A quick note on US poverty

Lately I've been hearing news organizations supporting Bush's tax policies as beneficial to the poor. They say that the poverty rate in the middle of Clinton's term was 13%, while Bush has us at 12%. Unfortunately they give no context for the rate.

The numbers are true but Clinton inherited 15.1% from Bush Sr. in 1993. Bush Jr. picked up Clinton's 11.7% in 2001. You can check the numbers at the US Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html. (It's also fun for me to note that the last time the rate was 11% was 1979).

Does any one remember the projected surplus we had going into the millennium. Now we borrow money from other countries so we can stay afloat. Currently this country spends more than it takes in. Most people who are struggling to survive know that a major hold on advancement is their credit card bill. If you spend more in a month than you get in a month you end up in debt. If you don't find a way to increase your income people come to your house and take all that cool stuff that you bought. The only other option is to cut your spending and control it.

Of course, if you grew up rich, you may not have the same appreciation for fiscal responsibility. You may end up running an oil company, Major League Baseball Team and quite possibly an entire nation into the ground.