Are The Poor Getting Poorer?

**ViRedd** · 11-02-2007, 05:25 PM

Are the Poor Getting Poorer?

By Walter E. Williams

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

People who want more government income redistribution programs often sell their agenda with the lament, "The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer," but how about some evidence and you decide? I think the rich are getting richer, and so are the poor.

According to the most recent census, about 35 million Americans live in poverty. Heritage Foundation scholar Robert Rector, using several government reports, gives us some insights about these people in his paper: "Understanding Poverty and Economic Inequality in the United States".

In 1971, only about 32 percent of all Americans enjoyed air conditioning in their homes. By 2001, 76 percent of poor people had air conditioning. In 1971, only 43 percent of Americans owned a color television; in 2001, 97 percent of poor people owned at least one. In 1971, 1 percent of American homes had a microwave oven; in 2001, 73 percent of poor people had one. Forty-six percent of poor households own their homes. Only about 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. The average poor American has more living space than the average non-poor individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities.

Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars. Seventy-eight percent of the poor have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception; and one-third have an automatic dishwasher.

For the most part, long-term poverty today is self-inflicted. To see this, let's examine some numbers from the Census Bureau's 2004 Current Population Survey. There's one segment of the black population that suffers only a 9.9 percent poverty rate, and only 13.7 percent of their under-5-year-olds are poor. There's another segment of the black population that suffers a 39.5 percent poverty rate, and 58.1 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor.

Among whites, one population segment suffers a 6 percent poverty rate, and only 9.9 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor. Another segment of the white population suffers a 26.4 percent poverty rate, and 52 percent of its under-5-year-olds are poor.

What do you think distinguishes the high and low poverty populations? The only statistical distinction between both the black and white populations is marriage. There is far less poverty in married-couple families, where presumably at least one of the spouses is employed. Fully 85 percent of black children living in poverty reside in a female-headed household.

Poverty is not static for people willing to work. A University of Michigan study shows that only 5 percent of those in the bottom fifth of the income distribution in 1975 remained there in 1991. What happened to them? They moved up to the top three-fifths of the income distribution -- middle class or higher. Moreover, three out of 10 of the lowest income earners in 1975 moved all the way into the top fifth of income earners by 1991. Those who were poor in 1975 had an inflation-adjusted average income gain of $27,745 by 1991. Those workers who were in the top fifth of income earners in 1975 were better off in 1991 by an average of only $4,354. The bottom line is, the richer are getting richer and the poor are getting richer.
Poverty in the United States, in an absolute sense, has virtually disappeared. Today, there's nothing remotely resembling poverty of yesteryear. However, if poverty is defined in the relative sense, the lowest fifth of income-earners, "poverty" will always be with us. No matter how poverty is defined, if I were an unborn spirit, condemned to a life of poverty, but God allowed me to choose which nation I wanted to be poor in, I'd choose the United States.

Our poor must be the envy of the world's poor.

Dr. Williams serves on the faculty of George Mason University as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and is the author of More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well.
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**clekstro** · 11-03-2007, 06:39 AM

Are the rich getting richer: yes. Are the poor getting richer: no. Being rich doesn't mean being able to buy shit you don't need with money you don't have. Notice there was no talk of the loans that these people take out (and are unable to pay back). And saying the poor are doing well because our apartments are bigger, when Americans have to go into debt to get anything capable of raising them out of poverty (education), is just not true.

The value of the dollar is going down. It has fallen in the last year against the euro from $1.25 to $1.42. Even if we import cheap goods, and the poor buy them (as we are a consumer society in which everything costs less) this doesn't mean their position is improving. You can buy a toaster, but you don't have/can't afford health care, education, retirement. Gimme a break. You must not be poor, Vi.

**pandabear** · 11-03-2007, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by clekstro

Are the rich getting richer: yes. Are the poor getting richer: no. Being rich doesn't mean being able to buy shit you don't need with money you don't have. Notice there was no talk of the loans that these people take out (and are unable to pay back). And saying the poor are doing well because our apartments are bigger, when Americans have to go into debt to get anything capable of raising them out of poverty (education), is just not true.

The value of the dollar is going down. It has fallen in the last year against the euro from $1.25 to $1.42. Even if we import cheap goods, and the poor buy them (as we are a consumer society in which everything costs less) this doesn't mean their position is improving. You can buy a toaster, but you don't have/can't afford health care, education, retirement. Gimme a break. You must not be poor, Vi.

i dont know most hard working people are not poor. no doubt its hard to get by but if you think your poor you better not own a tv. poor to me is not having any percs just food & shelter and in a lot of other counties having food and shelter is rich. your not poor if you have a telephone or a car, or a coffee machine, or a computer. if poeple pulled themselves up by the boot straps like all these very hard working immigrants, you will be rich. i worked with these mexican guys at wendys back in the day, these fools would finish one 8hr shift then go to the other wendys and pull another 8 hr shift. this was years ago and i bet those guys are "rich" now. if someone is rich or has more money than you doesnt mean you are entitled to that money in any way shape or form. im not saying you think your entitled to it im just ranting about the people who think that when they do nothing to better themselves and then make excuses as to why, then after that demand a piece of the hard working peoples pie. well if you didnt help bake it, sure people may be nice and give you a slice, but when they taking half our cake it gets to be well it gets to be too much for me to handle.

**medicineman** · 11-03-2007, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by pandabear

i dont know most hard working people are not poor. no doubt its hard to get by but if you think your poor you better not own a tv. poor to me is not having any percs just food & shelter and in a lot of other counties having food and shelter is rich. your not poor if you have a telephone or a car, or a coffee machine, or a computer. if poeple pulled themselves up by the boot straps like all these very hard working immigrants, you will be rich. i worked with these mexican guys at wendys back in the day, these fools would finish one 8hr shift then go to the other wendys and pull another 8 hr shift. this was years ago and i bet those guys are "rich" now. if someone is rich or has more money than you doesnt mean you are entitled to that money in any way shape or form. im not saying you think your entitled to it im just ranting about the people who think that when they do nothing to better themselves and then make excuses as to why, then after that demand a piece of the hard working peoples pie. well if you didnt help bake it, sure people may be nice and give you a slice, but when they taking half our cake it gets to be well it gets to be too much for me to handle.

Why don't you move in with VI? you two could give each other massages, you know, the kind with the happy endings,~LOL~.

**pandabear** · 11-03-2007, 12:13 PM

you can do anything if you put your mind to it

Pen Skills

**medicineman** · 11-03-2007, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by pandabear

you can do anything if you put your mind to it

Pen Skills

uuhhhhh, first you have to have a mind.

**pandabear** · 11-03-2007, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by medicineman

uuhhhhh, first you have to have a mind.

yes and you also need a skull to put it in. air is useful as well to avoid death by asphyxiation

**nilsuleion** · 11-04-2007, 12:11 PM

being poor doesn't mean not owning materialistic items. if you are poor you still need some form of entertainment. and you still need some way to eat food and some way to get to work.

you point out that the "poor" now own these "luxuries" items such as cars, tv's and toaster ovens. but really the cost on these products has come down, and can be purchased dirt cheap from any second hand shop. these items provide cheap entertainment and ways to reduce cost of eating.

the fact of the matter the over all gap between the rich and poor has risen.
the poor may be "richer" then before, but with rising cost of living and the additional billions the rich makes every year just proves the gap is widening and the rich are richer then ever and the poor are still so poor.

and im not ripping on rich people, because their are many rich people that give. the problem is the majority that are filthy rich and just gready, kinda like those ppl u see on cribs, "this watch cost 1 mil this earing cost 500k". yeah nice to know man, i cant make my rent this month. which is a measly $350.

at least i can still get a McChicken for a $1

-peace

**ViRedd** · 11-04-2007, 02:50 PM

What's wrong with unlimited income ... as long as the "poor" are getting richer as time passes?

Vi

**clekstro** · 11-04-2007, 04:06 PM

no one is criticizing real capitalism.
but fascism, and corrupt money policies... yeah, i could do without those.
That's how people steal from me without me knowing about it...
Then stupid people tell me that my money still has value and it wasn't printed to save some poor rich bastard's ass on Wall St!
That was a lazy comment, Vi.

I point out injustice and you just point to other injustices and say : "Look, you see those other people we're fucking over with our empire and corporations! Life's much worse there! Therefore, there is no injustice." Real slick... i've never seen that one before.