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I just wanted to share the link below concerning the American poor. Based on my travels to countries such as China, Brazil, India, I would have to agree with the commentary below.
GOPUSA » Commentary » Sherline: Poverty Hype
Mr. Rector also observed, "Many of the popular conceptions about poverty in this nation are inaccurate, particularly the image of poverty as a static and unyielding condition………..We have not only triumphed over poverty as it was historically understood, but that triumph has been so great that we have difficulty remembering what it meant to be poor or even to be middle class in earlier generations." His study concluded:
Today the typical American, defined as poor by the government, has a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer, a car, air conditioning, a VCR, a microwave, a stereo, and a color TV. He is able to obtain medical care and his home is in good repair and is not over-crowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and in the last year he had sufficient funds to meet his essential needs. While this individual’s life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of poverty conveyed by politicians, the press, and activists.
The above text is taken from the the article linked above. I think the problem is that Americans have become use to the idea that they are entitled to own “things” that it is no-longer acceptable to earn what you want, that someone, anyone including the Federal Government should provide all the comforts that we enjoy.
The poor are not truly that poor, compared to the poor of the world. Now some will say, stop comparing our American poor to the worlds poor, this is America. And I agree, but I would have to say we should use that for all of Americas concerns.
Stop comparing our education to the worlds education, stop comparing our healthcare to the worlds, stop comparing our national securities issues with the worlds.
If the standard of the poor does not apply to America, than why should anything else?
Yes we have poor in America, and yes, it is inexcusable in a country as blessed as ours. But lets be honest about what poor truly is. I mean really, do a poor person really have cable TV, internet access and cell phones? Really, they have food on the table and, as we all know, the American poor have comforts that many of the worlds middle class do not enjoy. Lets look at the issue of the poor in a light of truth. Lets set our resources on the true poor, not the “marketable” poor.
America has made an industry out of the poor, only in America can the poor purchase a house, only in American can the poor purchase a new car. Come on think about it… Are they truly poor, or are they just upper lower class or lower middle class?
This election, we as Americans, have a fundamental choice to make. Do we continue down the road of the nanny state or do we take back our country, and return responsibility back to her citizens, like it should be. Do we continue to “entitle” people to prosperity or do we allow them to define there own path, to work for and to achieve or fail at prosperity?
Do we allow the American poor to be used for political gain or do we truly lift up the poor by offering them a hand up, not a hand out. America is a country of opportunities, not a country of redistribution. The ability of every American to archive or fail is the same. America protects the rights of each and every American to pursue happiness, it does not and should not guarantee happiness. The American poor have the opportunity to education and healthcare (despite what the Obama administration would have you think) they have the ability to reach for the stars like any other American. Sure, some will make good and others will not, but the same can be said for America’s rich. The ability to fail is also guaranteed in America, failure is part of life, as is success.
If America is as poor, be it monetary or fairness, as our politicians would have us believe, than why do millions still flock to this country, why do we not see a mass exodus? Why don’t the American people pack up and leave America for a better life, a life were it is more fair to the poor and more opportunities are provided. Basically because there is no other place to go. America, with all of her issues, is still the beacon of freedom and opportunity, despite the rhetoric of Mr. and Mrs. Obama, I am and always have been proud of my country and the opportunities she offers to all.
The American poor, the truly poor, deserve our help, but we must define the poor in the light of truth, not in the light of votes!
Just something to think about….
God Bless
Paul
An American Point of View 