Poverty Measures

[bhunter]

The boilerplate assertion of Obama and progressives that income inequality has increased in America doesn't account for the migratory nature between quintiles nor does it account for the increased consumption by the lowest quintile over the same time span. Hence, the "us versus them" meme of Obama's campaign is wrong.

The absolute absurdity of Buffet's secretary assertion and the concomitant conflating of investment income tax rates with salaried worker tax rates either demonstrates an utter lack of economic knowledge or, worse, an underlying political goal of instigating crass class warfare. I'm thinking the latter precisely because Obama has nothing else to use as an effective campaign strategy. What exactly was the "hope and change" that he so eloquently put forth back in 2008? Has he fulfilled the "hope and change" rhetoric of 2008? Has the country ever been more polarized than it is today under his divisive strategy? How effective has "lead from behind" been in reigning in ascendant states like North Korea, Iran, Russia, China, Turkey?

From WaPo:

In other words, the country has become more prosperous, as measured not by income but by consumption: In constant dollars, consumption by people in the lowest quintile rose by more than 40 percent over the past four decades.

Income as measured by the federal government is not a reliable number, but consumption is. Though poverty is a problem, it has become less of one.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...Q_story_2.html