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Forum Post: 5 Lies Our Plutocrats Tell Us

Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 27, 2012, 12:54 p.m. EST by shoozTroll (17632)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

"In 2010 the Census Bureau reported that 1 in 6 Americans (15 percent) are poor, a rate that was held steady in 2011.1 Even these statistics disguise the real poverty numbers. A sampling of the existing poverty thresholds - boundaries separating the officially "poor" from the "non-poor" - are as follows: $11,704 for one-person households where the adult is under 65; $10,788 for those where the adult is over 65; $15,504 for households with one adult and a child; $18,106 for two adults and one child; $22,811 for two adults and two children; $30,056 for two adults and 4 children."

http://truth-out.org/news/item/12264-lies-of-plutocracy-exploding-five-myths-that-dehumanize-the-poor

On the political front, you will find the usual offenders.

21 Comments

21 Comments


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[-] 3 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

This is "horizontal hostility," when oppressed groups turn on other disadvantaged groups rather than address the root causes of inequality.

Busy work. Keep everybody fighting over scraps at the bottom and you aren't paying attention to anything or anyone at the top.

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

When those "scraps" mean survival, there isn't much time left to look closely at the top anyway.

By Mitts reckoning of the middle class, ($200,000 a year), there's a whole lot more poor people than has ever been accepted. I've been poor my entire life.

[-] 2 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

I agree and I think that is the ultimate goal.

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

A goal they've already achieved.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

Exactly.

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

Speaking of the poor, we do have a large socialized healthcare/medical system in the US for the poor and near poor. It seems to be pretty efficient, provides pretty good care and I never hear the plutocrats complain about it. It is called the US Army, Navy, Marines and the Coast Guard.

I never hear it compared to the socialized healthcare systems in other countries.But it must be pretty good. No death panels. And, I never hear how much better it would be if only it were voucherized, privatized or plagiarized.

I am sorry if I am taking this in a direction you don't want to go. But can't think of the poor without thinking about healthcare or the lack of it. And since so many in the military have to have food stamps to live, they also came to mind.

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

Isn't that one of those dogs who are enthusiastic and happy and loyal and eager to help others? No, that's Goofy.

There are already too many Goofy ideas, but I did enjoy meeting princesses in his kitchen a couple of weeks ago, along with Chip and Dale and Minnie. But fortunately, no Plutocrats were there.

[-] 0 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

Plutocrats hire others to go in the kitchen for them, so I guess that's why you didn't see any there.........:)

[-] 2 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

You are right, no doubt. But we had a wonderful time in Disneyland.

[-] 1 points by Shayneh (-482) 12 years ago

So where did the 6 trillion that Obama was in charge of go? Apparently it didn't go to helping Americans who needed it - another example of why we need to rid him of being president for a second term.

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

Pretty bad attempt at changing the subject.

The more important question is, where's all the hundreds of trillions that WallStreet and their ilk have extracted from the American economy.

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 12 years ago

43 trillion dollar lawsuit - People - SUPPORT IT !!!

http://occupywallst.org/forum/43-trillion-dollar-lawsuit-major-banks-government-/

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

The courts are our last protection from such malfeasance, let's hope they can still fulfill their mandate.

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 12 years ago

There have been a couple of good actions made by the court this year in turning down/rejecting attempts at voter suppression - but this case is so huge so important so all encompassing of the evils we face - if it fails - we will truly know that we are lost in this current system

[-] 1 points by VQkag2 (16478) 12 years ago

What 6 trillion would that be?

[-] 1 points by Nevada1 (5843) 12 years ago

Thank you shooz for post.

All this begrudging, while US pays military contractors $150,000/yr to conduct human rights violations.

[-] 2 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

Even that has nothing on the billions corporations spend on PR to convince us being poor is a matter of choice, on one level or another.

Some of those, so convinced, spend time here on the forum.

[-] 1 points by Nevada1 (5843) 12 years ago

Good Points

[-] 1 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

Strange that being poor is a choice, being gay is a choice, sick is a choice, being old is a choice, being a veteran is a choice, being the child of undocumented parents is a choice. I wonder if being exposed to toxic air, toxic water, toxic food , toxic medicine, toxic text books (filled with truth) are all choices, as well.? I guess if you decide not to be exposed to toxic stuff, it all just goes away? This is all so much easier than I thought.

I was thinking about being black but maybe not. Not everyone who is black (or half black)) gets to be transported, undocumented, from Kenya to Hawaii just so they can go to Harvard and become president

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 12 years ago

It's never dawned on them, that being a conse(R)vative is a choice too.

A bad choice at that.

[-] 1 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

Rightly observed. They conserve the worst, and if that isn't bad enough, they make up new and lie about it being old.