Forbes.com is claiming American poor don’t exist and is basing the claim on this study by the Brookings Institution.
That’s right, there is no poor in the United States. The war on poverty is over. We won.
Of course, Brookings, a liberal-leaning think tank that is called most influential in the world, doesn’t really say it that way. In fact, it claims that “millions of Americans live on less than $2 a day — a threshold commonly used to measure poverty.”
Forbes, however, rebuts it pointing out income, as officially defined, is a bad metric as it does not account for the various government subsidies provided such as SNAP and Section 8 housing vouchers.
More significantly, it points out that the $2 a day standard when applied to developing countries is based on consumption, not income.
When this standard is applied to the United States, it is found that consumption is the same for those who report zero income and those who report $20 per day income — which is adjusted to account for the values of the many different currencies.
According to global standards, middle class is between a globally adjusted $12 and $50 per day.
So, yes, there is no poor in America which is something that could easily be determined by driving through the lowest-income neighborhood one can find and counting the dish antennas, window air conditioning units, cars parked on the street, and observing the absence of malnutrition among the residents.
Suffering in the United States is not caused by lack of material things. It is caused by making stupid choices and living in proximity to those who exalt in making such choices.
American Poor Don’t Exist
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