Study finds America's poorest 20% consume more than national averages of most European nations

Most of the articles you read decrying the purportedly wretched state of the poor in the United States, blaming prosperous people for the "inequality" of our "income distribution" (as if rich people got that way by expropriating the earnings of the poor, because someone "redistributed" their income to the rich) are phony. They rely on income reported to the IRS and ignore the substantial untaxed benefits supplied to low-income people.

A new study from the public policy research group Just Facts corrects for this ignored income and finds that our poorest 20% consume as much as the average in many European and other developed countries. James D. Agresti of Just Facts writes:

A groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and Food Stamps — the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries. This includes the majority of countries in the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including its European members. In other words, if the U.S. "poor" were a nation, it would be one of the world's richest.

Notably, this study was reviewed by Dr. Henrique Schneider, professor of economics at Nordakademie University in Germany and the chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. After examining the source data and Just Facts' methodology, he concluded: "This study is sound and conforms with academic standards. I personally think it provides valuable insight into poverty measures and adds considerably to this field of research."

Source.

The study cites and rebuts a recent New York Times video op-ed decrying our poverty, as well as other such studies.

“I realized that poverty in rich countries is a mental state more than a material situation in the modern world, where starvation is not an issue in rich countries.”

Envy almost inevitably rises with prosperity. Many become more miserable when their neighbor isn’t as miserable as they are.

Poor people here likely have more DISPOSABLE income than middle class people in Europe who have to shoulder that heavy tax burden.

Especially since the poor here have largely been dropped off the tax rolls.

Envy almost inevitably rises with prosperity. Many become more miserable when their neighbor isn’t as miserable as they are.

It rises with the decline of Christian beliefs as well.

Christianity frowns rather strictly on envy. "Thou shalt not covet...".

Not surprised, but tremendously disgusted! Just one example of the ‘wealthy” arrogant ‘poor’ as seen at our local dentist: Rolls Royce pulls in to parking lot. Out hop some arrogant ‘poor’ who commence their abuse-laced demands for free dental care. Having received what’s owed them they march out to their Rolls—free iPads, etc. in hand— and off they go leaving the rest of us to pay in one way or another for the freebies of the wealthy poor.

A very good study. More rigorous than most that deal with “poverty”.

I have said, for decades, that American poor are better off than upper middle class in most of the world.

This study, in rigorous ways, confirms that observation.

No surprise. I can here from the UK as a teenager - it was immediately apparent to me the differences in the expectations of the kids in high school. Everyone was concerned with not being ‘a loser’. In the UK, at the time, most kids had a very pessimistic view - many with the expectation to leave school at 16 and receive unemployment checks.

The only thing that matters is “standard of living”. There’s far more people in the USA that are self sufficient and require very little income or assistance from the government. Being “poor” in the USA means having somewhere to live, owning TV’s, refrigerator, clothes, being well fed, etc..

It annoys me to no end when I encounter people born here that think everything sucks and says they can’t get a good job, continuing to state that Europe is so much better - often coming to that conclusion after having a two week vacation in Paris (or alike).

It rises with the decline of Christian beliefs as well. Christianity frowns rather strictly on envy. "Thou shalt not covet...".

I have been saying that to people for a long time. It is one of the reasons Christianity and The Holy Bible are not allowed in our public schools or in public discourse. The Democrats get votes from envy and greed. Both mortal sins.

Just one example of the ‘wealthy” arrogant ‘poor’ as seen at our local dentist: Rolls Royce pulls in to parking lot.

Not long after Obama took office I was pushed out of the business I had due to his policies, so I took a job as a night manager at a 24 hr food/deli store.

I spent a few years watching a certain people drive up in new Cadillac's and other $60K+ vehicles then proceed to shuffle through their purses and wallets, moving around several $100 bills, to find their EBT cards. Many of them talking to each other about using their "free money" first.

This was a nightly occurrence and not just some statistical outlier.

Not surprised, but tremendously disgusted! Just one example of the ‘wealthy” arrogant ‘poor’ as seen at our local dentist:

Saw something like that on a lesser scale when visiting an optometrist. The Son of obama, who wore a necklace with thick gold chains, was arguing with the clerk about why he should have to pay as he was "poor".

She suggested paying for the services with a link from his necklace and the guy went hyper. I nearly fell off the chair. I had to go in to another room and didn't see the end, but when I left, I gave the woman a Thumbs Up.

I have occasionally pointed this out but tend to find people brush it off.

For the most part the poor in the US live better then the middle class in Europe. They have more space, more stuff, better cars, better food, better clothes... Just right down the line they have MORE.

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