General Discussion

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts)

2. If you have debt beyond the mortgage (affordable) and, occasionally, ONE car,

Mon May 27, 2013, 07:55 AM

May 2013

you are at the edge of poverty.

ONE serious illness can sink you
ONE job loss can sink you

Most people have little or no savings (hence the credit card debts that most have). Savings @0.075 and CC interest @22% if they have both.

Most cannot afford to send their kids to college/post-high school training, without serious debt incurred by them or the kid

Most people have little or no equity in their homes, even as the homes age & require more and more expensive upkeep

Most people could not sell their home in a hurry (at break-even/small profit) if a job loss happened and they needed to relocate suddenly

Most people work at jobs that offer no defined-benefit pensions, and 401-ks are just another Casino Game, where there are many more losers than winners.

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The Real Numbers: Half of America in Poverty -- and It's Creeping toward 75% [View all] xchrom May 2013 OP

People won't believe this. Democracyinkind May 2013 #1

and they shouldn't - because it is really stupid hfojvt May 2013 #30

Plus, it mixes "average Americans" with "families". dixiegrrrrl May 2013 #32

There's a ton of singles that make up households flamingdem May 2013 #48

Nice try Uzair May 2013 #55

yeah whatever hfojvt May 2013 #60

Then you might want to delete or edit Uzair May 2013 #62

you defend a crap article and you think I should be embarrassed? hfojvt May 2013 #72

that the average skews low = those making little overwhelm those making more. HiPointDem May 2013 #61

if 50% of families in Mississippi are making over $56,000 hfojvt May 2013 #73

most people don't live in 4 person families, and the median for single-income 4 person HiPointDem May 2013 #98

but even fewer people live in single-income 4 person families hfojvt May 2013 #100

Median net compensation in the US = $27K, we have close to 8% unemployment & HiPointDem May 2013 #116

my parents don't participate in the labor force hfojvt May 2013 #117

labor force participation by age group, historical. HiPointDem May 2013 #123

still determined to embrace the stupidity hfojvt May 2013 #124

i don't think you know what you're talking about, in 1890 the gov't didn't keep 'labor HiPointDem May 2013 #125

at no point did I ever claim I was poor in this thread hfojvt May 2013 #128

yes, & my neighborhood, where half the residents are on assistance or have no visible HiPointDem May 2013 #130

you might as well argue that 100% of the population is near dead hfojvt May 2013 #132

if you're a couple of paychecks away from assistance, you're poor. HiPointDem May 2013 #134

On average JNelson6563 May 2013 #96

it gets worse though hfojvt May 2013 #33

If you have debt beyond the mortgage (affordable) and, occasionally, ONE car, SoCalDem May 2013 #2

+1 xchrom May 2013 #3

+2 nt Live and Learn May 2013 #4

+++ marions ghost May 2013 #20

Agreed, but have you considered that you have accepted a mortgage as simply a normal state? Egalitarian Thug May 2013 #78

mortgage/rent? one has to live somewhere SoCalDem May 2013 #88

Let's see, I have a mortgage. SheilaT May 2013 #80

micro v macro SoCalDem May 2013 #89

I was responding to post #2, which said if you have a mortgage and any other debt SheilaT May 2013 #110

Well said, many walk the edge of a cliff to poverty, and many RKP5637 May 2013 #102

Yes, ridiculous model for us, working out well for the 1%. closeupready May 2013 #120

Coincidentally (?) dotymed May 2013 #5

Absolutely spot on. nt tomg May 2013 #6

Nailed it. ctsnowman May 2013 #8

"Most already proven to work and indicative of 1st world countries." CrispyQ May 2013 #9

Yes on all counts. lunatica May 2013 #12

+100000.....And yet, what is actually being done? woo me with science May 2013 #36

You got it Woo. dotymed May 2013 #115

Amen to that! nt raouldukelives May 2013 #74

and the "degenerative gamblers" are still free to do what they do Corruption Inc May 2013 #82

To me the #1 item on the agenda is campaign finance/lobbyist reform. Arugula Latte May 2013 #106

beat me to it noiretextatique May 2013 #114

If Dems in the highest offices weren't Disaster Capitalists, elehhhhna May 2013 #121

absolutely wonderful solutions. sadly, we do not have a govt who will implement them. dionysus Sep 2014 #136

quick! G_j May 2013 #7

Or cherry-pick more economic data ... 1StrongBlackMan May 2013 #11

If they own a TV, computer or cell phone they can't possibly be poor. Auntie Bush May 2013 #14

Don't forget air conditioning! BuelahWitch May 2013 #57

Don't forget toilets that flush. You ain't poor unless you digging up a hole to poo in *spits* DotGone May 2013 #77

Let's be intellectually honest 2bornot2b May 2013 #10

That's what I was getting at ... 1StrongBlackMan May 2013 #15

you have average and median backwards magical thyme May 2013 #16

then again, people with an average IQ will be reading this article. dixiegrrrrl May 2013 #34

you make a good point... magical thyme May 2013 #35

LOL summer-hazz May 2013 #53

EXACTLY Uzair May 2013 #63

You are not making sense karynnj May 2013 #65

You are not understanding basic statistics Uzair May 2013 #66

Even with this distribution, the average of a group can not be used karynnj May 2013 #69

That's exactly what this distribution implies Uzair May 2013 #71

Indeed. nt woo me with science May 2013 #91

No it doesn't karynnj May 2013 #103

Let's make this very simple. woo me with science May 2013 #90

Let's make this real simple - as someone already did using basic algebra karynnj May 2013 #101

but that line is not true hfojvt May 2013 #111

No they aren't Progressive dog May 2013 #105

I was going to say it looks more like a slippery slope Rex May 2013 #122

Yes, let's Uzair May 2013 #54

Thank you. nt woo me with science May 2013 #76

It seems we never see modes used in reporting income data. Is there a snappyturtle May 2013 #13

Yes ... 1StrongBlackMan May 2013 #18

Sometimes a 'picture is worth a thousand words' comes to mind snappyturtle May 2013 #25

How would modes be useful in this case? Android3.14 May 2013 #22

That's exactly what I want to see! Telling me that $19,000, e.g., is the snappyturtle May 2013 #27

See if this gives you what you want Android3.14 May 2013 #38

Thank you . The chart is very interesting. I can clearly see the top and the bottom! snappyturtle May 2013 #42

Great - this link pretty much debunks the op's articles math karynnj May 2013 #107

A slightly more detailed table of individual income - grouped by $2,500 muriel_volestrangler May 2013 #94

THIS is more along the lines of what I've been thinking about! Thank you!! nt snappyturtle May 2013 #112

It slips out occasionally. Egalitarian Thug May 2013 #44

you don't know where to begin looking? hfojvt May 2013 #45

Quintiles are used more often bhikkhu May 2013 #85

Thank you. This is helpful. Now I can see where chunks of the population snappyturtle May 2013 #99

This message was self-deleted by its author karynnj May 2013 #104

Debt creates slavery. caseymoz May 2013 #17

+1 HiPointDem May 2013 #59

K&R marmar May 2013 #19

! xchrom May 2013 #21

The sources for the data are suspicious Android3.14 May 2013 #23

If you include non-wage income, the picture is a lot better FarCenter May 2013 #24

There are the Lords, and there are the Serfs dumbcat May 2013 #26

Which one are you? Skeeter Barnes May 2013 #31

I am most definitely dumbcat May 2013 #37

I don't doubt the numbers but in my world it doesn't look like encroaching poverty. MindPilot May 2013 #28

I simply cannot believe that article. KentuckyWoman May 2013 #29

This is DU! flamingdem May 2013 #47

Sad that Alternet posted this michigandem58 May 2013 #39

Still, you can't deny that 50% of American households have an income below the median. Nye Bevan May 2013 #40

Careful, they may use that as a headline michigandem58 May 2013 #41

Alternet as gone downhill. Quantess May 2013 #43

Sad that you're in denial Uzair May 2013 #56

I'm aware of the wealth distribution issues michigandem58 May 2013 #68

well ah guess we just hafta lower the poverty line! flamingdem May 2013 #46

K&R DeSwiss May 2013 #49

Cassandra is pulling down a sweet payday at FauxSnooze now....yeah? nt MADem May 2013 #87

the real issue is really boomer wealth galileoreloaded May 2013 #50

Is this the country that these men and women are fighting & dying for? Really? YOHABLO May 2013 #51

If Obama only knew, surely he would do something about it AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #52

What we are breeding will be thiefts because there will be no place for people to go get southernyankeebelle May 2013 #58

These numbers are horrifying, but this op's article misuses the information karynnj May 2013 #64

It is bad, but that's a misreading of the data bhikkhu May 2013 #67

This discussion has taking a tack sulphurdunn May 2013 #70

The main asset most households own is their house bhikkhu May 2013 #84

Thanks sulphurdunn May 2013 #131

The claim about assets may be misleading too; are we comparing individuals or households? muriel_volestrangler May 2013 #97

It depends how they are computed karynnj May 2013 #109

They calculate both financial and tangible assets muriel_volestrangler May 2013 #113

I honestly blame obama for this and no its not a joke. cstanleytech May 2013 #75

I wish someone would talk about assets and income both. Manifestor_of_Light May 2013 #79

Forward! blkmusclmachine May 2013 #81

There are some really dishonest claims here BlueStreak May 2013 #83

The main asset of the bottom 80% of Americans (per income) are their homes. Fire Walk With Me May 2013 #86

Note: claim 3 has been removed from the linked article in an edit. Donald Ian Rankin May 2013 #92

Stay in denial. kitt6 May 2013 #93

It is clear that the rich elite capitalists are making a killing fasttense May 2013 #95

Oh silly! It's not THAT bad. Really why are you forcing reality on us? Safetykitten May 2013 #108

Totally can believe this. K&R closeupready May 2013 #118

Somebody tell em that over in dreamland... MrMickeysMom May 2013 #119

It's sad that utter dreck analysis garners over one hundred recs taught_me_patience May 2013 #126

Poverty is real, but those numbers are very deceptive. pnwmom May 2013 #127

If you click on the ProSense May 2013 #129

Are you suggesting that coconuts are migratory? deaniac21 May 2013 #133

How To Lie With Statistics FreeJoe May 2013 #135