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2005-10-28 Home Front: Culture Wars
Cut & Run, Fighting Poverty More Important Than Terrorists -- Poll
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Posted by Captain America 2005-10-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Once more. While classical or traditional poverty exists in America, the overall number is very small. What gets played is statistical poverty which activist and government bureaucrats play three card monty with to justify the redistrubtion of income [from each according to his means to each as he feels he deserves].

Most of America's "poor" live in material conditions that would be judged as comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago.
The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:
— Forty-six percent of all poor households 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 porch or patio.
— Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
— 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 average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities. (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; 30 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.
— Seventy-three percent own a microwave oven, more than half have a stereo, and 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 isn't 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, activists and politicians.
Even better news is that remaining poverty can readily be reduced, especially among children. Child poverty in the U.S. is caused largely by low levels of parental work and by the absence of fathers from the home. While work and two-parent families are the surest ladders out of poverty, the welfare system continues to reward idleness while failing to provide support to keep families in tact.

To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richards Almanac - you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
Posted by Clise Elmaith1763 2005-10-28 00:12||   2005-10-28 00:12|| Front Page Top

#2 Hell most of what is considered 'POOR' is quite 'well off' by people in most of the world.

Notice how more Hispanics were polled then whites? And more Blacks then Whites? This does not reflect the general population does it?

This 'poll' is rigged.
Posted by  CrazyFool 2005-10-28 00:40||   2005-10-28 00:40|| Front Page Top

#3 If memory serves, a report this past summer or post-summer ascribed US "poor" as the equivalent of the "middle/upper middle class" in most developed international nations, major or minor.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-10-28 02:16||   2005-10-28 02:16|| Front Page Top

#4 "The survey was conducted by telephone Oct. 14-21 among 1,035 adults nationwide — 258 whites, 268 Hispanics, 259 blacks and 250 Asians."

That's ridiculous! Whites still make up about 70 percent of US pop. while Hispanics are an esitmated 14 percent; African Americans 12.9 percent; Asians, Native Americans, and "ohers"
round out the remaining 3 percent.

In the San Fran Commie Poll, Whites consisted of 25 percent. Thus the idiotic "Poll" is skewed towards the poll-takers' apriori commitment to ideological conclusions they held before the Poll was ever constructed and implemented.
Posted by Uleating Wheagum6743 2005-10-28 08:14|| http://www.calderonswirbelwind.blogspot.com]">[http://www.calderonswirbelwind.blogspot.com]  2005-10-28 08:14|| Front Page Top

#5 Ugh! "I hate the smell of typos in the morning."

"The survey was conducted by telephone Oct. 14-21 among 1,035 adults nationwide — 258 whites, 268 Hispanics, 259 blacks and 250 Asians."

That's ridiculous! Whites still make up about 70 percent of US pop. while Hispanics are an esitmated 14 percent; African Americans 12.9 percent; Asians, Native Americans, and "others" round out the remaining 3 percent.

In the San Fran Commie Poll, Whites consisted of 25 percent. Thus the idiotic "Poll" is skewed towards the poll-takers' apriori commitment to ideological conclusions they held before the Poll was ever constructed and implemented.
Posted by Uleating Wheagum6743 2005-10-28 08:17|| http://www.calderonswirbelwind.blogspot.com]">[http://www.calderonswirbelwind.blogspot.com]  2005-10-28 08:17|| Front Page Top

#6 White or non-white doesn't matter. You just pick from certain telephone exchanges and you get a group of people who think MoveOn is right-wing.
Posted by Jackal">Jackal  2005-10-28 08:30|| home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]">[home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]  2005-10-28 08:30|| Front Page Top

#7 Hasn't the "War on Poverty" been going on for about 50 years or so? I say we need an exit strategy - it's a quagmire.
Posted by Doc8404 2005-10-28 09:16||   2005-10-28 09:16|| Front Page Top

#8 When asked, what have you done to fight poverty in your own life, 58 percent answered I try to get welfare every month.
Posted by wxjames 2005-10-28 09:25||   2005-10-28 09:25|| Front Page Top

#9 Uleating Wheagum6743

Obviously these "pollsters" consider whites to be 3/5s of a person.
Posted by Captain America 2005-10-28 10:19||   2005-10-28 10:19|| Front Page Top

#10 Is fighting terrorism optional? Nope, didn't think so.
Posted by Captain America 2005-10-28 10:20||   2005-10-28 10:20|| Front Page Top

#11 I think we're reading the article wrong. As I read it, hurricane Katrina is responsible for eliminating poverty. Seems to have been fairly effective too.
Posted by Master of Obvious 2005-10-28 10:41||   2005-10-28 10:41|| Front Page Top

#12 We have a lot of poor people in this country. You just need to raise the bar high enought, say like, $75,000 and under is poor.

I'm poor! Gimmie free money and stuff!
Posted by mmurray821 2005-10-28 11:53||   2005-10-28 11:53|| Front Page Top

#13 Yesterday I opened a book over American Civil War and the very first thing I read was: "New Orleans had never been so well administered and the streets so clean of garbage than when adminstered by the Army after its capture by the Union. Typhus who had been endemic, was eradicated"...
Posted by JFM">JFM  2005-10-28 12:40||   2005-10-28 12:40|| Front Page Top

#14 How shall we define 'poverty'? How about 'the bottom 15% of the country in income" (or accumulated wealth)? Everything is relative, you know.
Now, how shall we eliminate this poverty? If we give this 15% enough money that they are not in the bottom 15% all we have done is change WHICH 15% is the bottom. There will always be a bottom 15%.
It is not possible to 'win' the war on poverty if poverty is a relative, rather than absolute, condition. In any war situation, if winning is not possible, only a fool would fight.
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2005-10-28 13:12||   2005-10-28 13:12|| Front Page Top

#15 these kinds of polls are stupid.

Whats more important, rescuing people from floods, or educating children? Whatever you answer is an absurdity. If you say rescues, does that mean youre against funding education? If you say education, does that mean you want to leave the flood victims to die?
Posted by Liberalhawk 2005-10-28 14:38||   2005-10-28 14:38|| Front Page Top

#16 These types of polls, where the desired answer is suggested by the pollster, is defined as a push poll, and should be ignored.

That being said, poverty is a horrible blight that exists in all societies and we should fight it, with education.

Ignorance breeds poverty and vice versa.

Education is the answer, not handouts.

Welfare dependancy in America's minority communities will not end until education becomes more important than bling bling, and the highest aspirations of an entire generation move beyond being a gangsta rapper.

Two thumbs up to NBA Commissioner Stern for his new dress code enforcement.

That's just my two cents.

EP
Posted by ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2005-10-28 14:53||   2005-10-28 14:53|| Front Page Top

#17 Um, guys, this came from San Francisco. Just laugh and look for something important to read.
Posted by Secret Master 2005-10-28 21:46||   2005-10-28 21:46|| Front Page Top

23:58 CrazyFool
23:57 Zenster
23:57 JosephMendiola
23:41 Zenster
23:27 Duh
23:22 anon1
23:16 JosephMendiola
23:15 Bobby
23:14 Atomic Conspiracy
23:13 anon1
23:12 JosephMendiola
23:09 JosephMendiola
23:06 JosephMendiola
23:06 Skidmark
23:02 Bobby
22:59 Bobby
22:58 JosephMendiola
22:56 Eric Jablow
22:55 Bobby
22:53 Bobby
22:52 JosephMendiola
22:50 Bobby
22:49 H5N 1
22:49 JosephMendiola









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