Friday, August 31, 2007

The scandal of poverty in America


Here's some info on the tough life of America's poor:

  • Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
  • Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
  • Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
  • The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
  • Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
  • Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
  • Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
  • Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.


  • Continue reading the rest of this tragic story here, including the primary factors which create this sorry state. Makes you wonder who makes up this definition of "poor"?

    2 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Thanks for The Reactor and Johnson work. It certainly skews the 'misery index' doesn't it. Wait for the election to heat up and hear how much worse off we are.
    Thanks.

    Anonymous said...

    you need to do your homework because there are a lot more poverty-stricken people in this couuntry that don't even have 1/4 of what you just described. sure you can read statistics and get an idea of the average "poor person in america" but look up ventura county, speicfically McGrath State Park. that is the real poor in america.

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