Posted on 07/29/2013 2:12:25 AM PDT by RKBA Democrat
Despite consumer confidence at a six-year high, the latest AP survey of the real America shows a stunning four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, are near poverty, or rely on welfare for at least parts of their lives amid signs of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. Hardship is particularly on the rise among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among whites about their families' economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987.
"Poverty is no longer an issue of 'them', it's an issue of 'us'," as 'the invisible poor' - lower income whites - are generally dispersed in suburbs (Appalachia, the industrial Midwest, and across America's heartland, from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma up through the Great Plains) where more than 60% of the poor are white.
More than 19 million whites fall below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four - accounting for more than 41% of the nation's destitute - nearly double the number of poor blacks and as one survey respondent noted "I think it's going to get worse."
Via AP,
Hardship is particularly on the rise among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among that racial group about their families' economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987. In the most recent AP-GfK poll, 63 percent of whites called the economy "poor."
"If you do try to go apply for a job, they're not hiring people, and they're not paying that much to even go to work," she said. Children, she said, have "nothing better to do than to get on drugs."
Economic insecurity among whites also is more pervasive than is shown in government data, engulfing more than 76 percent of white adults by the time they turn 60, according to a new economic gauge being published next year by the Oxford University Press.
"It's time that America comes to understand that many of the nation's biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position," said William Julius Wilson, a Harvard professor who specializes in race and poverty.
"There is the real possibility that white alienation will increase if steps are not taken to highlight and address inequality on a broad front,"
"Poverty is no longer an issue of 'them', it's an issue of 'us'," says Mark Rank, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who calculated the numbers.
Among the findings:
For the first time since 1975, the number of white single-mother households who were living in poverty with children surpassed or equaled black ones in the past decade, spurred by job losses and faster rates of out-of-wedlock births among whites. White single-mother families in poverty stood at nearly 1.5 million in 2011, comparable to the number for blacks. Hispanic single-mother families in poverty trailed at 1.2 million.
The share of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods — those with poverty rates of 30 percent or more — has increased to 1 in 10, putting them at higher risk of teen pregnancy or dropping out of school. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 17 percent of the child population in such neighborhoods, up from 13 percent in 2000, even though the overall proportion of white children in the U.S. has been declining.
The share of black children in high-poverty neighborhoods dropped sharply, from 43 percent to 37 percent, while the share of Latino children ticked higher, from 38 to 39 percent.
Going back to the 1980s, never have whites been so pessimistic about their futures.
All this despite Jack Lew's insistence on this morning's Meet The Press that this recovery is 'not anemic', six year highs in consumer confidence, and all-time-highs in US equity markets.
Perhaps it is worth reiterating the question that Rick Santelli asked before?
I wonder how many “households” in the United States had zero real earned income last year. I would think that’s the percentage of the population that is growing the fastest and tipping the scales.
The question for conservatives is even if we regained full control of the government what would you do with them?
I think my area of the country if fairly representative of most of the country outside the huge urban areas. Nobody is starving around here. The unemployment rate is about 6%. The great majority of Americans are living good. Not even an economically-challenged, socialist boob like Obama can make things deteriorate that fast. People have to use common sense when reading these articles. It's from the AP. They're trying to indict capitalism not Obama.
I think this article is mostly nonsense and misrepresentation. I grew up in a neighborhood of white trash, and drunken Indians. That was my impression of what life was like, and that was in the 60s and 70s. My parents were sober hard working people and we eventually were able to move the heck away from there and I began to see a more prosperous way of life. No more welfare bums, and drunks living off dog good so they could afford their whiskey.
There are pockets of self induced poverty everywhere. The worst thing Obama and company have done is destroy hope, and that is one point I can agree with the author on. We must rid the nation of this lawless cabal of corrupt politicians and return to the rule of law and the Constitution. It is take back time, and we need to get damn serious.
That would be “dog food.” Alpo is not bad if you are in bind, but stay away from Ol’Roy.
That’s right. The article says “at some point in their life”. I’m quite wealthy these days but a long time ago I was extremely poor, that was my college years. I even went hungry once in a while but you wouldn’t think it to see me now! Lot’s of us have been poor at some point but we work hard and overcome.
If someone wants to make the claim that there is more financial distress hidden amongst the shopping malls, the walmarts and the strip malls then we generally think there is - then sure - I’m in agreement.
But anyone with eyes can see that 80% isn’t even coming close to the number that are in trouble - I don’t know what that number is but it’s not 80%.
80% of poor households are headed by a woman who had her first baby in her teens and is a HS drop out. What's the solution? Adoption and automatic birth control.
Why on earth would we let a dumb teen keep her baby and get welfare for it? No GED, no welfare, but we'll let you adopt and place $5000 in a fund for your use once you get your GED and turn 18, of course you have to take birth control, the 5 year norplant or IUD.
I recently travelled to rural MO, and I was completely appalled. There are entire counties where the vast majority of people are on the dole and live in poverty. The poverty is not simply economic, though that is bad; the real poverty is spiritual and cultural. Welfare has turned all the people into government wards.
The largest buildings in the towns were courthouses and jails where a significant percentage the local population is run through in turnstile fashion: ignorant people being railroaded on petty charges to return revenue to the counties—and the majority of them were white.
I drove for hours trying to find a hotel and ran across an old AF base. I pulled turned in, thinking that I could stay at billeting, but the place was deserted. It must have been BRAC’ed in the 80-90s, and the entire place was literally falling apart. There were also a large number of commercial aircraft parked on the decaying tarmac.
I have travelled in some “interesting” places over my life, but I rarely felt the lack of a sidearm more acutely than when I took a wrong turn trying to find a sandwich shop—last time I travel without my pistol. I thought I was caught up in a twilight zone episode or lost somewhere in the third world. It was completely sickening!
I was at our local Walmart the other day, waiting in the lot for someone. Twenty minutes or so. Many people went in and out. At least half were grossly overweight. I don't mean hefty, chunky, stout...I mean whales. And since I also shop there frequently I can vouch for the popularity of EBT and WIC benefits.
And by the way, WIC program still uses paper checks of some sort, and these checks have specific items for which they are vouchers. Specific quantities and weights for the items. Rarely do I get behind a WIC purchase at which the purchaser hasn't made an error in selection. These people can't read/comprehend well at all. Pardon the rant.
We’re all Detroiters now...
Wait until the dollar loses reserve status, we’ll all be wheeling barrels of dollars around looking for something of value to buy with them.
I've been behind WICs-ers a lot. They give this certificate (many, many illegals also) to the cashier and she rings up the bread, milk cheese, cereal, etc. ALWAYs there is some dispute re: what you say. Last one I was behind argued for 15 minutes and then relented, and then pulled out a $20 for a bottle of nice wine she'd saved for last EBT/WICs wouldn't over it. I paid for her other food so she could by an effing bottle of wine! I was so mad I blared at the cashier when she asked me "how are you?" I said "after that just now, what do you think?"
You see, what whitey has got to understand is that he’s “Old School.” Hard work doesn’t get you ahead in America any more. Whitey’s got to step aside and give the Trayvons of the world what is rightfully theirs.
Whitey has to bust his ass so he can pay his taxes so that Trayvon’s baby-momma can get her EBT card, her Obamaphone and everything else she deserves. You don’t like tat? Well then you’re racist. They’re going to send the FBI after you!
Yep. A good part of the country is mired in a 1930s style depression, and what's happening to the people who live there is invisible to the people who live in more urban areas, and especially to the elites who have walled themselves off from having to deal with anyone but people like themselves.
It didn't start with Obama, and it won't end if we elect a Republican president, no matter how "conservative", it's an ongoing, structural problem, and it only gets worse as the most capable members of such communities leave for somewhere else, where they hope to have a better chance of making a living.
We hate the idea of "giving them a government job" to do something at least marginally useful, even if it's just patching holes in the roads with material that will wash out with the next heavy rain, and instead hope that we can buy their passivity with "supplemental nutrition programs" and "disability payments", and hope that they don't vote, or at least that if they do vote, there's some way to get them to vote on the basis of something other than trying to increase the amount of dole they receive.
Everyday, look around the place where I live, and I see plenty of things that need to be done, a lot of which can be done with unskilled or semiskilled labor - infrastructure falling apart, obvious improvements that need to be made.
And the conclusion I've reached is that I'd rather start a WPA for the unemployable, and provide full-time day care for their children to get them into an environment where some discipline is enforced and learning is valued, than to let them create a home environment which trains up up the next generation of ignorance and hopelessness while heading toward 400 pounds on starch and sugar at my expense.
IMO, tt would probably cost twice as much in the short run as the current arrangements, and about half as much in the long run.
I honestly don’t think most people realize what has happened in the last ten years. This isn’t just Detroit, it is all over.
We are heading into the darkness, and most don’t know it. Even on a board like this.
As in the days of Noah...
The banality of evil is astounding.
Obama doesn’t care... he’ll just ask Sebilius to change the formula to $10,000 (poverty line) for a family of four. See.... no more poverty.
“We have the legitimate, constitutional power to turn things around without violence. “
Absolutely. See my tagline. GOTS = Get Out of The System. Start thinking Gandhi.
“How will the Democrats they continue to elect help them now?”
Promise them more welfare and owebamaphones. Problem is, the ability to pay for that by increasing the national debt is nearing it’s end.
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