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Posted on 11/12/2011 1:40:07 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Government is not the enemy. Not always. Don’t believe that right-wing malarkey.
In fact, for millions of Americans down on their luck and at the end of their rope, they can quickly find that government is their last friend left. Governmental assistance can prevent the certainty of a hungry night and a homeless tomorrow. It can mean the difference between the comfort of stability and the ravages of poverty.
This function is now more important than ever, even as it is under more pressure than ever.
We learned this week that not only are there more poor people in America than had been previously reported, but that the only thing keeping millions more out of poverty are the very same social safety net programs that many Republicans despise.
For decades, experts on both sides of the poverty debate have complained that the official government measure is flawed because it doesn’t account for measures like benefits from government programs, health care costs or taxes.
So, to address those concerns, the Census Bureau this week released a Supplemental Poverty Measure, or S.P.M. The new measure changed the composition of the poor but found that it was a larger group — the official 2010 poverty rate was 15.2 percent, but the S.P.M. rate was 16 percent.
Even more important, the report highlighted the role government programs play in mitigating it. Many of these programs were expanded under the Obama administration with the much-maligned stimulus package. Now many of those expansions are scheduled to expire, and a new crop of callous Republicans threatens to not just trim the fat but to cut the meat.
For instance, the report shows that if the earned income tax credit, a refundable tax credit for low-to-moderate-income workers designed to offset Social Security taxes and encourage work...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Government handouts mean never having to say you’re employed.
I would say that most of our poor are poor BECAUSE of government......
lol....this guy’s like....a Clown’s Clown.
There is just something so wrong with something that can't take care of itself insisting on taking care of someone else.
Typical lib LIE.
Conservatives have never said there should not be sagety nets for the truly needy,
Their lies on this make me want to comit in their face.
BUt sadly many people hear that or read that and think we really don’t want to help the poor, who are poor through no fault of their own.
It’s the idiot leftists of OWS who are pushing anarchy. The right isn’t saying they want no government. They are saying that they want smaller government, with limited powers. That is exactly what the founders wanted.
More to the point, the only money the government has is from confiscating wealth that was built on the backs of private citizens. Government produces nothing. What products does the US government produce? What do they sell that brings in money? Nothing (with the exception of some services, like the postal service, that loses more than it brings in).
This guy is too ideologically blind to see truth. In my view, no one should ever spend more than 12 years of their life in government, adding up every position they hold at every level. No one.
Experience in government is unnecessary. It’s not that difficult a job, at any level. I have absolutely zero doubt that you could take people off the street fairly randomly and they would do as good or better a job running the country as what we have now.
Government is there to help you. Just like Jerry Sandusky was there to help his boys.
I think all Americans should go on welfare, send the bill to Mr. Blow and occupy the White House.
Because ONLY the government can help people. And they only keep 73% of the money for themselves!!
Government cares so much that they put the equivalent of one full time government employee for each family on welfare.
And that government employee only makes $73,000 per year to supervise the handing out of an entire $27,000 all by himself!
B.S.
For FOUR GENERATIONS? Blacks have had a 70% out-of-wedlock birthrate for years, and their way of life is WELFARE....as has been the way of life since their great Grand-Parents, Grandparents, and Parents (if THEY EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE, and in most cases, the Fathers are UNKNOWN).
This is NOT THE ROLE OF GOVERNEMENT, to force PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE to hand over their earnings, so they can continue to BUY THE VOTES of the parasites.
Were it not for really stupid government decisions, we would not have millions down on their luck or at the end of their rope. We would have those millions employed and prospering with plenty leftover to share with any family and friends so they wouldn't need to be slaves on the gubmint plantation either!
Why are liberals so ridiculously dense when it comes to basic facts of life? You will never make someone rich, by making someone else poor. And government will NEVER supply everyone's needs, much less their desires.
Charles Blow is a graphic artist; he has an opinion, I have an opinion.
Charles Blow is a graphic artist.
The “war on poverty” has been a huge success - we now have twice as much of it!
I guess that depends on how you define "poor," but in any case, Chuck, aren't you the least bit concerned with HOW those poor, downtrodden victims GOT that way?
... the only thing keeping millions more out of poverty are the very same social safety net programs that many Republicans despise.
They're not "safety net programs." They're irresponsibility armor, accountability deflections, and dependency enablers. Worse yet, they're punishment for the far vaster millions who HAVEN'T made a lot of stupid personal decisions that typically result in poverty.
At the end of the day, those cherished "safety nets" are reward programs for failure.
Those millions of us who are "down on our luck" and "at the end of our rope" are where we are because of the friggin' government!
Blow, you are indeed an idiot!
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