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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Living In Poverty Isn’t All That Bad « Larry Miller's Blog

The Right Wing Tea Party ‘Heritage Foundation’ Says That Living In Poverty Isn’t All That Bad « Larry Miller's Blog:

Video: Mayor Barrett on Poverty In Milwaukee

To Listen to Mayor Barrett address issues of poverty and jobs in Milwaukee go to:

http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/video/?bctid=639559083001

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The Right Wing Tea Party ‘Heritage Foundation’ Says That Living In Poverty Isn’t All That Bad

Study dismisses poverty, but try telling that to the poor

By Courtland Milloy, Published: September 13

As the fortunes of middle-class Americans continue to dwindle, some might be wondering what it’s like to be poor. A study released this year by the Heritage Foundation argues that living in poverty isn’t as bad as most of us imagine. Indeed, from the way poverty is portrayed by the conservative think tank, you’d think that the average poor person was actually living large.

“Poor children actually consume more meat than higher-income children consume, and their protein intake averages 100 percent above recommended levels,” wrote Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield, authors of the study: “Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox:

What is Poverty in the United States Today?”

“In fact,” they continued, “most poor children are super-nourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller


Is Poverty a Death Sentence? by Senator Bernie Sanders

By Sen. Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News 14 September 11

he crisis of poverty in America is one of the great moral and economic issues facing our country. It is very rarely talked about in the mainstream media. It gets even less attention in Congress. Why should people care? Many poor people don’t vote. They certainly don’t make large campaign contributions, and they don’t have powerful lobbyists representing their interests.

Here’s why we all should care. There are 46 million Americans – about one in six – living below the poverty line. That’s the largest number on record, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. About 49.9 million Americans lacked health insurance, the report also said. That number has soared by 13.3 million since 2000.

Moreover, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States has both


Recession Drives Millions of Americans Into Poverty

Census Bureau tallies bleak toll of Great Recession

By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel Sept. 13, 2011 |(394) Comments

The U.S. Census Bureau provided a grim snapshot Tuesday of what hard economic times look like in America in the wake of the Great Recession.

Nearly one in six people – 15.1% – lived in poverty in 2010, the nation’s highest poverty rate since 1993, when the country was emerging from another recession.

In all, 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009.

For a family of four, with two children, the poverty threshold was an income of $22,314.

“It’s really bad out there,” said Timothy Smeeding, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for