Obama Making Poor People Poorer

http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/72679618672/obama-making-poor-people-poorer-poverty-rate-breaks

In my opinion, the most frustrating thing about the state of politics in America isn’t corruption or the lack of principle among the electorate, it is ignorance. It is that so many obvious straw men arguments and cliches perpetuated by pop culture, the media and politicians are accepted as pertinent fact. It is the willingness of the average person to simply believe lies, regardless of the evidence.

For example, facts show unequivocally that crime rates, especially violent crime, goes down when more people have access to weapons for personal protection. But anti-gun activists, the media and the average, uninformed voter, believes (or preaches) the exact opposite. So when someone campaigns for gun control, they are literally campaigning for more crime.

Perhaps the biggest of these political lies is that government welfare is a form of charity which actually helps poor people. When in reality, much like gun control, the opposite is true.

From The Washington Times:

Fifty years after President Johnson started a $20 trillion taxpayer-funded war on poverty, the overall percentage of impoverished people in the U.S. has declined only slightly and the poor have lost ground under President Obama.

Aides said Mr. Obama doesn’t plan to commemorate the anniversary Wednesday of Johnson’s speech in 1964, which gave rise to Medicaid, Head Start and a broad range of other federal anti-poverty programs. The president’s only public event Tuesday was a plea for Congress to approve extended benefits for the long-term unemployed, another reminder of the persistent economic troubles during Mr. Obama’s five years in office.

“What I think the American people are really looking for in 2014 is just a little bit of stability,” Mr. Obama said.
Although the president often rails against income inequality in America, his policies have had little impact overall on poverty. A record 47 million Americans receive food stamps, about 13 million more than when he took office.

The poverty rate has stood at 15 percent for three consecutive years, the first time that has happened since the mid-1960s. The poverty rate in 1965 was 17.3 percent; it was 12.5 percent in 2007, before the Great Recession...



Twenty. Trillion. Dollars.

There are a couple of things that should be noted here. First of all, while poverty rates might be seemingly stagnant, the definition of poverty today is different than what it used to be. After all, technology has done wonders in raising the standard of living for virtually everyone — especially those in poverty. Also, economies ebb and flow which, in turn, causes poverty rates to fluctuate.

But do not make the mistake of thinking that poverty will be eliminated by government. This is utterly illogical. As with anything else, when you subsidize it, you get more of it. Forcibly taking money from those who have earned it and giving it to those who haven’t does nothing to incentivize productivity or prosperity. Rather, this institutionalizes poverty. In short, when you pay people not to work, they will not work. It has the exact opposite of its intended effect.

Our good friend Benjamin Franklin had good something good to say about this:

“I am for doing good to the poor, but…I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed…that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

 

But how does that play out politically?

On the one hand, the government can make it known.... "We (government) are not going to be on your back... not with plethora of regulations and not confiscating large amounts your property/earnings through taxes. We are going to allow you to be free to drive ahead and earn all you desire to or are able... and keep the lion's share of what you've accomplished". (This is the America the genius Founders fought for, risked their all for.)

Or, on the other hand... "It's unfair that others have more than you. I will give you money if you vote for me". This has been the ploy of the DemoCraps/Progressives/Liberals for the last 100 years.

A BIG percentage of the populace will opt for Door #2.... and is the reason I endorse the notion that only certain citizens be allowed to vote... or even better, "one vote for each $ paid in Federal Income Tax".

The parasite class has gone "critical mass". I doubt there is anything that can be done to reverse (regardless of which party wins elections)... short of armed and bloody revolution... and this time against our own government... just as the colonists did against King George III. But who wants to do that? We keep hoping "something" will come along and stop the degradation towards Communism and we won't have to take up arms against Washington... but I doubt such relief is coming.