals?

[red states rule]

Want to show some proof of these "numbers" or is it all just your personal observation, aka opinion, aka means squat?

Libs will never stop saying how rotten America is

Or, how the "poor" suffer so

Being "poor" in America is a cake walk. We have the richest "poor" in the world

 

[Dr Grump]

Being "poor" in America is a cake walk. We have the richest "poor" in the world

you have obviously never been dirt poor....

 

[insein]

you have obviously never been dirt poor....

I don't think many in this country have either. When i think of dirt poor, i think of Africa or indonesia. Where they actually live on dirt and sometimes eat dirt to survive. No one in this country has to do that. There are plenty of places to goto to get a hot meal and a warm bed to stay in for at least a temporary basis till you get yourself back together.

So in essence, we do have the richest poor class in the world.

 

[red states rule]

you have obviously never been dirt poor....

Even though libs will never admit the truth.....here it is.................
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm


Understanding Poverty in America
by Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D.
Backgrounder #1713


January 5, 2004 | Executive Summary | |



Poverty is an important and emotional issue. Last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States declaring that there were nearly 35 million poor persons living in this country in 2002, a small increase from the preceding year. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look behind these numbers--to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor.

For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. But only a small number of the 35 million persons classified as "poor" by the Census Bureau fit that description. While real material hardship certainly does occur, it is limited in scope and severity. Most of America's "poor" live in material conditions that would be judged as comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago. Today, the expenditures per person of the lowest-income one-fifth (or quintile) of households equal those of the median American household in the early 1970s, after adjusting for inflation.1

The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:

Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.
As a group, America's poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than do higher-income children and have average protein intakes 100 percent above recommended levels. Most poor children today are, in fact, supernourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier that the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.

While the poor are generally well-nourished, some poor families do experience hunger, meaning a temporary discomfort due to food shortages. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 13 percent of poor families and 2.6 percent of poor children experience hunger at some point during the year. In most cases, their hunger is short-term. Eighty-nine percent of the poor report their families have "enough" food to eat, while only 2 percent say they "often" do not have enough to eat.

Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.

Of course, the living conditions of the average poor American should not be taken as representing all the poor. There is actually a wide range in living conditions among the poor. For example, over a quarter of poor households have cell phones and telephone answering machines, but, at the other extreme, approximately one-tenth have no phone at all. While the majority of poor households do not experience significant material problems, roughly a third do experience at least one problem such as overcrowding, temporary hunger, or difficulty getting medical care.

The best news is that remaining poverty can readily be reduced further, particularly among children. There are two main reasons that American children are poor: Their parents don't work much, and fathers are absent from the home.

In good economic times or bad, the typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work during a year: That amounts to 16 hours of work per week. If work in each family were raised to 2,000 hours per year--the equivalent of one adult working 40 hours per week throughout the year--nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of official poverty.

Father absence is another major cause of child poverty. Nearly two-thirds of poor children reside in single-parent homes; each year, an additional 1.3 million children are born out of wedlock. If poor mothers married the fathers of their children, almost three-quarters would immediately be lifted out of poverty.

While work and marriage are steady ladders out of poverty, the welfare system perversely remains hostile to both. Major programs such as food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid continue to reward idleness and penalize marriage. If welfare could be turned around to encourage work and marriage, remaining poverty would drop quickly.

What Is Poverty?
For most Americans, the word "poverty" suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. For example, the "Poverty Pulse" poll taken by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in 2002 asked the general public the question: "How would you describe being poor in the U.S.?" The overwhelming majority of responses focused on homelessness, hunger or not being able to eat properly, and not being able to meet basic needs.2

But if poverty means lacking nutritious food, adequate warm housing, and clothing for a family, relatively few of the 35 million people identified as being "in poverty" by the Census Bureau could be characterized as poor.3 While material hardship does exist in the United States, it is quite restricted in scope and severity. The average "poor" person, as defined by the government, has a living standard far higher than the public imagines.

Ownership of Property and Amenities Among the Poor
Table 1 shows the ownership of property and consumer durables among poor households. The data are taken from the American Housing Survey for 2001, conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau, and the Residential Energy Consumption Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy.4



http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm

 

[jillian]

Heritage.org? lol....Well, at least you attributed the quote.

:rotflmao:

 

[CharlestonChad]

Want to show some proof of these "numbers" or is it all just your personal observation, aka opinion, aka means squat?

Well, since I didn't clip out the articles from newspapers and scan them, I can't show you proof. Sorry

 

[red states rule]

Heritage.org? lol....Well, at least you attributed the quote.

:rotflmao:

Hey little girl, the numbers come from the Census Bureau

 

[Gunny]

I don't think many in this country have either. When i think of dirt poor, i think of Africa or indonesia. Where they actually live on dirt and sometimes eat dirt to survive. No one in this country has to do that. There are plenty of places to goto to get a hot meal and a warm bed to stay in for at least a temporary basis till you get yourself back together.

So in essence, we do have the richest poor class in the world.

ITA. "Poor" in this Nation doesn't get anywhere near "poor" in a lot of third world countries. We, as a society, take a lot for granted when it comes to what we consider "basic needs."

Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to plan a trip to Kenya or ANY Southeast Asian port to get their perception straightened out.

 

[Gunny]

-No way can a blue collar worker with a kid afford to send him to private school. That's going to cost thousands a year. Impossible for a person living paycheck to paycheck. It doesn't matter how much they give up, there not going to afford paying thousands of $$$ every year. So the child is forced to go to public school. If they live in less than wealthy area, that child goes to a less than par school b/c the citizens aren't paying the big time property taxes, so the schools aren't getting the big time funding.

-Much fewer inner city kids succeed than do kids that attend private schools. I went to a highschool that was public, and one of the poorer schools in my state (which is already one of the worst states for education). 25% of my graduating class went on to higher education. About 10% went to universities and colleges. The others to tech.

-A private school about 15 miles away sent 95% of their graduating class to universities and colleges. They didn't bother to list the ones that went to tech, or are taking time off before college.


The corelation is: If you're parents have money to send you to private school, you're already at an advantage. If you're parents are not well-to-do, then good luck.

Blue collar children CAN go to private school; however, private school is not prerequisite to a college degree.

There's a lot more to that graduation rate than just the final number. Inner city kids perpetuate the lifestyle, and few parents do anything to change it. Giving handouts merely reinforces that perpetuation. Let's face it .... most people would prefer to stay in the squalor they know than face their fear of the unknown.

Your "if you can't go to private school you're screwed" mentality baffles me. Maybe public schools aren't the greatest, but they beat the Hell out of elementary-school-age children barefoot and selling seashell trinkets to tourists on Patong Beach.

It appears you think things should be "just so," and if they aren't, you're getting screwed, and the the taxpayer should pay to make it "just so." That mentality is THE main factor that perpetuates the welfare state. It isn't "What can I do for me to get ahead?" rather, it's "What can the government give me so I can skip the hard part?" And if the government doesn't give, and I have to do the "hard part" on my own, think I'll go home, crack a brew and watch TV and bitch to the old lady how I'm getting screwed.

There's a whole sub-society within our society that hasn't got a clue how to do for themselves, and your solution is just throwing handouts at it.

Can't say I agree with that.

 

[insein]

Well, since I didn't clip out the articles from newspapers and scan them, I can't show you proof. Sorry

Well since most Newspapers have online archives, i would start searching, otherwise your numbers mean about as much as the stuff you leave in the toilet.