The Real Numbers: Half of America in Poverty -- and It's Creeping toward 75%

[HiPointDem]

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

force participation rate' statistics, and much of the labor force was in the information sector, so even if it did, they wouldn't be directly comparable to today.

labor force participation today for people over 55 is close to what it was in the 40s, and it's not because people over 55 are bored and greedy; you'd have to explain why they became less bored and greedy circa 1960-1995, and then became bored and greedy again after 1995. and I'll tell you why: social security cost of living adjustments and guaranteed benefit pensions with cost of living adjustments, which began to be downsized and taken away for younger workers starting in the 80s.

Your town is not the world, your parents and the retired officers in your town are not representative of the world. You sound like you were born into comfortable circumstances and resent that your own lifestyle hasn't met your expectations, and that you are the only 'poor' person in the universe. That's the thrust of most of your posts, anyway.

But you're a single person; the only person you need to take care of is you. A one-person 'household' complaining that he's poor but nobody else is.

FYI, the official poverty line for a family of 4 = $23K. In my estimation, that's barely enough to keep one person living like a student, and I think you make more than that (if i'm remembering previous posts correctly).

Which means the 'official' poverty line in no way reflects reality. I'm not saying the OP is correct in the picture it paints, but neither are the official statistics and definitions.



http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=iWR