The Poor

MoveOn.org has done it again. Trying to show how awful America is without really understanding their own example. See as they tell us that we have a high rate of children living in poverty.



Did you read how poverty is determined?

% of children living in households with equivalent income lower than 50% of national median

Did you catch that? This chart is trying to compare apples to oranges. Instead of a single standard to determine poverty, each country uses different numbers to determine who's poor.

Since America is a really rich country, the poor in America are richer than the poor in other countries. Iceland has the lowest poverty rate according to this chart. Remember that country went broke? Imagine how low the median income is there. You don't need to imagine. Here are the numbers:

2011 Median Income

Iceland	410,000 ISK ($3,161.10)
United States	$51,413

( Unfortunately I had to guess what the median value for Iceland was from the chart. The actual number is not given. )

So if you make less than $1,580.55 in Iceland you are considered poor. If you make less than $25,706.50 in the United States you are considered poor. Someone in the United States earning 8 times more than the Icelandic median income is considered poor?

It is time to bring out this gem of a video from Bill Whittle at PJTV.com. It describes what the poor in America have.