Poor Is Relative
This is a non-partisan article, spawned by campaign rhetoric that should be making most of us queasy, including people who build McMansions and claim they are the champions of ending “two Americas.” This is from Investors Business Daily of a week ago, and cited in The Providence Journal this week. Of people classified as “poor” by the census bureau definition:
1. 43% own their own homes, typically with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a garage.
2. 80% have air conditioning in the home.
3. 73% own a vehicle (car or truck).
4. 64% own a washing machine.
5. 57% own a dryer.
6. 97% have a color TV, and more than half the households own more than one color TV.
7. 78% own a DVD player or a VHR.
8. Over 33% own a computer.
9. They have more living space per person, on average, than ALL citizens of Europe of ALL economic strata.
10. If split off as a class, the poor households of the US would be in the top 5% of world income distribution (according to World Bank statistics).
By all means, we need to focus on lifting everyone out of poverty, providing jobs, education, and crime-free neighborhoods. But we also have to peel away the political persiflage that distorts the reality of a rising economy helping everyone.
A different, important emphasis, if anyone has the guts, ought to be on the current, obscene levels of executive pay. But that’s a difficult topic when all the candidates are rather wealthy.
© Alan Weiss 2007. All rights reserved.
