U.S. economy leaving record numbers in severe poverty
By Tony Pugh

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

WASHINGTON - The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen.

A McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 - half the federal poverty line - was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.

The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That's 56 percent faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy's review also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise in severely poor residents isn't confined to large urban counties but extends to suburban and rural areas.

The plight of the severely poor is a distressing sidebar to an unusual economic expansion. Worker productivity has increased dramatically since the brief recession of 2001, but wages and job growth have lagged behind. At the same time, the share of national income going to corporate profits has dwarfed the amount going to wages and salaries. That helps explain why the median household income of working-age families, adjusted for inflation, has fallen for five straight years.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/16760637.htm



Well it seems that the mantra of "lower taxes" means more money for all americans is once again shown to be a lie. Sure the Yachts are rising but the dingys seem to be sinking. If this is then end result of having the conservative party's economic plan in motion one can only hope that the liberal party comes into its own in 2008 to once again fix the damage done by the GOP....and yes that would seem to be our tradition.

Repugnacans are great believers in the mysterious and divine hand at work in the "Free Market."
Economic democratization frightens them to the core.

But your Democrat Campaigner forgot to mention how many of these people are independently wealthy, retired and living on investments, already supplimenting their wages with government handouts, or otherwise not in need of additional income, nor are they, in fact, "severely poor." It's the same deception Democrats always use in campaigning for Communist healthcare.............they count in their "statistics" those who are self-insured and don't wamt outside insurance. Democrat claims never seem to be able to survive without deception.

Reliable statistics that factor the non-working wealthy out of the poverty numbers, show America's poor to be on the same economic plane as European middle-class. Remember, this is the result of European Socialism that Liberals are committed to bringing to America.

So, you're trying to convince us that if people pay more tax, they'll have more money. How stupid do you Democrats think voters are? You'd do the nation a lot better if you'd try to stick with truth for a change. But then that would make you a Conservative.

What on earth are you blabbering about? We have nothing close to a free market in this country. America has more communist elements than capitalistic elements in its overall economy:

http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/wua11.shtml

Bush has given you at least one new entitlement program - the prescription drug benefit. Why didn't this government action help alleviate poverty????

__________________
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

LOL

If you want to see real poverty, go to a third world country. Poor people in America have color TV's, cable television, a car, a living space, central heat and air, running water, etc. The poor in America today live with more benefits than the royal families of 1,000 years ago.

One thing is certain - taxes will not bring real prosperity - but then neither will fiat currency and central banking - which both Democrats and Republicans support.

Actually, that would make you a Libertarian...

__________________
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

sarcasm



I mean this couldn't be about personal responsibility could it?

It's always Bush's fault, it I forget to pay my credit card and mortgage, it's Bush's fault,
and make no mistake, it is also Bush's responsibility to make sure I don't spend too much.



end sarcasm



It is the citizens responsibility to control their money, spend wisely, save, and pay taxes and bills.

__________________
“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

No kiddin'! I didn't say we did, did I?
The Repugnacans having been holding this absurd notion out as a truth for decades.
You don't have the sense god gave a lemon.
This program is a perfect example of the end product of an ideology that believes government is the problem. It's a mess. The government is the problem when laissez-faire Klepto-Capitalists are at the wheel.
You do realize that you are little more than a romantic anarchist, right?
It was designed to gather a few votes and make drug manufacturers and insurance companies money. It will contribute to the poverty of the community.

Your distaste for the values of individual freedom and responsibility that America was founded on is quite clear. So is your Leftist default reversion to child-like name-calling in lieu of logic. Has your void for examples of success Socialism has brought to American driven you to this anger? Maybe you should re-examine your ideals instead.

Protectionism is a Socialist value, but has been used by the US countless times in the short term interests of the US.

So the US grand capitalist country does use socialist methods.

If the market is to set the values stop using socialist methods or at least stop sprouting that the US believes in the free market.

Protectionism is a Socialist value, but has been used by the US countless times in the short term interests of the US.

You have failed to read US history. Up until WWII, heavy tariffs were imposed on ALL imports to the US. Not only did it provide nice tax and source of income to the government, it protected our industry. You don't happen to believe that Socialism is akin to Communism do you? That is a myth that has been wrong from the start.

So the US grand capitalist country does use socialist methods.

All governments have a responsibility to care for the general welfare of the people. The richest country in the world certainly should be able to provide a safety net for the bottom 5% of the people who simply are unable to earn a modest income for themselves. Unfortunately, the programs we now have to assist the poor do not use "means testing" (where someone gets a benefit only if they are truly poor). Programs like Social Security and Medicare are hugely expensive - and they are offered to virtually every person over the age of 65, rich and poor alike.

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Hobo
Charter member of 'Republicans Who Hate Bush" Club