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The number of near-poor in America is exploding, too, as shown by the same census data that placed so many more people below the poverty level:
When the Census Bureau this month released a new measure of poverty, meant to better count disposable income, it began altering the portrait of national need. Perhaps the most startling differences between the old measure and the new involves data the government has not yet published, showing 51 million people with incomes less than 50 percent above the poverty line. That number of Americans is 76 percent higher than the official account, published in September. All told, that places 100 million people — one in three Americans — either in poverty or in the fretful zone just above it.
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Last edited by Ibginnie; 11-24-2011 at 05:08 PM..
Reason: copyright violation
The number of near-poor in America is exploding, too, as shown by the same census data that placed so many more people below the poverty level:
When the Census Bureau this month released a new measure of poverty, meant to better count disposable income, it began altering the portrait of national need. Perhaps the most startling differences between the old measure and the new involves data the government has not yet published, showing 51 million people with incomes less than 50 percent above the poverty line. That number of Americans is 76 percent higher than the official account, published in September. All told, that places 100 million people — one in three Americans — either in poverty or in the fretful zone just above it.
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I'm sure when you think of people in poverty, you think of people with no food, clothing and/or shelter but in fact, the US Census has a loosey-goosey way of defining poverty and only a small number are destitute.
Did you know that of the people defined as living in poverty by the Census Bureau:
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
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You might want to read the entire Heritage Foundation report from where the above comes. It's a 2011 update to their previous report. I think there is a mismatch in what the average American considers living in poverty and how the Census Bureau defines it.
Most of our poverty is being imported, we have a stampede of very poor people coming over the border and too many people don't want that stopped even though very clearly many are coming either to work for cheap wages or to take government handouts because being poor here means living very well to them.
Anyone who cares about unemployment of Americans should be rejecting the pro-NAFTA and open borders politicians.
I'm sure when you think of people in poverty, you think of people with no food, clothing and/or shelter but in fact, the US Census has a loosey-goosey way of defining poverty and only a small number are destitute.
The government's definition of poverty is for appearances to the outside world. My goodness, what would other countries think if they really knew how many people live in poverty in the US???
Me too, people don't know what poverty is in this country.
Poverty in the USA = more food stamps for more food than one should eat, free utilities, free government housing, WIC coupons, Medicaid that means all the free health care with no copays or premiums. If you want more money, simply have another baby and the extra food stamps, and government handouts pour in.
Poverty in the USA means you can afford a much larger family than a working couple.
Heritage Foundation? Give me a break. Highly partisan organizations like that have no credibility.
I find it hard to believe 42% of the poor own their own homes. Even if its true, just because you own your own home doesn't mean you're not struggling financially to pay the mortgage on that home or struggling with credit card debt, medical bills, buying food, etc. About a quarter of home mortgages are underwater for example. The more the economy worsens, the more people get laid off because their companies can't afford to employ them anymore and we'll see these stats continue to worsen and see more and more people lose their homes to foreclosure. That is the current trend. Trickle down economic policies (that are supported by both parties) has failed miserably. Give all the money to the rich and hope that some of it trickles down to everyone else is a recipe for disaster. That's not a policy its wishful thinking.
And notice that the article isn't just about the poor, but also a large number of people in the middle-class who are not actually poor but are very close to it (borderline).
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC
I'm sure when you think of people in poverty, you think of people with no food, clothing and/or shelter but in fact, the US Census has a loosey-goosey way of defining poverty and only a small number are destitute.
Did you know that of the people defined as living in poverty by the Census Bureau:
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
Nearly three-fourths have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
Two-thirds have at least one DVD player, and 70 percent have a VCR.
Half have a personal computer, and one in seven have two or more computers.
More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
43 percent have Internet access.
One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV.
One-fourth have a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo.
Over the course of a year, 4 percent of poor persons become temporarily homeless.
Only 9.5 percent of the poor live in mobile homes or trailers, 49.5 percent live in separate single-family houses or townhouses, and 40 percent live in apartments.
42 percent of poor households actually own their own homes.
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 typical non-poor person in Sweden, France, or the United Kingdom.
The vast majority of the homes or apartments of the poor are in good repair.
You might want to read the entire Heritage Foundation report from where the above comes. It's a 2011 update to their previous report. I think there is a mismatch in what the average American considers living in poverty and how the Census Bureau defines it.
Me too, people don't know what poverty is in this country.
I agree, although I'd say some people don't know what poverty is in this country. I know people in this country who are living in what is considered poverty yet they have giant flat screen TVs, X-Box 360s and PS3s, air conditioning, good food, ect. If anybody wants to see real poverty, there are almost unlimited amounts of documentaries on youtube of different countries that have absolutely terrible conditions. This is not to say that there aren't people struggling in this country, but I feel poverty here can't be compared to 3rd world and developing countries.
"The number of near-poor in America is exploding, too, "
I would say it has a lot to do with those 12 million + illegals?
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Hey, Cisco, is that you?
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