Posted on 12/07/2014 2:24:35 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Worstall @ the Weekend The general impression we've all got is that the US is a place where the poor are simply left to starve in the gutter, unlike in soft and cuddly Europe, where we do our best to help our fellow man.
That the political mantras shouted at us to keep us coughing up to pay for these welfare states might not be wholly and entirely true should not come as all that much of a surprise. So here's your cut-out-and-keep guide to what really goes on in the American welfare state.
The first and most obvious thing is that the US is indeed more unequal than most European countries. The Gini index (100 means one person has everything, 0 means income is entirely equally distributed) is higher. Not higher than Europe as a whole, of course, but higher than most of the individual countries within the continent. This means less than you might think: the Gini for most individual US states is also higher than most EU countries, so it's not just that we're measuring more people and thus should expect more variance.
However, the Gini for market income, what people earn under their own efforts (or manage to steal through being bankers etc), isn't markedly higher. It's that the tax and benefit system has less effect – leaving the final result more unequal than over here.
Have-less, have-nots... what's the difference? This leads many to think that the US poor are therefore worse off than the European poor. If not having as much as the other people in your society makes you worse off, then this is true. But if we're talking about an absolute standard of living, this isn't quite so.
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
One added item of note from his provided information on why the U.S. Isn't rated far beyond all other listed countries for the Better Life Index. In his words:
"However, that's not really the problem with the US measurement. The main issue is that the US doesn't include most of the things it does to alleviate poverty in its measurement of poverty: and we do. So, the EITC (our working tax credits), Section 8 vouchers (housing benefit), Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps, which in reality work very like child benefit, they're very much more generous to those with children) don't get counted in measurements of US poverty."
I have heard of people not knowing they were poor until some government statistic said they were, as in a family of four is poor if they don't have a family income of at least whatever.
Another thing - we have the best dressed and best fed poor people in the world.
Interesting article. In reference to the writing style, I had forgotten how circuitous and given to allegoric embellishment the British could be in presenting their views. I kept looking for a quick wrap up, a conclusive summary if you will, but there are many, conclusions to ponder, not just one. I’ve often heard it said that what we call ‘poor’ in this country would be seen as highly privileged in most areas of the developed world.
It really depends on how you figure it.
Suppose a poor family receives $40K in medical care. All this means is that a bunch of doctors, who are in the top 10% in income, billed for their procedures at this rate. The poor family did not receive any cash income, and if they had been healthy they wouldn’t have needed any of this.
“Another thing - we have the best dressed and best fed poor people in the world. “
Why spend your money on necessities when the government taxpayer will take care of the necessities allowing them to spend their money (and the taxpayer) money on more important things like designer jeans, latest cell phone or booze
Before Obamacare, the U.S. spent a greater amount on socialized medical care, than Canada. People used to gasp in disbelief at that — but, it was true.
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bkmk
The article fails.
It alleges there is a country with a bigger social welfare system than the US. But a cursory glance (admittedly, cynwoody grows lazier with age) reveals no such country.
May God damn Progress and the Progressives!
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