poverty in our cities

[DCortez]

I did NOT verify the facts or figures, just passing on an email:



City, State, % of People Below the Poverty Level


1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
6. St. Louis , MO 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%

U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007

What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common?

Detroit , MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961;
Buffalo , NY (2nd) hasn't elected one since 1954;
Cincinnati , OH (3rd)...since 1984;
Cleveland , OH (4th)...since 1989;
Miami , FL (5th) has never had a Republican mayor;
St. Louis , MO (6th)....since 1949;
El Paso , TX (7th) has never had a Republican mayor;
Milwaukee , WI (8th)...since 1908;
Philadelphia , PA (9th)...since 1952;
Newark , NJ (10th)...since 1907.



Einstein once said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'
It is the uneducated poor who habitually elect Democrats---yet they are still..................POOR




"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln

 

[kingofwylietx]

If you rescue a fool, you'll have to do it over and over.

I'm beginning to question whether all these policies are really meant to help the poor. Rather, I am beginning to consider they are just hurting those that have the ambition and drive to succeed. The final result, being no objective change in the poor. However, with the closing disparity between the poor and middle-class, the poor see fewer differences between the two classes. This gives the illusion, relatively speeking, that the poor are doing better.

 

[Darkwind]

On the subject- I've noticed in the MSM that 500K people lost their jobs one day- so many in so many months that add up to the millions and yet the national unemployment percentage is static- seeming to never break 8%

unfortunately- its all to easy to fudge statistics

 

[mortdooley]

We have the richest poor people in the history of the world. They have cell phones, they watch cable mostly on a plasma TV, flashy jewelry and high dollar clothes. They have all the modern comforts everyone else have and too many times it is payed for by the rest of us. An entitlement mentality has replaced self respect and a feeling of personal responsibility. Maybe their anger comes from not realizing that we stand for personal freedom and liberty while they look for leaders to give them something they never worked for and had to be taken from someone like us.

 

[MadMo44Mag]

We have the richest poor people in the history of the world. They have cell phones, they watch cable mostly on a plasma TV, flashy jewelry and high dollar clothes. They have all the modern comforts everyone else have and too many times it is payed for by the rest of us. An entitlement mentality has replaced self respect and a feeling of personal responsibility. Maybe their anger comes from not realizing that we stand for personal freedom and liberty while they look for leaders to give them something they never worked for and had to be taken from someone like us.

How true this is.
I was at Wally World a few weeks back and the lady in front of me was very well dressed, had a $2k wedding ring on and paid with a LoneStar welfare card.
As I was leaving I saw here drive away in a 2008 Lincoln.
My tax dollars at work taking care of the down trodden - BS!!!!!

 

[Texas1911]

How true this is.
I was at Wally World a few weeks back and the lady in front of me was very well dressed, had a $2k wedding ring on and paid with a LoneStar welfare card.
As I was leaving I saw here drive away in a 2008 Lincoln.
My tax dollars at work taking care of the down trodden - BS!!!!!

I've seen that alot. Most of which during my tenure at HEB when I was younger.

 

[kingofwylietx]

On surface, you wouldn't expect her to need a welfare card. Maybe she & her husband just lost their jobs. Maybe she had a $10k wedding ring they sold to pay bills and picked up a $2k ring to hold its place or it could be fake. They may owe more on the Lincoln than it's worth and it could be close to being repossessed by the bank.

You just never know. They could also just be working the system and not be dire straights. Too bad we don't know more.

Most American families are just one medical emergency, lay-off, or unexpected expense away from being broke, homeless, & bankrupt.

 

[Kerbouchard]

On surface, you wouldn't expect her to need a welfare card. Maybe she & her husband just lost their jobs. Maybe she had a $10k wedding ring they sold to pay bills and picked up a $2k ring to hold its place or it could be fake. They may owe more on the Lincoln than it's worth and it could be close to being repossessed by the bank.

You just never know. They could also just be working the system and not be dire straights. Too bad we don't know more.

Most American families are just one medical emergency, lay-off, or unexpected expense away from being broke, homeless, & bankrupt.

Even if all that is true, why am I paying for her bad decisions?

 

[MadMo44Mag]

Originally Posted by kingofwylietx

On surface, you wouldn't expect her to need a welfare card. Maybe she & her husband just lost their jobs. Maybe she had a $10k wedding ring they sold to pay bills and picked up a $2k ring to hold its place or it could be fake. They may owe more on the Lincoln than it's worth and it could be close to being repossessed by the bank.

You just never know. They could also just be working the system and not be dire straights. Too bad we don't know more.

Most American families are just one medical emergency, lay-off, or unexpected expense away from being broke, homeless, & bankrupt.​

Even if all that is true, why am I paying for her bad decisions?

I have to agree with both of you because each makes a valid point.
It's a shame that there are so many unworthy people receiving government benefits that the ones that deserve help gets stereo typed as an abuser.
Same with law abiding gun owners.
But this issue and OP's point is too many people are looking for a hand out because they feel "ENTITLED". (Correct me if I miss read the OP post)
I am the youngest of the kids. My dad was a WW2 vet that saw service in N.Africa and Italy at the Rapidio river and and other battles. ( There is a battle too read about)
I grew up with a vivid understanding that my government owes me nothing because I have earned nothing.
That a mans fortune or failure is solely his responsibility and no one else.
A man must work for success as it can not be given.
A man will rise or fall depending on his morals and ethics.
And most importantly - a mans word is all he owns.
These values are mostly missing to day.
IMO - it's become a "ME FIRST & YOU OWE ME" society.
I have three kids and my oldest is an LEO in the 8th worst city in the USA and she shares these values and she is teaching them to her kids.
My other two kids are in their early 20's and are just now telling ol'dad they see what I am talking about.
Well my soap box is starting to hurt my bare feet so I'll sit down and shut up.

 

[Fisherman777]

We have the richest poor people in the history of the world. They have cell phones, they watch cable mostly on a plasma TV, flashy jewelry and high dollar clothes. They have all the modern comforts everyone else have and too many times it is payed for by the rest of us. An entitlement mentality has replaced self respect and a feeling of personal responsibility. Maybe their anger comes from not realizing that we stand for personal freedom and liberty while they look for leaders to give them something they never worked for and had to be taken from someone like us.

You got that right! I'm the one that's working for that so and so to buy that big screen tv and talk on their cell phone. I actually work the "back of my lap" off for a living and I don't have all of that stuff. I can't afford it. But I gotta pay this tax and that tax and some obscure tax that I never heard of to help the po folks get new rims on dey Cadillac!!! Have you seen what I'm driving? And those bass-turds are getting a house mortgage with a 2% interest rate! That's my money they're spending. I hope all of you are planning to attend a TEA Party rally on April 15th. I'm attending the one in Beaumont, TX.

Well, at least my potatoes are coming up!

 

[ambidextrous1]

A minor correction...

Joe Wardy, a Republican, was El Paso's mayor, circa 1999-2003.