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Keep in mind that the "poverty line" is adjusted every year according to the consumer price index (CPI), which has overestimated inflation in each of the last 30 years. This is why the percentages of people considered poor continue to rise although their standard of livings are improving thanks to the efficiencies of capitalism.
Also, America's "poor" are the richest "poor" on the planet. They enjoy a standard of living far better than even the moderately wealthy of many other countries. In 1995, 41 percent of America's "poor" owned their own homes (750,000 of them with values in excess of $150,000), 70 percent owned a car, and 97 percent owned a color television.
As for nutrition, the average "poor" kid of 1995 was one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than the average soldier in the Normandy invasion of 1944. Most of today's "poor" Americans enjoy a standard of living that would have been considered luxurious at the beginning of the 20th century. The rich may be getting richer, but so are the "poor."
I personally just wish government would lower taxes and let people keep what they earn. Why do we have such a negative view of the wealthy these days. That wealth was originally earned through some idea or hard work that added value to the economy. Why should one citizen be coerced into supporting others? The tyranny of the majority is apparent in the fact that the top 1% of wage earners pay 25% of total taxes. I'm not in that one percent, but I feel our graduated income tax system is a travesty. Get off my back.
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Pride is the recognition of the fact that you are your own highest value and, like all of man’s values, it has to be earned.
It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
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