Americans who are defined by our government as living in poverty enjoy material wealth that, if they had been born in many other nations, would put them solidly in the middle class.
- Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
- Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
- Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
- The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
- Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
- Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
- Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
- Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.
Source: Understanding Poverty in America
What sort of moral obligation, if any, do American taxpayers have to financially support people who have shelter, food, and access to medical care and many of whom have a number of the luxury items in the list above?
Most of those individuals defined as poor are neither physically or mentally handicapped. What do I, as a productive citizen, owe them? What am I getting back in return for my tax dollar “investment.”
In my opinion, the real poverty crisis in America is not nutritional or financial. America’s real problem with poverty centers on the minds of Americans. What are we teaching our children in America’s public school system? Do we teach them appropriate moral values? I don’t think so. Do we teach them sound personal financial management principles? I haven’t seen it. Do we teach them basic economics? Not really, from what I can tell. Do we teach them to be responsible, civically minded citizens? I am dubious.
What we do seem to be teaching our children is that they live in a culture where individual responsibility is dead and the culture of entitlement is their birthright. We’re inculcuating the idea of the state as nanny, caregiver and overlord. We’re pursuing mantras of materialism, hedonism and the herd mentality.
People used to say “God helps those who help themselves.” Today, we think in terms of government cheese. Americans who work hard, start a business or achieve anything tangible are punished by government agencies who interfere, regulate, tax and attempt to micromanage their activities.
Got a problem? The taxpayers will fix it for you, with a little help from your nearest powermongering corrupt politician and a few dollars taken from the most productive members of society. It’s no wonder that American achievers increasingly hide their money offshore or develop elaborate schemes to hide their true wealth.
America has more than enough food to feed itself, as evidenced by the obesity epidemic. Yet our nation is neatly mentally bankrupt. Americans are increasingly lazy, ignorant and apathetic. 34% of us are overweight. We’ve been at war for three years now, and two-thirds of young American adults still do not know where Iraq is on the map. As a nation, we are financially irresponsible in the extreme.
The poverty I worry most about is mental poverty. Without a rich mind, a human being will not prosper, unless propped up by others. We are failing to demand from our citizens that they use their minds. Instead, we are telling them that the government (read productive taxpayers) will take care of them from birth to death. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Go read John Stossel’s Stupid in America. Start worrying. Dont’ forget to thank a government bureaucrat near you for fostering the culture of dependence we live in. Thank your neighbor who continually re-elects the politicians who promise the biggest income redistribution schemes. Thank the Republicans for paying lip service to ideas about smaller government while they grow it larger. Thank the Democrats for insisting that government is the solution to every problem no matter how big or small it may be.