Ah, the 60's

Given enough time, life has a curative mechanism. Death. Some day all those who came to enlightenment during the '60's will be dead, so there's hope.

The brain trusts that have encrusted around our presidents (and a helluva lot of governors) for many years have all suffered from 60's-itis. This was the sliver of time when our national ethic changed. Goals and responsibilities were displaced by rights and entitlements. Politicians, being astute, at least as far as knowing how to get reelected, latched onto this theme. At taxpayer expense, a number of misguided (and ultimately disastrous) initiatives were launched, all under the banner of providing citizens what they deserved. The War on Poverty has probably been the most destructive, mostly because "poverty" is an utterly subjective determination.

While 2007 predates our current troubles, here are some stats about America's "impoverished," as provided in a research paper by Robert Rector. Remember the following the next time you hear a Progressive politician wring his/her hands about cruel America's treatment of its poor::


The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:

• Forty-three percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
• Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
• Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
• The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
• Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.
• Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
• Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
• Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.

Are there poor Americans? Of course. Should there be a safety net? Absolutely. Are Progressive politicians exploiting Americans' generosity to create an ever-expanding, dependent underclass, one that is a reliable voting bloc? Yes! When the economy is robust, do they simply raise the threshold for "poverty" to keep the numbers headline grabbing? Yes! They've been doing it for fifty years because we let them.

November's coming. Throw the bums out. This time, try to elect someone who's never owned a tie-dyed teeshirt.