Clayton Cramer points out that most people classified as poor by the federal government are actually not poor at all. Most people below the federal poverty line have a living standard that is higher than most Europeans’, and higher than what Americans enjoyed in past generations. For example, 97 percent of “poor” households have a color TV. Many of them own their own home, and those that do typically have a “three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.”
My own home contains only two bedrooms and no garage. But then, I’m not “poor,” so I have to pay taxes. And all of my income is taken into account by the government, unlike the “poor,” whose food stamps, earned-income tax credits, and welfare are all ignored in classifying them as falling below the poverty line.
As a Robert Rector, an analyst at The Heritage Foundation, observes,
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.
Earlier, I wrote about the bogus “Food Stamp Challenge,” in which lawmakers pretend that it’s hard to eat on a Food Stamps budget to justify more welfare spending. I spent less on food than many food stamp recipients for years. I see people using food stamps when I shop at the Grand Mart. They would use coupons if they were really watching every penny, but they seldom use coupons. I do. I saved $10.50 on one product alone using coupons I clipped last week from free newspapers like Washington Hispanic. Maybe if food stamp users were as thrifty as I am they wouldn’t “need” food stamps.
The only Americans I have ever heard of who had difficulty getting enough to eat were fathers ordered to pay more in child support and alimony than they earned in after-tax income (based on the practice of “imputed income,” which is where a family-court judge sets support obligations based on what he thinks the father should earn, rather than what he actually earns). They weren’t deemed to be below the poverty line, because the federal government does not consider child-support obligations in determining whether someone is below the poverty line. (Incidentally, I am not divorced, and have no children by anyone other than my wife).
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The amusing thing is that here in Kansas if you’re using foodstamps and use a coupon then you pay taxes on the coupon’s value.
I read your remarks about poor that were not poor. I had four children, married to a drunk who would not work. Lived in a rented 3 bedroom apartment, worked full time making 3.50 an hour and could not get assistance. Why, I made too much money! Do not give me this where people own there home, have newer cars, if they do than they LIE. If you tell the truth, NO ONE will help. I have had my lights and water turned off, and denied help. I understand what you say but the rest, I’m just not sure.
Cable TV an envy of middle class? I have never met a middle class citizen that couldn’t afford cable TV in my life, and I’ve lived in 5 states. Poor people with nice homes? I’d give anything to own a home, and feel that it’s impossible, no matter how hard I work. I agree that many people abuse the welfare system, but that info is just plain wrong.
Poor people have a higher standard of living than most Europeans? Duh. That’s because America has a higher standard of living in general.
Higher than past generations? Of course it is! Americans used to not have indoor plumbing.
97% of households have a color tv? You can’t even find a black and white TV in a pawn shop, except maybe by chance.
Those are all moot points. Pretty much everyone has tv, a/c, a STOVE, a FRIDGE, etc. The fact is that people with a certain income are still less comfortable than those of middle class and above. Three-bedroom house, my ass. If they have it, it was inherited. You, sir, are a complete moron.
I recognize that the middle class get shafted under the tax bracket at times, but you’re still better off then the vast majority of poor. Only the highest level of people who still fit under the poverty line might be of slightly more benefit than those middle class that are barely above. That’s a very small and unfortunate percentage. And it only pays off once a year, when tax refunds come. Because of this injustice to a small amount of the population, you come here and talk about how unfair it is that poor people have a fridge and a stove? Have you ever tried to live without a fridge and/or stove? Most poor people don’t have a)land to grow food on, b)a place to hunt legally, and/or c)a gun to hunt with. What year do you live in?
And welfare is not as easy to get as all the whiny middle class citizens seem to think. My mother swallowed her pride and applied for food stamps, when she waitressed at Shoney’s. She was raising my brother and I on her own. Guess what? She didn’t qualify! We didn’t have electricity for weeks at this time (in the winter) and were eating ramen, vanilla wafers with peanut butter, or lunch meat with white bread and mayo every night for dinner. There was no breakfast or lunch.
I had a severe case of strep throat that kept me hurting bad for two months. It was so bad that I woke up with a sore throat every single day for about three years afterward. And still have frequent sore throats, more than 15 years later. When I was in the military, I had strep throat 6 times in one winter. It doesn’t even make me sick anymore. I just know to get checked for it when I have a sore throat for a week or two. Where was the health care that poor people are supposedly handed? Right now, I have a visible lump in my throat about 2/3 the size of my tonsil that could likely be cancer. Who knows? I don’t have insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid, so unless I find out, I might just have to suffer to death. Oh well, at least I’ll get that small amount of money that I had to pay for taxes back. Think it’ll cover chemo charges?
I will speak as a single parent who tries to live on what you call above actual poverty. Well sir I do not own my home, cant afford a down payment, We dont have a grage not even a shed. I live with my 3 sons. Thats 4 people on under 20,000 a year. That is less than 5,000 per person per year. There are months we eat and months the bills are paid. We cant do both. I do own a car but it is over13 years old,has a bad head, and major body damage. i can not afford the fixes.I dont go ovwer 100 miles from home for frear of breaking down.We dont take vacations. If we are lucky we camp once or twice or over the summer. When my fridge or washer goes I usually get them for free or do with out. I have tried the work thing also. They take as much as I make including health care, And what do you tell your boss when one kid is sick this week and the next the following? I dont have family like most that covers these things. I dont live with mom and dad , nobody. I do see the people you are talking of and I dont know how they do it . To me it has to be fraud. You live in public housing and drive a brand new hummer?? That is a different bird all togehter.