These phony statistics never mention that non-cash benefits from government are not counted when they talk about income or in poverty statistics. People can be getting “free” everything - housing, food stamps, education for the kiddies, meals at school for the kiddies, free or reduced utility bills, and even a free phone - and none of that is counted. Nor is the earned income tax credit.
When you add in money made under the table and all the stuff that do-gooders collect for the “poor” - food, blankets, school supplies, fans, coats, subsidized phone and internet service ... you name it, and you get a completely different picture of income inequality.
Most poor people in the US have cars, houses, cell phones, cable TV, and other things that poor people in other countries can only dream about.
I do not believe there is anyone hungry in this country unless they are mentally ill homeless people or addicted to drugs or alchohol. The only kids who are hungry are those whose parents either neglect or abuse them or trade the family food stamps for drugs.
The people getting killed in the US are those of us in the middle who are taxed and guilted into supporting a burgeoning class of people who think the world owes them a living.
Don’t get me started! Every year at this time, our local Sunday paper features a family in need. Almost always it is a single mother with lots of kids. Where are the fathers? Why aren’t they supporting their own kids? And why do people continue to have children they know they can’t afford to feed? It’s infuriating.
I’m tired of the guilt being laid on people who support themselves and their families but who are forced to pay for the bad choices of others. Adding insult to injury is the absurd notion that responsible people somehow have to “give back” to people who never did a damn thing for them.
Must calm down now.....
In simple terms, think of "income" as what you get paid (and I'd include government handouts in this, as you indicated.
Think of "wealth" as what you have left over after you pay your bills.
In any society, there is pretty much a direct correlation between how much money you actually earn (as opposed to getting handed to you) and how much wealth you produce.