Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?

[Deberg_1990]

Fascinating..


http://www.nationalreview.com/corner...k-ken-mcintyre



When Americans think of poverty, we tend to picture people who can’t adequately shelter, clothe, and feed themselves or their families.

When the Census Bureau defines “poverty,” though, it winds up painting more than 40 million Americans — one in seven — as “poor.”

Census officials continue to grossly exaggerate the numbers of the poor, creating a false picture in the public mind of widespread material deprivation, writes Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Robert Rector in a new paper.

“Most news stories on poverty feature homeless families, people living in crumbling shacks, or lines of the downtrodden eating in soup kitchens,” Rector says. “The actual living conditions of America’s poor are far different from these images.”

Congress is tying itself in knots figuring out how to cut spending and bring down a $14 trillion national debt. Lawmakers might well take a much closer look at the nearly a trillion dollars spent each year on welfare even though many recipients aren’t what the typical American would recognize as poor and in need of government assistance.

What is poverty? Americans might well be surprised to learn from other government data that the overwhelming majority of those defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau were well-housed and adequately fed even in the recession year 2009. About 4 percent of them did temporarily become homeless.

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.

[Iowanian]

I grew up broke as shit, in the poorest county in my state. I've gone to school with duct tape holding the soles on my shoes and my glasses taped together. I was working for other people at 8-9 years old, working on the farm, working on other farms when I was 12, and started traveling in summers throwing iron and tires for an auto salvage company and have paid taxes every year since I was 14. My dad had as many as 3 jobs outside of our farm. I worked construction and odd jobs that would make most others puke to get through college and spent the first year after sleeping on a blow up mattress.


Want to know why I'm not poor now?

I guarantee you I could start today in a new city, with $500 and no job, and by the end of the week have work. By the end of the year, I won't be poor. It's because I'm not a lazy douche-bag with twisted priorities.


My area has plenty of people who are perfectly happy to sponge off of working Americans.
I'll never have respect for the lazy. I've been in the shoes of the poor, and I know what I had to do to wear the ones I have now, which are much more comfortable.

I've earned the right to have the opinion I do. I don't give a rats ass if you think so and I feel perfectly informed to hold the opinions I have.

Originally Posted by Lbedrock1

QUOTE=Iowanian;7756827]I've said for years that in the United States, being poor is "too easy".

Why go work in the heat like an idiot when you can stay home in the ac, play xbox in your govt funded home eating your taxpayer funded doritos...[/QUOT

If you truly believe that then go try it for just 6 months and then come back and report. Being poor is not easy it is hard as hell. Just be glad poor peole find some other mechanism beside murdering you and I. Never make a comment like that until you have walked in a poor persons shoes.

[CrazyPhuD]

Heh why flash mob when you can flash rob!

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I grew up broke as shit, in the poorest county in my state. I've gone to school with duct tape holding the soles on my shoes and my glasses taped together. I was working for other people at 8-9 years old, working on the farm, working on other farms when I was 12, and started traveling in summers throwing iron and tires for an auto salvage company and have paid taxes every year since I was 14. My dad had as many as 3 jobs outside of our farm. I worked construction and odd jobs that would make most others puke to get through college and spent the first year after sleeping on a blow up mattress.


Want to know why I'm not poor now?

I guarantee you I could start today in a new city, with $500 and no job, and by the end of the week have work. By the end of the year, I won't be poor. It's because I'm not a lazy douche-bag with twisted priorities.


My area has plenty of people who are perfectly happy to sponge off of working Americans.
I'll never have respect for the lazy. I've been in the shoes of the poor, and I know what I had to do to wear the ones I have now, which are much more comfortable.

I've earned the right to have the opinion I do. I don't give a rats ass if you think so and I feel perfectly informed to hold the opinions I have.

No way. Poor is like a terminal disease and nothing can be done about it except sit there and take it.

[Iowanian]

Update.

Ironically enough, the same people who were unable to assist me unloading a single box from their uhaul....have hauled a dump truck load of junk from their house to the curb each of the last 3 weeks, including one today....and one of the helpless bullfrog twins is manning a hedge trimmer as I type.

Also interesting of note, I've yet to get a wave, nod or look in the eye since I stopped mowing their yard.(another sucker is taking care of that now.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Update.

Ironically enough, the same people who were unable to assist me unloading a single box from their uhaul....have hauled a dump truck load of junk from their house to the curb each of the last 3 weeks, including one today....and one of the helpless bullfrog twins is manning a hedge trimmer as I type.

Also interesting of note, I've yet to get a wave, nod or look in the eye since I stopped mowing their yard.(another sucker is taking care of that now.

Tough Love works!

[Iowanian]

Teach a man to fish......

[Iowanian]

Continued.

So, I haven't heard from the above mentioned people since the above incident. Since then, the daughter has sat on a chair in the yard behind the old man, who must pray nightly for a quick death in his sleep, doing everything short of beating him with a cane as he works. They've hauled loads and loads of crap out, cut the bushes and briars out and in general having the place looking better than I'd guess it has in years.

So, the end of last week, I have a message on the answering machine(always introducing themselves by name, where they live and location to my home, because I'd never remember that by now).....furnace is being repaired and not working and could I bring them a heater so they won't get cold.

My first instinct is "seriously?" and then the voice on my shoulder says You can't let that old shit freeze. I've got an older electric heater I'm not using, so I take it over and say "I don't need it any longer, just keep it and use it in emergencies"....and am thanked kindly.

The next night, I get home and brideowanian is laughing in the kitchen, encouraging me to join her. She's not laughing because it's funny, she's laughing at my pending reaction to the 2 messages on the answering machine.

In short "this is your neighbor, gilbert grape's mama, wife of Mr praysfordeath, across the street. I used your heater last night and it was smelling the house up and made me so sick and I almost puked and it stunk and ......................................................................................2 minutes...................more words...and I know you said it was a gift but we don't want it and don't want to pay for getting rid of it so it's on the porch and you need to come and get it. click.

Message 2.
Hi, this is gilbert grape's mama and I called an hour ago and you still haven't come to get your heater....I tried to use it but it smoked and stunk up the house and made me so sick...I was coughing and can't breath and almost barfed and .......4 minute rant.....more words and words......and you need to come and get it............silence.....and we thank you and appreciate you tried to help.....but it made me so sick and I'm feeling terrible........but thanks.....but it made me sick, come and get it. click.


I walked over and got it, plugged it in the garage to see.....the dust was burning off of the coils. That's it.


I'll learn someday. I don't know how mr Praysfordeath will survive the winter locked up with that herd of fat, mean, nagging hens without impaling himself on a butter knife. I feel sorry for the old sonnabitch, I don't think he's ungreatful, I think he's just beaten to the ground by that mean old sow.