The New Poor?

I was reading an article from the Associated Press today that states that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing.  Specifically, that the top 20 percent of Americans (those making more than $100,000 per year) received 49.4 percent of all income while those living below the government established “Poverty Line” made only 3.4 percent of all income. “That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was… nearly double a low of 7.69-to-1 in 1968.

I wonder how many TRILLIONS of dollars have been transferred to the “Poor” in anti-poverty programs since 1968 in order to make the problem WORSE than it was?

I think that our problem in the United States now is not that we have an increase in the number of “Poor” people, or that they are making less of the national income than others, but that our DEFINITION of “Poor” has changed so much as to be unrecognizable.

I know that anecdotal evidence is never the best basis for an argument, but how many times have you experienced being behind a person at the grocery store who, after using their “food stamp” card to pay for the milk, bread, cereal, cheese, etc., then reaches into their wallet to produce cash to pay for their beer, cigarettes, steaks, etc?  Then the bag boy/girl takes their purchases out to their less than three year old vehicle?

So, I am going to disregard what you and I see with our own eyes, and look at the statistics provided by our own government.

The government set the 2009 “Poverty Line” at $21,954.00 for a family of four or $1,829.50 per month.  This is just about $11 per hour for a standard 168 hour work month.  But wait, this is ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.  So, this family of four actually makes about $12,000.00 more just based on what standard exemption/standard deduction removes from their taxable income.  So we are looking at a salary of about $34,000.00.  That brings us up to $2,841.67 per month or almost $17 per hour.

According to the 2009 IRS Tax Tables, this family of four should owe $2,454.00 in income taxes.  But wait, we forget about the Child Tax Credit of $1,000.00 per child, thereby reducing their tax burden to $454.00.  That sounds reasonable.  But WAIT!  We forget about the Earned Income Tax Credit!

Again, according to the 2009 Earned Income Tax Credit Tables, this family of four is eligible for $3,648.00 in Earned Income Tax Credit.

That means, this family of four would pay NO INCOME TAX and would RECEIVE a check from the government of $3,194.00.  This would make their ACTUAL ANNUAL INCOME to $37,194.00.  Are these people POOR?

Remember, that this is BEFORE we consider eligibility for the “anti-poverty” programs of SCHIP, AFDC, Section 8 Housing assistance, Free and Reduced School Lunch Program, etc., the value of which could exceed $20,000 per year.

When my Father was a child in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression, living with his Parents and 12 brothers and sisters on a hardscrabble farm south of Grapevine, Texas talks about being Poor, he knows what he is talking about:  No running water in the house,  an outhouse in the back yard,  one new pair of shoes every year.  Most of our Parents can tell similar stories.

What is poor today?  I don’t really think anyone knows, particularly not the government.

Should a “poor” person receiving federal assistance have: a new car, an HD TV, a Cell Phone, a $200 pair of sneakers, gold and diamond jewelry?

Is the American taxpayer, through the provision of monetary and non-monetary assistance, taking away the incentive of people to work hard and improve their lot in life?

Are we providing a level of support that is allowing people to spend their income on luxuries because they know that the government will provide for their basic needs?

I think that we, as a country, need to reevaluate what we consider to be poor and better target the benefits to those who actually have needs that cannot otherwise be fulfilled.

I also think that everyone who has ANY income, no matter how little, has an obligation to pay SOMETHING in income taxes to help defray their costs to the rest of society.

Nearly HALF of Americans pay NOTHING in income tax.

My friends, something is very wrong with that.