Day: October 19, 2011

Poverty, American Style

We long haired hippie leftists have been telling the American people that their acquiescence on the political side of life was going to bring them nothing but pain and poverty…..and for the longest time we long haired hippies have been told that we were alarmists……I have one question…….can you hear us now?

I know my readers are getting tired of all gloom and doom about the economy and especially the Middle Class…..but I will not apologize…..I see the chance of the Middle Class disappearing completely and the possibility that it could never return….I have given lots of links and such to inform my reader and I will continue to do so……like today….I found more info on the economy and the Middle Class that is under attack……this time from Braden Goyette of ProPublica…….I know it is a lot of info, but the more you have the better your writings…….

Americans below the poverty line in 2010: 46.2 million

Official U.S. poverty rate in 2007, before the recession: 12.5 percent

Poverty rate in 2009: 14.3 percent

Poverty rate in 2010: 15.1 percent

Last time the poverty level was this high: 1993

Poverty line in 2010: $22,314 for a family of four, or $11,139 for an individual

Rough amount the poor are living on per week: $200 or less

Poverty rate in American suburbs: 11.8 percent, the highest since 1967

Percentage of the population making less than half the poverty line in 2010: 6.7 percent

Percentage of the population making less than half the poverty line in 2007, before the recession: 5.2 percent

Poverty rate for white Americans in 2010: 13 percent

Poverty rate for African-Americans in 2010: 27.4 percent

Real median household income in 2010: $49,445

Decline in median household income since 2009: 2.3 percent

Decline in median household income since before the recession: 6.4 percent

The last time median household incomes have been this low: 1996

Real median household income in 1999, in 2010 dollars: $53,252

Median income for full-time male workers in 2010: $47,715

Median income for full-time male workers in 1973, in 2010 dollars: $49,065

Official unemployment rate in August 2011: 9.1 percent

Total unemployed people in August: 14 million

People who were employed part-time for economic reasons in August 2011: 8.8 million

People not counted in the labor force who wanted work: 2.6 million

Net jobs created in August 2011: 0

Long-term unemployed people as of August 2011: 6 million

Unemployed workers per job opening as of July 2011: 4.34 (3.2 million openings and 13.9 million unemployed people)

Uninsured Americans in 2010: 49.9 million

Percentage of Americans without health insurance in 2010: 16.3 percent

Percentage of Americans without health insurance in 2007, before the recession: 15.3 percent

Percentage of children who were uninsured in 2010: 9.8 percent

Percentage of children in poverty who were uninsured in 2010: 15.4 percent

Percentage of American households that had enough to eat throughout the year in 2007: 88.9 percent

Percentage of American households that had enough to eat throughout the year in 2010: 85.5 percent

It is time for the American people to get INVOLVED!  Are you proud of the direction that your elected officials are taking our country?  If not, then get to writing, phoning, texting, tweeting, whatever……get INVOLVED or lose your country…FOR GOOD!

GOP Debate #8

Yawn!  This whole process is beyond silly!

The combatants arrive in Sin City (Las Vegas not the game) to go toe to toe with each other on the pressing issues of today…HAHAHAHAHA….okay they will talk tax cuts and Obama sucks….anyway I digress so let us get to the goodies……

Romney–Looked and spoke presidential……but knowing his past campaigns and stances…he is a f*cking con artist…will and did say anything to keep his position in the line-up…….a cold fish

Cain–Spent most of the time defending 999 no matter what the question was about….his defense?  “Our analysis”….as usual he was the target of all the ill feelings of the candidates….but at least he did not sing….

Perry–Drill Baby Drill the answer to every problem…..looked like a loud mouth bully on stage….

Bachmann–she is out of it……everything she says is easily ignored….

Paul–was the typical Libertarian…..free markets will solve all problems….

Santorum–Attack…attack…..other than that….he got nothing!

Gingrich–who cares?

We Americans always have to have a winner….a the winner in this debate was……(drum roll please)….John Huntsman….why….he had the keen foresight to walk away from this particular brand of silly…….

However, if you would like another perspective then I suggest that you go to a friend of Info ink website (blogroll will get you to Spinny Liberal)…..she has an unique and excellent take on the debates ………

The sad part is there are so many other things that need to be written about and I feel compelled to watch this silliness and report on what I saw……I am so embarrassed that the political system has come down to this brand of comedy and theatrics….at one point I thought the system was working….but those days are long gone…..now it is just one circus act after another……and not a solid solution between any of the candidates….most are not serious candidates….most are just trying for the exposure to up the ante on speaking and a possible show on that other network……