Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The other America
Being poor isn't what it used to be.
Of course, there is something inherently collectivist in measuring poverty in terms of quintiles, rather than against an objective material standard. If the bottom fifth in Society A is both wealthier in material goods and controls a smaller percentage of Society A's total wealth than its counterpart in Society B, which society is more successful? Which society is more just? What say you?
CWCID: Glenn Reynolds.
4 Comments:
By 
, at
Wed Aug 29, 12:51:00 AM:
Notice how we had more poverty under RONALD REAGAN then we did under BILL CLINTON but of course thats the lie a day liberal left-wing news media
By , at
Wed Aug 29, 06:23:00 AM:
Glenn's 30% who do suffer true poverty, or somewhere between 11 and 12 million, undoubtedly include some big piece of those 12+ million illegals. It also includes scum who simply won't work.
I wonder how they measure the income, and whether there are estimates for "grey economy" figures (off the books) ... ?
Are US poor better off then some of the weather quintiles in many foreign countries? I'd certainly think so. Measure also the softer stuff (safety, infrastructure, etc.)
By , at
Wed Aug 29, 08:38:00 AM:
It is a shame that these figures are used to show the rest of the world how bad the US is.
Poverty is a financial definition having nothing to do with real deprivation.
The income measured does not include any government or charitable assistance.
By , at
Wed Aug 29, 08:40:00 AM:
PS:
I should also say that someone should come up with a real definition of deprivation. The defintion should include access to food and shelter first followed by social needs.
