Comments about ‘Counting the poor in America proves difficult, controversial’

When I see photo's like this poor guy with the sign my heart aches. It is one thing to look down your nose at the drug using, dirty, single homeless guy that lives off welfare and has no desire to do an honest days work. It is quite another to get caught in the economic washing machine that we see today and find your self out of work with a family to provide for and the only jobs available are quickly soaked up by illegal Hispanics. What do you do? Where do you go? The holidays are a horrible time of year - depressing and cold and there should be some sort of safety net for families to fall into. I am a believer in conservative politics but I am also a Christian and I find it really hard to simply ignore these people as I prepare for the holidays with my turkey and presents. Donating to the food bank is great - both food and clothes but this is only a band aide to a festering problem in America. Perhaps its to resurrect the Civilian Conservation Corp again or something like it. Something has to change for sure.

"Inaccurate as the old measure was, the new measure is much worse," Rector wrote. "It will ensure 'poverty' can't be alleviated except by extreme income leveling."

The only way to measure poverty is by measuring one's income vs the cost of necessity only living.

Then the only way to measure the responsibility or blame... or rather "Who get's credit for the current situation" is to view those then classified as poor, then measure how capable one may get out of that poverty vs how functionally or dis-functionally they are choosing to raise above that situation.

This is how the LDS welfare system works. It does not help those who can help themselves but choose not to. It only helps raise people to financial stability who are not capable themselves. And it does not do so without requiring service for others in return for others helping you.

I suggest that this false and quasi-communist measurement relies on willing ignorance to such data. One cannot ignore someone choosing to be poor, in order to claim that the fault belongs to 'the system' or others in that system. It essentially says "I blame you for my choices!"

*'Study: Rich get a lot richer, outpace middle class' - By Andrew Taylor - AP - 10/26/11

' It finds that after-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households almost tripled, up 275 percent, from 1979 to 2007.'

Fortunately since the federal government involved itself in food stamps, there is no reason for people to be hungry in America. This includes hungry children.
Had charity been enough, the federal government wouldn't have gotten involved, but charity wasn't enough.

If we adopt the tea party platform of no government involvement, we will once again have hungry children and adults in America.

cjb

Now that government has gotten involved we will all be poor together. "steal from the rich to feed the poor until there are no rich no more."

When the middle class diminishes the whole world suffers. That includes our poor. The reason for all the poor people are the little creepy dudes in Washington. They have sold their souls for money and in turn have ruined the middle class. We can't take care of the worlds poor and lose our jobs both outside of the country and lose our jobs to those that have illegally entered the country and expect to stay strong. All that has happened is that we have no where to turn anymore. We are out of time and out of jobs to support ourselves. The middle class of America are the most giving of all nations. You can't give what you have lost. Now they will pick on the rich until there are only a few left holding the worlds riches. When that happens we will be like China.
Hang on to your hats and share what you have. The middle class has not sold it soul. Just those who sit in power.

Decades ago, when I needed to be on food stamps, I still spent more than they were worth on food to give my kids a healthful diet, even with free school meals, and even without always eating myself. Why? Because the right kind of real, healthful food cost more even then. I can't speak for anyone else. But what was also true is, there is more to what goes on than what people on the outside looking in thing there is. If it were all that easy, few would ever be there. A whole lot of people today, if they were honest with you, and you promised not to quote them, who have fallen a few rungs down the ladder to food stamps and assistance--and maybe been there for awhile--would tell you that what they used to think isn't the way it is in real life. I'm sure that's why homelessness doesn't seem to carry the stigma it did before some of the homeless had good jobs and nice houses in the not-so-distant past, and someone to blame for losing them.

mention 'charity', and the rich become either 'attentive' or 'offensive'. it is more often treated as a poisonous concept, as they are committed to having 'the best, the most, the biggest' and charity requires them to slow toward their glorious golden throne of financial security. the concept that people 'deserve to suffer' for merely desiring much less, justifies their lack of compassion. wealthy people may appear generous, once they have secured their disproportionate share of land, money, children, home, vehicles or even political position.

even being there, in the sewers of society, those people fail to learn the basic human needs, as they tear life away from those others who use less cruel and sadistic methods than they. it is their basal instinct to deny others fairness and satisfaction, to gain their own oppressive power over those with less.

communism (considered a poison?) was meant to even the shares among entire people, but failed as those same few, with extreme desire, corrupted and destroyed others to gain the same wealth and power as capitalist hoarders do.

not much is changed, despite the cultures..

The 99%er's will fight for you whether you support them or not. As you lick the boots of your corporate heads, people of a lot more grit than most in the country will ever dream of possessing are demanding better for you and your children and grandchildren. Go out and see how many people you run into today who vilify this group and ask them (and yourselves) what they have ever done for your country (Missions don't count) or for other Americans. The me generation and gen x stand in disbelief of what their nation is becoming, because they still can't believe that their brilliant plan of going into debt buying property and then selling it for twice it's worth, hasn't made them the rich geniuses they thought they'd be. The scariest foes of the 99% is not the corporations, it's the fools who think they are about to be invited into the 1% because they've shined their shoes for so well and for so long. Guess what? They don't want you in their club. Get used to it and when you get over crying about that fact, stand up and fight.