This page was last updated on September 4, 2004.

The theme of this editorial is that poverty in the United States is far worse than reported by government statistics.

Rather than address the editorial point by point, I think it would be better to refer you to the papers noted at the bottom of this critique.  Before I end, though, there is one point I want address.

The editorial makes it clear what a poor family of four can and cannot afford.  The editorial completely sidestepped responsibility, however.  Not one mention is made of the irresponsibility of trying to raise a family of four on $18,600/year.  If you can’t provide appropriate financial support for a family without taxpayer handouts, you have no business building a family.  It is completely unfair to your children and to all the responsible families who live within their means.

Last year the Times profiled two poor families.  In both cases, the reason for the alleged poverty was poor choices.  In one case, a single mother of four children headed the “family.”  The children had three fathers and the mother had never been married to any of them.  In the other case, the guy admitted he mostly screwed around until he was nearly 30 and by then felt it was too late to do anything about his situation.  That didn’t stop him from getting married to a woman with a child, however.  How were these persons presented?  As people the economy “left behind.”  These folks were not left behind.  When the bus of opportunity stopped, these folks chose not to get on.

To be sure, there are families below the poverty level who are there despite making good decisions and being responsible.  Those folks deserve our help, though I would argue it should come from private sources, not the government.

Here are the papers I referenced above.

Understanding Poverty in America (Backgrounder #1713); Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D.; The Heritage Foundation; January 5, 2004.

Poverty and Inequality; The Heritage Foundation; August 25, 2004.

The Data on Poverty and Health Insurance You’re Not Reading (WebMemo #556); Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D.; The Heritage Foundation; August 27, 2004.

© 2004 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.