Why are people in America poor?
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The average "poor" person, as defined by the government, has a living standard far higher than the public imagines. The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:
Forty-three 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.
Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
Only 6 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 averagecitizens 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.
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.
Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.
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.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2007/08/How-Poor-Are-Americas-Poor-Examining-the-Plague-of-Poverty-in-America
Mostly because they do not have the drive to work their way out of poverty due to entitlement programs designed to keep them poor but in the staples. I was born in the very poorest county in the United States, and I just retired at 63. I am far from rich, I am comfortable, and satisfied, my mortgage is paid for, so is my land, I have rental properties and what I got from the business, and a few other things,and yes I also receive a service connected disability which I earned, but I continued to work , raised 7 children and if I can do it , anyone can
Much poverty that does exist in the United States can be reduced, particularly among children. There are two main reasons that American children are poor: Their parents don’t work much, and their fathers are absent from the home.
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A poor American is richer than 2/3 of the rest the world…LMAO
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The devil is always in the details isn’t it?
I always get a kick out of American’s claiming poverty and remembering the places I have been where poverty was a true crisis. Where people slept on dirt floors and ate two or three times per week.
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They really need to start throwing assets into that mix. I had a client that made 0—actually a loss. He structured his income that way yet had his house paid off, cars paid off, rentals paid off…
It would be hilarious if that dude decided to apply for Social Assistance. I mean, let’s be fair. The guy makes no money!
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If you take into account clothing subsidies, housing subsidies, utility subsidies, food subsidies, none of which are counted as income by those who live on social programs, their income is far higher than their assistance payments would indicate.
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I’ve heard two good answers to that question.
1. The rich get richer because they keep doing the things that make them rich. And the poor stay poor by doing the things that made them poor.
2. We could eliminate a large percentage of the poor with they would, finish high school, wait till after marriage to have kids, and dont abuse drugs and alcohol.
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Mostly because they do not have the drive to work their way out of poverty due to entitlement programs designed to keep them poor but in the staples. I was born in the very poorest county in the United States, and I just retired at 63. I am far from rich, I am comfortable, and satisfied, my mortgage is paid for, so is my land, I have rental properties and what I got from the business, and a few other things,and yes I also receive a service connected disability which I earned, but I continued to work , raised 7 children and if I can do it , anyone can
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May God Bless you and keep us all safe from the progressive axis of evil,0bama,Pel0si&Reid
There are many reasons why Americans are poor. But, in reality, if you were to compare the poorest American to any third-world human being, the American would be relatively RICH! I’ve been intrigued by the literary contributions by African-Americans who have been poor, or have been raised in a very poor household, and have risen above by applying themselves to the opportunities that the United States of America offers.
Thomas Sowell, Star Parker, Walter E. Williams, Clarance Thomas (to name a few)… all these people have been through a lot of poverty, but have found a place where their hard work ethic has given them a means to fulfill their dreams.
Government policies which try to "help the poor" have so many unintended devastating consequences, that the war on poverty will have no end game, as long as the government tries to be the "big daddy" on the Washington D.C. Plantation. Government entitlements and policies have encouraged single motherhood which most effectively perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The greatest percentage of poverty is found in female-headed households. Over 70 percent of female-headed households are poor. If a married couple both working at the minimum wage had no children, they would not be poor; if they had two children, they wouldn’t be living in the lap of luxury, but neither would they be below the poverty threshold. Fathers have been replaced by a government welfare check.
Another leading cause of poverty is drug use and abuse. The government treats drug users as if they had a disease like the asthma. The government says it’s not their fault…give them clean needles.
Our Government social workers think that addiction to any substance must just sort of happen to people as if they don’t have any choice in the matter. It’s like you’re walking down the street and BAM! …you’re struck with drug addiction. Drug-users tend not to be very productive. They drop out of school, abandon their families, have scrapes with the law and don’t hold down jobs. Would anybody be surprised that poverty is one result of drug usage…
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bwlobo
http://townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2003/02/19/poverty_in_america
Your numbers are wrong. 14k/yr is considered poverty in US. You cannot pay rent and bills, let alone a mortgage on $14,000.
People are poor because a system has been created by the rich to keep people poor through legislation and artificial competition.
I agree that social programs are a little excessive, however, without them the poor would pillage the rich. You need the poor for war – workers and soldiers.
The new health care bill is going to medicate the poor and shrinking middle class into complacency.
Want to get rid of poverty? Stop slavery as it still exists with debt; and I’m not talking about credit cards – I’m talking about the citations YOUR city hands out, sometimes illegally, for which they collect money on directly as fines, selling debt bundles, or taking loans out on the "debt" as an asset.
I already know you are going to choose the answer that best suits your agenda as a Republican/Conservative news rag.
Readers – don’t believe the hype
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http://www.ScrubMoney.com