To compell a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves an abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Wonder what Abe would think? Do you
think he would be happy with IL. or what
is being done to our country?
What Is Poverty in America?
As Congress struggles to find a way to cut spending as part of raising the $14 trillion debt ceiling,they should take a close look at the more than $1 trillion spent every year on welfare. You'll be surprised to learn that many of the 30 millionAmericans defined as "poor" and in need of government assistance aren't quite what you'd expect—rather than homeless and on the streets, the averagepoor American household has luxuries like air conditioning, cable TV, and X-box video game consoles.
In their new report, What Is Poverty?, The Heritage Foundation's Robert Rector and RachelSheffield analyze what it really means to be poor in America. The reality they found is much different than the picture painted in movies and onTV:
According to the government’s own survey data, in 2005, the average household defined as poor by the government lived in a house or apartmentequipped with air conditioning and cable TV. The family had a car (a third of the poor have two or more cars). For entertainment, the household hadtwo color televisions, a DVD player, and a VCR.
If there were children in the home (especially boys), the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household hada microwave, refrigerator, and an oven and stove. Other household conveniences included a washer and dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and acoffee maker.
The home of the average poor family was in good repair and not overcrowded. In fact, the typical poor American had more living space than the averageEuropean. (Note: That’s average European, not poor European.) The average poor family was able to obtain medical care when needed. When asked, mostpoor families stated they had had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs.
By its own report, the family was not hungry. The average intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals by poor children is indistinguishable fromchildren in the upper middle class and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor boys today at ages 18 and 19 are actually taller andheavier than middle-class boys of similar age in the late 1950s and are a full one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than American soldiers who foughtin World War II. The major dietary problem facing poor Americans is eating too much, not too little; the majority of poor adults, like most Americans,are overweight.
That's a far cry from the images the news media conjure up on TV. But it's the reality of those who are defined as poor in America.
To be sure, the average poor family does not represent every poor family, and there are some who are better off and some who are worse off. Thoughmost of the poor are well-housed, at any given point during the recession in 2009, about one in 70 poor persons was homeless, and one in fiveexperienced temporary food shortages. Those individuals have serious concerns. But the fact remains that U.S. government statistics on povertymisrepresent the reality.
That misrepresentation has international implications. Rector and Sheffield explain that U.S. government poverty statistics portray a misleadingnegative image around the world. Al Jazeera, Iran's Teheran Times, Chinese and Russian media have latched on to U.S. poverty statistics todepict the United States as a failed, nightmarish society. And nothing could be further from the truth.
President Obama plans to make this situation worse by creating a new "poverty" measure that deliberately severs all connection between "poverty"and actual deprivation. Rector and Sheffield say that the goal is tomeasure income "inequality," not poverty—giving the President public relations ammunition for his "spread-the-wealth" agenda.
Rector and Sheffield write that when it comes to making policy, thebroader reality of what poverty in America means should be taken into consideration: "Sound public policy cannot be based on faulty information ormisunderstanding . . . In the long term, grossly exaggerating the extent and severity of material deprivation in the U.S. will benefit neither the poor, the economy, nor society as a whole."
From the Heritage Foundation, Morning Bell
Fact One -- Tea Partiers' opposition to tax hikes didn't bring usto this brink. Washington's indifference to spending did.
Fact Two-- Tea Partiers didn't create these deficits. Washington did.
Fact Three -- Tea Partiers didn't wreck the budget this year. Try Democrats, who had total control of Washington, not even offering a budget at all... last year.
Fact Four-- Tea Partiers aren't the reason we're up against another debt limit.Washington is.
Fact Five-- Tea Partiers aren't suddenly to blame for the credit ratings agencies now putting this country's credit on watch. Credit ratings agencies first warned about this years ago.
Fact Six-- Tea Partiers have been consistently opposed to the gimmicks that created this mess. Washington's consistently offered only more gimmicks to allegedly fix this mess.
Fact Seven -- Tea Partiers aren't the only ones saying a debt hike without meaningful spending cuts is a waste. Standard and Poor's itself warned such a deal would be a travesty.
Fact Eight -- Tea Partiers aren't the crazy ones for saying it's time to stop this nonsense. Those who call them crazy for dare speaking the obvious are the ones who make "no" sense.
Fact Nine-- Tea Partiers resisting business as usual aren't the problem right now. Self-serving politicians still practicing business as usual are.
Fact Ten-- Tea Partiers demanding accountability isn't the stuff that brought us to this brink. Washington's continued failure to "be" accountable has us at the brink.
Don't Blame the TEA Party for this mess, we are nothing more than normal people standing for the Constitution and our Freedoms
A joint statement from Tea Party Nation, Patriot Action Network, Citizens in Action, Smart Girl Politics and I-Caucus.
It is with great sadness we must inform our membership of a possible fraud. An individual named Torm Howse has been sending emails to members on our sites promoting a site that claims it will offer compensation ranging up to $140,000 per individual.
In promoting this website, Howse is claiming that he is endorsed by or supported by a number of Tea Party and Liberty groups and leaders.
Among those listed were Tea Party Nation, Patriot Action Network, Citizens in Action, Smart Girl Politics, I-Caucus, TCU Nation and Tea Party Patriots.
Howse never asked permission to use logos or names of Tea Party Nation, Patriot Action Network, Citizens in Action, Smart Girl Politics and I-Caucus. They have been placed on the website implying our support, endorsement or both.
Neither Tea Party Nation, Patriot Action Network, Citizens in Action, Smart Girl Politics nor I-Caucus support this venture, called “First Class America.”
Tea Party Nation along with Patriot Action Network and Citizens in Action have sent cease and desist emails to Howse. We have no contact with Tea Party Patriots, but given the number of other groups whose logos and names were used without permission, we can only assume that holds true for them as well.
The reason we are compelled to send out this email is it appears that Howse may have been soliciting funds through emails on all of our sites. If you have received an email from his soliciting money, we strongly encourage you not to send him any money.
This movement is made up of wonderful people, who love this country and who want to see liberty and freedom prevail. Unfortunately, there are also some who would seek to take advantage of the movement.
At Tea Party Nation, Patriot Action Network, Citizens in Action, Smart Girl Politics and I-Caucus, we each value the trust members of this movement have placed in us. We want to make sure that trust is not abused by someone using our names without permission.
Fraud Alert, if they call do not give them money
