CBS News Reports that Half of the US population is Poor or
Low Income: "Since the housing bubble burst, nearly 4 million American
homes have been lost to foreclosure. An estimated 1.6 million children will be
homeless at some time during the year - 38 percent more than at the start of
the recession.
Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative
Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or
low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net
programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people
who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs."
In a pattern that always amazes Rush Limbaugh made precisely
the same point using exactly the same metaphors about big screens TVs and what
not earlier this week.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57343397/census-data-half-of-u.s-poor-or-low-income/
Meanwhile, according to Forbes, the six children who
inherited the vast fortune of Sam Walton-- who built his retail empire from the
beginnings of single store in Northwest Arkansas-- have more wealth than the
bottom 30% of Americans. Six trust fund managers with more wealth than
80,000,000 Americans combined. That
seems healthy.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/12/14/six-waltons-have-more-wealth-than-the-bottom-30-of-americans/
Finally, more data form the NBC New Wall Street Journal
Poll:
Which of the following has been the most disappointing event
of the past year for you personally?
The wealthiest one percent getting richer and the middle
class declining: 31
The lack of economic recovery : 29
The failure of Congress to reach a compromise on the budget
deficit : 27
These are not overlapping votes. This is a summary of what
most concerns voters, with the three answers above comprising nearly 90% of
what people said.
However, the issue that has preoccupied Congress this entire
year is the budget deficit, so let see what the pollsters found when asking “What,
if anything, most disappoints you about the current Congress?”
They have not gone far enough in cutting federal spending: 12
Another interesting question regards the growth of the two “grass
roots” organizations.
The percentage of Americans that consider themselves supports
of the Tea Party Movement: 25
The percentage of Americans that consider themselves supports
of the Occupy Movement: 27
It may be illuminating to take a quick look at where the two
organizations get funding before we rationalize that essentially “Same amount
of Americans support both equation”. FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity
are the two major organizations funding and organizing the Tea Party.
Both of these organizations were started by Koch Industries,
the second largest privately owned business in the United States. Koch
Industries have given $12 million to Citizens for a Sound Economy, the
predecessor to FreedomWorks, and David Koch serves as a chairman to Americans
for Prosperity.
According to Sourcewatch.org, Americans for Prosperity has
received nearly $15 million from Koch Family Foundations, 84% of their total
funding.
Occupy has no doubt drawn some funds from Soros, but with
under a million raised to date, there is no single entity funding a self-interest
promoting grass roots organization on the left as there is with the Tea Party
on the right. In this case a statistical tie in support is not precisely a tie
in real life.
The American Middle class understands that it’s getting
hosed by the rich. They are spending millions to muddy the waters and change
the subject.
No comments:
Post a Comment