Your thoughts on "poverty" in America today.

My father and I were watching :lol: MSNBC (his choice, not mine) and he was stunned at how bad the economy had gotten and how they claimed that over 1 out of 5 people were now on some form of government assitance. He went on about how it's like the great depression.

I had to school him about politics and the media and how they particulary skew things like that to grab sympathy points for certain people in the country. He said that I was being inconsiderate and short sightened. So I challenged him if he could find similar articles stating that as fact.

He couldn't.

What do you all think? Do you think that poverty or the "po" are any worse of than say the 1930's?

I had to school him about politics and the media

PrototypeTheKid

[QUOTE="PrototypeTheKid"]

I had to school him about politics and the media

DaJuicyMan

Granted MSNBC isn't the best source for news, but there is some real poverty in America, especially in the Appalachians.

I wanna be a hobo but a clean and non crazy one. :beard:KiIIyou

[QUOTE="DaJuicyMan"][QUOTE="PrototypeTheKid"]

I had to school him about politics and the media

MrPraline

[QUOTE="KiIIyou"]I wanna be a hobo but a clean and non crazy one. :beard:PrototypeTheKid

Yup, the economy is still in the tank. Unemplyment isn't going down, the housing market isn't revving up.

Sure, there are a lot of people who are below the poverty line, but that is still a residual from the Great Recession. If the fiscal cliff can be avoid and money invested in education and infrastructure, the economy will continue to improve beyond this lukewarm recovery.

Social assistance is a disgrace.Zeviander

[QUOTE="MrPraline"][QUOTE="DaJuicyMan"] Finished reading here, got too annoyed.ghoklebutter

they got money for wars, but cant feed the poorGamingVengeance

[QUOTE="GamingVengeance"]they got money for wars, but cant feed the poorPrototypeTheKid

the economy isnt great however it is recovering and slowly getting better than it was 3-4 years ago.

My father and I were watching :lol: MSNBC (his choice, not mine) and he was stunned at how bad the economy had gotten and how they claimed that over 1 out of 5 people were now on some form of government assitance. He went on about how it's like the great depression.

I had to school him about politics and the media and how they particulary skew things like that to grab sympathy points for certain people in the country. He said that I was being inconsiderate and short sightened. So I challenged him if he could find similar articles stating that as fact.

PrototypeTheKid

The main difference between now and the Depression is that there actually is some government assistance. Take that away and it'll start to look a whole lot more like the Depression.

Do you have a job yet anyhow?dave123321

[QUOTE="ghoklebutter"][QUOTE="MrPraline"]coolbeans90

lol @ people suggesting we need to throw more money at education in order to lower the amount of stupid people who become deadbeats in the future.

It's almost like you expect them to magically have a desire to learn because the school has more money.

Social assistance is a disgrace.Zeviander

Yup, so is the ridiculously high income inequality in the USA.

[QUOTE="Zeviander"]Social assistance is a disgrace.PrototypeTheKid

What do you think we should do about our relatively poor education system then? Do you think its a problem?

My opinion is that the TC would have more money if he got off his ass and obtained a job.

I had to school him about politics and the media and how they particulary skew things like that to grab sympathy points for certain people in the country.PrototypeTheKid

they got money for wars, but cant feed the poorGamingVengeance

coolbeans90

Obama just needs to blame the guy in charge for the last 4 years.

Just wait until you get out into the real world where you can't mooch off your successful parents anymore... YoshiYogurt

lol @ people suggesting we need to throw more money at education in order to lower the amount of stupid people who become deadbeats in the future.

It's almost like you expect them to magically have a desire to learn because the school has more money.

Alter_Echo

The US is bascially the world's only successful third world country. I would describe it as a few islands of fabulous wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty and misery. We're very good at keeping our poor ignorant and complacent so they don't demand change. Case in point would be all the poor dumb rednecks who are terrified at the prospect of anything resembling socialized medicine even though they would be the ones who would benefit most from it. Compared to real developed first world countries, like those in Western Europe for instance, the quality of living for most people in the US dreadful. We don't even have universal healthcare or a liveable minimum wage. There's no reason people should have to struggle as much as they do in the US. The whole socioeconomic system here is rigged in favor of the ultra rich.

Social assistance is a disgrace.Zeviander

The US is bascially the world's only successful third world country. I would describe it as a few islands of fabulous wealth surrounded by a sea of poverty and misery.bigfoot2045