Poverty and Welfare in America

The American Spectator ^ | 8/21/08 | Peter Ferrara

[Renkluaf]

Among those classified as poor, there is rapid turnover. Browning cites studies showing that 45% of the non-elderly poor in any year are not poor one year later. Within 3 years, 70% are no longer poor.

[Renkluaf]

The passage above is from a book, Stealing From Each Other: How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit, by Edgar K. Browning, Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University. It highlights the falacity of the common argument on the left regarding the poor or the percentage of those who are poor. Capitalism is a dynamic process and at any point in time, we can segment its players into various strata. The critical element is, over time, how many who were in the bottom quintile or the fourth quintile are still there X-years later.

Maybe more importantly, it demonstrates that the argument from the left is straight from their beloved Karl Marx - we should all be "equal" at any point in time.

[livius]

I’ve read this statistic before. The article was very interesting, and absolutely correct; welfare is essentially the cause of poverty, which is the direct result of simply not working.

It would be interesting to see what his solutions are (to be discussed in another article).

[MrB]

welfare is essentially the cause of poverty,

Leftist relatives' heads explode when I say this.

which is the direct result of simply not working.

You can track income/wealth directly with number of hours worked per week. I think the stat that I saw said that those earning under 16k usually worked about 13-15 hours per week.

[MrB]

Oh, and to address your “solutions” interest:

Here it is:
He who will not work, nor shall he eat.
2 Thes 3:10

Incentives!

[poeteyes]

“I think the stat that I saw said that those earning under 16k usually worked about 13-15 hours per week.”

Um, $7/hour X 40 Hours X 52 Weeks = $14,560 so I think your ‘stat’ is a little off.

“You can track income/wealth directly with number of hours worked per week.”

I think you can also track income/wealth directly with dollars per hour paid!
Poverty and low income isn’t always about laziness, and not all who end up poor are looking for welfare. Some people have to swallow their pride, or die. Why does it need to be so cut and dried to some, especially those who are fortunate enough to not ever be at the bottom?

[poeteyes]

“He who will not work, nor shall he eat.
2 Thes 3:10”
What about He who Cannot work?
What about children? Should we let them starve, also?

[MrB]

What about He who Cannot work? What about children?

Addressed elsewhere.
I know where you're going, you don't want those who WILL NOT work to have consequences, so you bring up a diversion. STAY ON TOPIC. My bluntness towards the LAZY seems to have offended your sensibilities.

And yes, again, most poverty is caused by sloth, not by "fortune" or "luck".

[poeteyes]

MrB,
I know the difference between LAZY and incapable.
The only thing that offends me is when people quote the Bible while they are blindly judging others.

[John Will]

Even the Devil can quote scripture.