Poverty

Poverty is up in America, CNN reports.

The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The Census Bureau's definition of poverty varies by the size of the household. For instance, the threshold for a family of four was $18,810, while for two people it was $12,015.

Census Bureau analyst Dan Weinberg said the results were typical of a post-recession period. He said the increase in the number of people without insurance was due to the uncertain job picture.

Okay. If you can't get above the poverty level in the quoted examples, it ain't Bush's fault. I can think of three ways this can happen:

1. One or both of the adults are disabled, in which case you would be in poverty regardless of the economy.

2. You have 1 adult and dependents.

3. You got some lazy people.

Let's look at number 1. Does this factor in government money the disabled receive? I have some direct experience in this matter and know that Social Security payments are fair, add food stamps to that, and if they are disabled severely enough, attendant care. With government generosity they end up well above poverty. Perhaps some disable people aren't as fortunate as those I've dealt with, but it is hard to see how.

Now for number 2. We can have the greatest economy in the world and these people are still going to need help. Sometimes it is sad, as a death or dead beat etc. can create this situation. Other times it is an irresponsible person who just keeps crapping out kids. Either way it is unfortunate but necessary that society help out.

Finally, we have number 3. Take a man and a woman. Both work for $6 per hour, 20 hours per week (I know, this is more like a European work week, not an American), 52 weeks per year. That's above poverty. A family of 4 in this situation, well maybe shouldn't have had those 2 kids, eh? People are getting 10 million months of unemployment, so I don't buy the "they lost their job and couldn't find another" argument.

As for medical insurance, let's be honest. Increasing medical malpractice insurance costs are playing a nice role in driving up insurance costs across the board. Also, a lot of people don't take advantage of free medical insurance when available. Some particularly younger people I'd imagine) don't prioritize medical insurance in their expenditures.

These are all real problems we face, but neither Bush nor Kerry going to fix them. I don't want my taxes raised for this crap either. Need to pay for it? Cut spending.