[Daveinyork]

I really is pure crap. Today’s American “poor” have a standard of living that would have been envied by billionaires of a hundred years ago, in spite of Obama’s best efforts to impoverish all of us.

[grania]

The problem is that today's poor often have a more financially secure life than today's middle class. They're getting close to being a cashless society when it comes to necessities, using any money they get for extras.

Meanwhile those trying to live at some level of middle-class lifestyle face job instability, increasing taxes and expenses and declines in their quality of life. The exception is public sector employees, who feel pretty secure in their middle class existence.

It's not sustainable. With Obamacare it gets worse. The more things that get subsidized, the more people will find a way to survive without working.