Muscatine

I think what the post is saying



is that the poor are not as poor as they use to be. Growing up poor I can tell you that poverty today has no clue of the hardships of yesteryear. That is not to say they live high on the hog, but they do have the TV's VCR's Microwave's and car's that the poor of the past didn't have.

Kenn - Not My words......... This is why I provided a link.

Thanks

Peace

Chosen

That could be because the definition of poor has changed over time. Saying that you didn't have a VCR as a child isn't a fair comparison because when I was young VCRs weren't being sold at Wal-Mart for $30. The first VCR I remember seeing retailed at about $400-$500. And televisions? Again, televisions were much more expensive back then. As were microwaves, etc., etc., etc. With increased technological capabilities and greater competition, the prices of these items has dropped considerably over time. Just because the ''poor'' may have more money or tangible goods today than they did when you and I were kids doesn't mean they aren't as poor. The original article that you posted is an unfair comparison of two very different times meant to obscure the all-to-real problem of poverty in America.

If you really want to see how today's poor are faring, check out the income gap between the wealthy and the rest of the country. I think that's what nedl, erm, I mean hopal, I mean... ruggy was trying to get at.

JOS



I agree with most of what you say, but we can not pretent that the poor in America today is not better off then the poor of yesteryear or from some other country. They are. I'd think we could look upon this as a good thing, but it is a conservative point of view.


Peace

I disagree

When everything (gas prices, food prices, tuition, etc.) is taken into account, I don't believe that today's poor are any better off than they have ever been. Families with misguided priorities aside (I'm talking about families that live in squalor yet still have iPods and cell phones), today's poor are still struggling just as mightily only in a much different world. Surviving in the fifties, sixties, seventies, or even the eighties was much different than it is today.

Poverty isn't only about how much money you have in your wallet, but what you can obtain with that money. Face it, $20 now isn't the same as it was even ten years ago. Take gas, for instance. In 1997, gas was $1.12 a gallon. Now it's almost three times as much. When the purchasing power of the dollar goes down as much as it has lately, it affects everybody, especially the poor. So it's not about dollars, but what you can get with the dollars you have.