Only in America are "poor people" not poor (rating, parties)
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Americans should travel to countries like India, China, Morocco, Mexico, Argentine and South Africa to see what real poverty looks like. I guess being poor isn't what it used to be back in the "good old days".
This is one of the key reasons why immigration, legal or otherwise is destroying this country. People want to come here because they know that no matter what, they will always have the government taking care of them. In fact, many people would rather immigrate here, break the laws, end up in jail, because these people would rather be in our jails than live in their own country.
Our government is way too big for our gigantic country? LOL!
As for you not caring what other countries pay in taxes, how the hell can you know if we pay too much in taxes if you have nothing to compare with? What are you comparing it with? Your own imagination?
Yes, way too big. LOL!
I don't need to compare our spending with anything or any country. It's too big by a huge margin. The feds spend 3.6 trillion. It should be less than half of that.
But if you need a comparison to feel good, here is one; 100 years ago government spending was 7% of GDP and it's now over 40%.
I don't need to compare our spending with anything or any country. It's too big by a huge margin. The feds spend 3.6 trillion. It should be less than half of that.
But if you need a comparison to feel good, here is one; 100 years ago government spending was 7% of GDP and it's now over 40%.
That's a bunch of hogwash. I don't think you know what you're talking about, honestly. However, you probably have some idea of what you'd like to see, and this is probably what you are hoping to return to:
Quote:
Indeed, by the turn of the twentieth century the "percentage of Americans defined as poor by consistent standards was as high as it ever had been or was to be" - approximately 40 percent of Americans in the year 1900.2 This early twentieth century predicament, however, was largely the result of two interrelated problems at the root of early capitalist development in America. That is, an "economy insufficiently abundant to provide subsistence for all the able-bodied, and a social order that inequitably distributed what wealth there was."3 Moreover, "there was no unemployment insurance, little public welfare, and virtually no old-age pensions." The Causes of Homelessness in America
Americans should travel to countries like India, China, Morocco, Mexico, Argentine and South Africa to see what real poverty looks like. I guess being poor isn't what it used to be back in the "good old days".
● Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
● Fully 92 percent of poor households have a microwave; two-thirds have at least one DVD player and 70 percent have a VCR.
● Nearly 75 percent have a car or truck; 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
● Four out of five poor adults assert they were never hungry at any time in the prior year due to lack of money for food.
● Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite television.
● Half have a personal computer; one in seven have two or more computers.
● More than half of poor families with children have a video game system such as Xbox or PlayStation.
● Just under half — 43 percent — have Internet access.
● A third have a widescreen plasma or LCD TV.
● One in every four has a digital video recorder such as TiVo.
● At a single point in time, only one in 70 poor persons is homeless.
● The vast majority of the houses or apartments of the poor are in good repair; only 6 percent are over-crowded.
● The average poor American has more living space than the average non-poor individual living in Sweden, France, Germany or the United Kingdom.
● Only 10 percent of the poor live in mobile homes or trailers; half live in detached single-family houses or townhouses, while 40 percent live in apartments.
● Forty-two percent of all poor households own their home; on average, it’s a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
The word "Poor" has and always will be a relative term. What's considered "poor" in a gated community of multi-million dollar homes, would be considered "rich" on the wrong side of the tracks across town.
That being said, the war aginst poverty will never be won, since there will always be relatively poor people compared to relatively rich people in any given circumstance.
One situation I'll always remember is during the time when the "fuel assistance program" started. Home hearing fuels has really spiked to an all time high level (this was I believe in the 70's). Many politicians, especially those that were more liberal, were trying to help the poor pay their high heating bills. Sounds like a worthy goal during a time of high energy costs. The program was started and continued for a number of years during which time energy prices fell to all time lows (when gas was selling for 99 cents a gallon at one point....around the mid 90's). It was during this time of all time low prices for energy when I clearly remember our Minnesota Senator, Paul Wellstone) railing on the Senate floor that the fuel assistance program was then needed more than ever before. As I recall, some were trying to eliminate or cut back the program due to energy prices being at an all time low.
Given that the purpose of the program was obviously to help those who were having trouble paying their home heating bills at a time of very rapidly rising energy costs, and now energy costs were at an all time low....I just remember thinking this was a federal program that should have been cut back or eliminated, but instead was being extended due to logic that made no sense since energy costs were at all time lows.
That was the event that helped me realize that it's always easy to start a government social program to help the poor through tough times....but even when the stated reason and logic of the original program ends.....a federal program never seems to end. Hence our federal budget problems. We keep adding programs....but we cannot seem to sunset or end anything because each and every program has a constituency that benefits from it and they of course don't want to lose the benefits they are receiving. That doesn't make them all bad people....just means they (like all of us) are practicing human nature and enjoy getting something for nothing. Same reason people play the lottery...but at least that's with their own money.
Last edited by jasper1372; 03-25-2013 at 03:42 PM..
Poor people here in this country are indeed poor, relative to other U.S. citizens/residents.
As stated above, there will always be the "poor" in our society, so we must accept that it is our social responsibility to help them as much as we can. The "poor" are not always the same people; some manage to rise out of poverty, and new people fall into poverty.
That was the event that helped me realize that it's always easy to start a government social program to help the poor through tough times....but even when the stated reason and logic of the original program ends.....a federal program never seems to end. Hence our federal budget problems. We keep adding programs....but we cannot seem to sunset or end anything because each and every program has a constituency that benefits from it and they of course don't want to lose the benefits they are receiving. That doesn't make them all bad people....just means they (like all of us) are practicing human nature and enjoy getting something for nothing. Same reason people play the lottery...but at least that's with their own money.
There are two things that government will never do voluntarily; Give up any of it's power and stop increasing taxes.
The power hungry statists know that taxes are what gives them power over the people.
Poor people here in this country are indeed poor, relative to other U.S. citizens/residents.
As stated above, there will always be the "poor" in our society, so we must accept that it is our social responsibility to help them as much as we can. The "poor" are not always the same people; some manage to rise out of poverty, and new people fall into poverty.
I agree. But the solution is not government. It's charity.
There are two things that government will never do voluntarily; Give up any of it's power and stop increasing taxes.
The power hungry statists know that taxes are what gives them power over the people.
Republicans keep saying that they hate big government, that big government is a bad thing, that big government is the root of all evil, that big government is the source of all bad things on this planet, and they repeat this as if they really believed it. Their actions are quite the opposite, however.
I have never seen Republicans try to make government smaller, and in fact, they ignore the biggest expenditures (defense, for example). I have never seen Republicans cut spending (to the contrary, they have been the ones to add the most gigantic debt). I have, however, seen Republicans fight like savages to get into government and stay there to take advantage of all the goodies - nice salary, networking and contacts to increase their wealth, wonderful health insurance, and a guaranteed future as lobbyists when they leave their government position. I have also seen Republicans use government so they can enforce religious agendas into the private lives of American citizens.
Their repetitive comment that "government is bad" is nothing but a smokescreen, thrown up constantly to hide all their sins, the bad things they actually have been doing to this country, the bad things they want to do to this country, and the things they want to take from this country.
Republicans keep saying that they hate big government, that big government is a bad thing, that big government is the root of all evil, that big government is the source of all bad things on this planet, and they repeat this as if they really believed it. Their actions are quite the opposite, however.
I have never seen Republicans try to make government smaller, and in fact, they ignore the biggest expenditures (defense, for example). I have never seen Republicans cut spending (to the contrary, they have been the ones to add the most gigantic debt). I have, however, seen Republicans fight like savages to get into government and stay there to take advantage of all the goodies - nice salary, networking and contacts to increase their wealth, wonderful health insurance, and a guaranteed future as lobbyists when they leave their government position. I have also seen Republicans use government so they can enforce religious agendas into the private lives of American citizens.
Their repetitive comment that "government is bad" is nothing but a smokescreen, thrown up constantly to hide all their sins, the bad things they actually have been doing to this country, the bad things they want to do to this country, and the things they want to take from this country.
Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not a Republican. The only thing I hate more than Republicans is Democrats.
Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not a Republican. The only thing I hate more than Republicans is Democrats.
You didn't disappoint me. Libertarians are also right wingers. I'm used to Libertarians also throwing up the same smokescreen of "big government is the root of all evil."
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