[tomder55]

What gets me Tal is that if they identified the same level of poverty in a third world country they would be looking to exploit it, but when it is at home it can be ignored

more BS ;over a third of the nation gets means tested government assistance. I'd say we are overly generous because most American poor do not live in conditions that the world would identify as "poor".

The poorest Americans today live a better life than all but the richest persons a hundred years ago.” In 2005, the typical household defined as poor by the government had a car and air conditioning. For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children, especially boys, in the home, the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or a PlayStation.In the kitchen, the household had a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.

The home of the typical poor family was not overcrowded and was in good repair. In fact, the typical poor American had more living space than the average European. The typical poor American family was also able to obtain medical care when needed. By its own report, the typical family was not hungry and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs.
Poor families certainly struggle to make ends meet, but in most cases, they are struggling to pay for air conditioning and the cable TV bill as well as to put food on the table. Their living standards are far different from the images of dire deprivation promoted by activists and the mainstream media.

Regrettably, annual Census reports not only exaggerate current poverty, but also suggest that the number of poor persons[5] and their living conditions have remained virtually unchanged for four decades or more. In reality, the living conditions of poor Americans have shown significant improvement over time.

What is Poverty in the United States: Air Conditioning, Cable TV and an Xbox

[excon]

Hello again, Steve:

That would be really interesting to see you prove with more than rhetoric

I'm not sure what we're missing here...

The OBVIOUS proof in what I said, is that the MAJORITY of those congresspeople we were talking about, PASSED the law. That means, WE, the people, SPOKE. Whether you like it or not, you're PART of WE the people.

Now, I know you FLAP your gums about what "we" want, but you learn what "we" want from the likes of Rush Limprod. I learn about what WE the PEOPLE want by watching ELECTIONS.

excon

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

I'd say we are overly generous because most American poor do not live in conditions that the world would identify as "poor".

At least you ADMIT that you're NOT willing to help our poor, until they get as poor as the poorest people in the world... How RICH we are as a country, has NOTHING whatever, to do with your calculation.

Kudos to you.

excon

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, Steve:
I'm not sure what we're missing here...

The OBVIOUS proof in what I said, is that the MAJORITY of those congresspeople we were talking about, PASSED the law. That means, WE, the people, SPOKE. Whether you like it or not, you're PART of WE the people.

Now, I know you FLAP your gums about what "we" want, but you learn what "we" want from the likes of Rush Limprod. I learn about what WE the PEOPLE want by watching ELECTIONS.

excon

Just because they won doesn't mean they did what their particular constituents wanted.

P.S. You know you're using the exact same argument to both your point an disprove mine. The majority of "we the people" elected Democrats AND said no to Obamacare.

[tomder55]

Hello again, tom:
At least you ADMIT that you're NOT willing to help our poor, until they get as poor as the poorest people in the world... How RICH we are as a country, has NOTHING whatever, to do with your calculation.

Kudos to you.

excon

Oh I'm very willing to help the truely needy. I just don't want the government deciding where my charitible contributions go. And no ,I don't think that people who have to sacrifice a color TV or an X Box to pay for food necessarily need my support .

[speechlesstx]

I help the poor on a regular basis and don't take a dollar from ex and Tal to do so.

[excon]

Hello again, Steve:

I help the poor on a regular basis and don't take a dollar from ex and Tal to do so.

I do too, and if it was enough, I wouldn't support taking your dollar.

Look. I'm sure you agree with tom, that our poor just aren't quite poor enough to warrant taking your money. I'm not even sure if THAT poor would be poor enough for you.

I see you're REALLY pissed that the poor have cell phones.. Tom HATES that they have color TV's. I suppose you'd like our poor to be ragpickers before you'd help.. But, I don't even think you would then... I think it's a ideology you'll NEVER give up.. The poor are poor because they DESERVE it.

excon

[tomder55]

Perhaps if I had any faith in your solutions I'd be convinced . But I am very skeptical about government social services because they are inefficient and fraught with waste and abuse; ;they are ineffective, and detrimental to the people they allege to help. They do keep a bunch of bureaucrats and Federal workers employed who divert the funds from the people they claim to support ....and that I think is the real goal of Federal anti-poverty programs. I'd rather the money be spent in economic development initiatives in areas where the poor live .

[talaniman]

Nobody tells you how much and what charity you support. But we pay taxes for the common good as a nation, and comparing OUR poor with world third countries is absurd. Liberals think we should do better than we are, you guys think we should do nothing and crow how much better you are because you worked hard, and have more and better things.

Too bad for those that don't.

[talaniman]

Perhaps if I had any faith in your solutions I'd be convinced

Giving rich guys more money, tax breaks, and subsidies ain't exactly an efficient solution either, because that has proven to be the run for cheap labor and more profits for "job creators", going overseas to those third world countries. You call that good business, I call it exploitation.

Making more working poor here that you still have to support with tax payers money makes little sense.

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, Steve:I do too, and if it was enough, I wouldn't support taking your dollar.

Look. I'm sure you agree with tom, that our poor just aren't quite poor enough to warrant taking your money. I'm not even sure if THAT poor would be poor enough for you.

I see you're REALLY pissed that the poor have cell phones.. Tom HATES that they have color TV's. I suppose you'd like our poor to be ragpickers before you'd help.. But, I don't even think you would then... I think it's a ideology you'll NEVER give up.. The poor are poor because they DESERVE it.

excon

I'll just say being poor in America can be a pretty good job. Unless you're a poor, white, single female with no kids. Besides the crappy "health care" she gets not even $500 a month in SSI and food stamps. You live on that.

[tomder55]

[excon]

Hello again, Steve:

I'll just say being poor in America can be a pretty good job. Unless you're a poor, white, single female with no kids.

I dunno, Steve. You HAVE a living breathing example of how we treat the poor RIGHT smack dab in your own family... Yet, you SAY the poor are living a good life - except your daughter, of course.. Now, tom in NY doesn't know anyone in need, so HE can be excused for his ignorance. You can't..

excon

[speechlesstx]

The obvious, I pick up the slack and then some for where the government won't help my daughter - I don't take from you to be"fair" to her. In fact, you take even more from me that could be used to help my own family in need.

[talaniman]

The price of stuff we need to help our own is too high for me too Speech. I get a tax return, and its still not enough to take up all the slack.

[tomder55]

Hello again, Steve:
I dunno, Steve. You HAVE a living breathing example of how we treat the poor RIGHT smack dab in your own family... Yet, you SAY the poor are living a good life - except your daughter, of course.. Now, tom in NY doesn't know anyone in need, so HE can be excused for his ignorance. You can't..

excon

on the contrary . I know plenty of poor folk. Here in NY ,government policies have guaranteed that most of the state outside of the NYC area ,and the college campus towns have resided in a permanent state of poverty my whole life ,and probably since the Great Depression. What's the idiot in Albany's latest cure ?......casinos for the Catskills .CLUELESS !!! Meanwhile we sit on one of the largest shale deposits in the country. Like I said ;economic development is the answer to poverty .

[talaniman]

Agreed, safety first, with oversight and accountability.

[paraclete]

Meanwhile we sit on one of the largest shale deposits in the country. Like I said ;economic development is the answer to poverty .

You really don't want that sort of development Tom extracting oil from shale is a last ditch effort

[tomder55]

nah ,it's the oil underneath the shale I want. All it takes is an end to this fracking phobia.

[paraclete]

The phobia as you call it is real, there are problems with polluting ground water