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August 30, 2007
Poverty In The U.S.
Apparently, it isn't what it used to be:
Five years into a national economic recovery, the share of Americans living in poverty finally dropped.The nation's poverty rate was 12.3 percent in 2006, down from 12.6 percent a year before, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Median household income increased slightly, to $48,200.
And it would seem, it isn't exactly everything the New York Times cracked it up to be last week, either; but then the Times' analysis was (as I commented last week, though that may well have been in an offline conversation) based on average rather than median income.
Even more interesting is the standard by which we define poverty in America:
The following are facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau, taken from a variety of government reports:46 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.
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
Only six percent of poor households are overcrowded; two thirds have more than two rooms per person.
The typical 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; 31 percent own two or more cars.
97 percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
78 percent have a VCR or DVD player.
62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
89 percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a more than 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, super-nourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and ten pounds heavier than the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.
While the poor are generally well-nourished, some poor families do experience temporary food shortages. But, even this condition is relatively rare; 89 percent of the poor report their families have “enough” food to eat, while only two percent say they “often” do not have enough to eat.
Christ, that political satirist, was said to have quipped, "The poor will always be with us".
He wasn't kidding.
Posted by Cassandra at August 30, 2007 07:46 AM
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Comments
By keeping segments of the population in an ever present state of hostility and resentment towards their lot and station in life, are you able to create revolutionary forces to destabilize a country and make what was before simply hostility and resentment, to the true collapse of civilization and services.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 30, 2007 10:12 AM
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 08/30/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Posted by: David M at August 30, 2007 01:02 PM
So, outdoor plumbing is no longer a benchmark for poverty? I am encouraged.
We have a food storage system that has stood us in good stead during some lean times. Even so, I still rotate whole grains into our diets simply because bread made with whole grains
is better for you and you don't need to eat as much of it to feel full as you do the white bread.
Dang the Shrub! I would also add consumer debt to that factor: How much of a percentage of those households had credit card debt? I am not talking about the house, since very few people can own a house without debt. Unless your income is truly your own, you are not wealthy.
Posted by: Cricket at August 30, 2007 02:10 PM
I am in a state of hostility and resentment, and am ready for a revolution.
My credit card balance is too high, and I blame this on John Edwards' conspicuous consumption of SUV's and private jets, his 28,000 sq. ft house, and his over-priced hair cuts.
And another thing.......
Posted by: Ranting Brouhaha at August 30, 2007 03:02 PM
Is over nourished the same as 'fat?'
Don, I will join your revolution and raise you
a coup d'etat. I don't know how to spell French, but hey, I'm game. I speak for Mdme Le Farge's role.
Posted by: Cricket at August 30, 2007 03:36 PM
Over nourished? The peasants are eating cake, that's it! Off with their heads!
Posted by: MaiOui Antoinette at August 30, 2007 03:37 PM
The flip side to that -- and, for a change, I'm not being flip -- is that Americans, with very few exceptions, haven't the slightest clue as to how well off they really are.
That's not an original observation, nor is it an uncommon one.
But it bears pondering...
Posted by: BillT at August 30, 2007 04:43 PM
Did you see that there is an update to the Newsbusters article? The NYT writer responded....
Posted by: Sly2017 at August 30, 2007 07:23 PM
Everything is relative, Bill. In this sense, the perception of having less is encouraged by Hollywood actors, obscenely rich blokes like Moore producing propaganda, and various other media apparatuses.
Only such things as Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom could start to contribute to the common American man experience of relative wealth, and even there it is blocked by lack of multicultural awareness Which is true even more for the Left than the common volks.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 30, 2007 07:56 PM
Yeah, we are so freakin' well off we need government health care. If our poverty level is still higher than that of supposedly developed nations or superpower wannabes, then why do we have to atone for that by having socialized medicine? Why must the misery and mediocrity be spread around?
Posted by: MaiOui Antoinette at August 30, 2007 09:03 PM
Heh. I do NOT..
--own my home
--have air conditioning
--have two rooms per person
--own more than one (old) TV
--have cable/satellite TV
--own an automatic dishwasher
--own a fancy stereo (have small desktop version)
Supposedly, I do not fall below the poverty line, haha! Though, lately I've been wondering if I qualify for food stamps. :P
Posted by: FbL at August 31, 2007 02:39 AM
Though, lately I've been wondering if I qualify for food stamps.
They're not too bad as long as you use two changes of water. I recommend a '98 sauvignon blanc as an accompaniment, although any Wednesday muscatel works, too...
Posted by: BillT at August 31, 2007 10:57 AM