Added: 4 years ago
From: HeritageFoundation
Views: 12,205
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (195)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • 71 folks on welfare disliked this video yet can afford the internet to sit around and bitch about it. And Robert Rector has it wrong about protein carbs are the devil in the USA and high fructose corn syrup is alot of the cause of the poor eating shit food.

  • 71 folks on welfare disliked this video yet can afford the internet to sit around and bitch about it

  • Quite an ironic title to the video considering that everything that was said was rhetoric... I am now waiting for them to express the latter.

  • The self-____ is dead. Fill it with what you want. Mental attitudes to self-_____, depict someone with MONEY. Sadly this one aspect is a slap in the face to individuality. Teach them to create and they will never beg, teach them the past however and they will sit comfortably glued to their chairs/sofa's, yelling to a box about trivial things, and coinciding their answer with Alex Trebec. If knowledge is power, much of the power up until now has been wasted. Myself included. Eyes wide shut see ..

  • Lies, Lies and Untruths

  • This is like Cato for people who didn't finish college.

  • Didn't Mich McConnell just have a press conference in the same room as this company? I think this is a slanted video, when he said they are importing poverty. Please people, this is a slanted video. The Heritage foundation is also trying to make President Obama a one term president!! If we lit this mis information keep circulating, We are going to destroy ourselves. Take a look at the realness, Cable t.v doesn't make you above poverty! Wake America. The big companies are feeding you lies.

  • @starblueneon paying for shit you should not be trying to afford makes you poor. Think about most urban poor households live. Cheap house(because its dangerous) yet a newer car will be sitting in the driveway( an asset that is losing value). Now if your money is tight the last thing you need is a new car that is sinking in value. Sure big companies are out there to get your money, that is what a business is designed to do!

  • o_0 ...........

    did he just say that poor people only work an average of 16 hours a week and if they would only work more hours it would raise them out of poverty????????

    And that we import poverty thru illegal immigration???????

    Ohhhhh, thats right. This is the "heritage foundation". Its the right rightwing funded think tank. Good job right wingers!

  • conserv-a-nutz hate widows, orphans and cripples, the recipients of 'welfare'

  • put his head in the poors dumpster he will learn then, maybe the wealth be shared

  • hmmmmm, poverty is when you dont work full time because your too busy watching cable tv in an ac house.

    When this guy talks of averages he's lost the argument.

    Food in the US is heavily subsidised- most people even if they're poor can afford to be fat- but just might worry about house repossession, credit card bills, crime, gangs, having enough money to maintain a cash flow. Material well being is not the same as a feeling of security (job, physical, health).

  • all this comments have no clue, this video points out some pretty good points

    now there is poverty in America but the standards of poverty in America are different than the standards of poverty in lets say Africa, i know plenty of poor people they are barely making it but they still have a home and they are eating, a poor family in africa has a hut as a home and they are literally starving hoping that the peace corps and other organizations will feed them

  • @1turner22 Hey man listen, This country has ICBMs asshole. That means lots of money. We are not Africa. So stop comparing. when you slide down the line to poverty, I want to see your face and see how you feel. You think you are smart, but you really don't know shit. what do you tell a degree holder why he/she is living so poor today? I want you to run as a public official and fix the problems. If you are so darn smart. Please run and help. But maybe you are fixed on yourself.

  • So there not REALLY poor, they're just LAZY..........They portray people as not wanting to work.......as if struggling people PREFER 16 hours over full time........PROPAGANDA AT IT'S FINEST

  • I seriously don't know how these people can live with themselves.

  • Thanks for your response payazaiskool.

  • Its easy to be poor in America; just do the bare minimum, and blame your shortcomings on other people.

  • @lerock1000 You obviously haven't taken into account the fact that the poor in America have inferior schools, housing, jobs, etc! Just visit Washignton D.C and see the poor quality of living, and than visit the surrounding counties in MD/Va and look at their quality of living! To blame the poor on being poor is absurd how about taking history into account (Slavery, Segregation, Indian policy) your obviously detached from reality. PS: Veterans Day Thank you all serving abroad!

  • Horrible. Why don't they shut down this crappy organization instead of Acorn?

  • So working up to forty hours at minimum wage brings in an extra $720 per month. Where I'm from, that hardly covers a month's rent for a one bedroom apartment. And it's pitiful considering my parents bring in four times that much per month and still struggle to meet the challenges of getting by.

  • He is right about poverty being relative. Compare today's people living under the poverty line to the poor of 50 years ago and today's people are ok. Also, compare America's poor to Africa's poor and America's poor is nearly middle class as they have clothes, entertainment (tv, radio etc.) and no one starves to death.

  • You're exporting more poverty than you import. You've ruined Cuba and Latin American nations (leave alone Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Timor, Iraq, etc). If the ppl frmo there come to your country, its your actions which caused it. Fingerpointing at the immigrants is the typical rethoric of fascists creating a patsy. Don't mess up their countries. Its simple. Do you really think they like to leave their homelands? You just don't give them a chance.

  • We should pray for the young children. Let god cover them with the power to overcoming the life of poverty! Haleluyah ! Through the power of prayer we in gods name can save the children of those poor areas from the evil of poverty. Let us show them that through god all things are possible!

  • Parents work Only 16 hours a week? Hog wash! Minimum wage (or more) will gain you = POVERTY. Inflation is the problem!

    THE OTHER PROBLEM?

    We need a license to drive a car, but only be 18 to vote. AND in most states be 21 to drink.

    Yet we have kids having kids between the ages of 16 - 21. No license or creditation needed to be a parent.

    My parents never grew up, never mentored, never stood beside me in hard times. PPL need to grow up & be able to provide before having kids.

  • How am I supposed to raise a family on $6.50 an hour? That is less than $900 a month net working 40 HOURS a week!!! This is the most ridiculous video I have Ever seen on You Tube. Obviously, you live in another reality. How much do you get paid working 40 hours??? Idiot!!!

  • What is this? We are all fatter now than the 50s, ever heard n fast food, and cheap foods? One in ten? So he talks about the one and not the other nine? Well gosh if I just find a wife, and get a part time job at least, I can move to a cloned neighborhood, on a street named after a tree, drive an SUV and have 2 model kids like Wally and the Beav. Now why didn't I think of the before? doh! Just another "excuse" churned by some Gov bureaucracy pamphlet to sweep it under the rug. Give me a break.

  • That's right....let's try to justify greed in this country. This institution is right wing propaganda. The members of this organization are elitists. "But there for the grace of God go I'. Let's see what happens when they lose their jobs. We are talking about poor children. They are justifying malnurishment!  Bull Shit is right!

  • They have a point poverty in America is all realitve to what other American's have (none of them are starving or dying of preventable disease). But this guy paints a picture that poverty in America is like living in paradise, obviously these guy's have never lived in the inner cities, reservation, or Appalchian mountins. And this guy is totally wrong on the goverment cant do anything line if we had universal coverage for the poor this would make thier burden alot less

  • Thank you! I have seen severe poverty in the Deep South where people don't have basic utilities. They don't have running water. (Still using outhouses or waiting until they get to school or going to the nearby supermarket to use the restroom).

  • bull shitT poor kids are fat because junk food is cheaperTO BUY a microwave does not make you rich this guys sucks THIS IS THE WORST VIDEO EVER ON U TUBE

  • So if the people under the poverty line arent really poor...what are the people far ABOVE the poverty line? and so on and so on? Mega Supercalafragalisticexpealados­cis rich?

  • I am showing this video in my college class on poverty.

    It makes a great illustration of "bias", and I am happy to see that most students need little prompting to start criticize and take this video apart :)

  • @ProkonsulPiotr

    I am a teacher too, and your comment here is awesome =)

  • I'm glad all you liberals are watching this and commenting, when you finally grow up you might learn something

    The truth always hurts!

  • @BobbieandSteveDooley

    unfortunately, nothing here is the truth. Blatant lies and misrepresentation piss people of even worse.

  • What else would you expect from the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing "think tank" (is this an oxymoron?) These are the same creeps that say there is no global warming (tell it to the Intuit Indians and the vanishing polar bears.

  • Honestly, I am amazed at how many people there are that post here that simply could never be swayed by facts.

    You know, the everyone I know and I agree that Bush/Cheney are the devil and that Heritage is one of those evil neo-cons that are lock-step with Bushitler so don't ever listen to what they say.

    Do these people ever have a rational thought in there head?

  • What he is saying is that 75% of single parents, if they married the other parent, would have a combined family income above the poverty line.

  • The only poor people in America are that way because they are lazy, must be nice eating free cheese all day.

  • Hell yeah. We should just shoot them all. Digging mass graves will create more jobs too, though we will give those to mexicans as no true american would work for such low low wages.

  • I think his point was that the illegal aliens should be deported, I didn't hear him advocate any shootings.

    Labor jobs will always be minimum wage as long as there is an unlimited supply of illegal labor. That is also why a lot of jobs that used to pay $20/hr. now pay $13/hr.

  • Yes. so it's about time we actually prosecuted employers for hiring illegals and destroying the country. ( and many of them doing it with taxpayer funded industry hand outs )

    It's disgusting and needs to stop.

  • Wow, lordzeno666 and I agree for once. I completely agree that we need to prosecuted employers who break the law by hiring people that may not legally work in the US, that we should reduce taxpayer funded industry hand outs, that it's disgusting, and that it needs to stop. Unfortunately, most Democrats and some Republicans either do not agree or are not willing to buck business interests or Hispanic voters.

  • No, you confuse issues. we have illegals. that is a problem. they come because of employers breaking the law and creating the demand. that is a problem.

    The bigger problem is how these illegals underpin the economy. Democrats realize you need to also take this into account. Even Bush junior does.

    Me, I care little about higher food prices etc . Then we can be like the rest of the world and pay people real wages to do some jobs.

  • R's & D's sent all good paying jobs off shore! Welfare to work - heard the figures on that BS? Keep electing R's & D's and that VT socialist communist Bernie Sanders and watch the redistribution of wealth from middle/poor to the RICH. See politicans in action type in search Vermont Shay and see how politican don't give a damned.........

  • What wonderful double-speak. War is peace, poverty is wealth. Thank you Big Brother - I mean, Heritage Foundation.

  • The poverty in America's [talking about USA] it's completly different from Latin America's Poverty.

  • I should've known if I clicked on this vid I would've seen huge arguments and fights, Ill leave this to you guys..Don't mind me.

  • I don't know why we bother talking to you boneheads. When I was poor; I received NO welfare. I lived in my CAR and washed at the GAS STATION. I worked two jobs. Waitress and Janitor. I put myself through school (yes: COLLEGE, I had already grad. HS) But this film is a BALD FACED LIE YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF MAKING IT YOU LIARS!!

  • wow, sukt 4 u. but now you dont do that, right? so what you are saying is that you WORKED and got yourself out of that situation. you werent poor, you were broke, poor is permanent, broke is just passing through. no shame in temp. broke. lots in poor.

  • This video is 100% correct. People who are considered "poor" today are well fed, well clothed, often live rent free and have access to a variety of social services. "Poor" people today use cell phones, drive SUVs, have big screen TVs and in general, have a higher standard of living compared to the average person in the 1950's. The definition has completly changed.

  • Are we poor? Do you know people in America who don't own color televisions, cars and refrigerators?

    Other than the homeless, most people have it pretty good. Socialism stagnates, capitalism competes and creates!!

  • funded by the gop. pure propaganda

  • Like i'm going to trust anything coming from the "HERITAGE FOUNDATION" hmmmmmm, what's their motivation? ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM!

  • Look at evidence and reason rather than just throwing insults. True everyone has motivation and we should take that into account. The left wants to gain power through statism and collecting more taxes from the people so they can choose where it will go instead of the individual that makes the money. Alos look at results, who uses money more effectively the person that earned it or someone spending someone elses money ie. government officials.

  • right on bro. Where do we go to find more people that get it or at least will have decent discussion about it?

  • The government is a cash cow for liberal socialists and bureaucrats. It's all a big lie based on spending your hard-earned tax dollars...revolt!!

  • as opposed to 500 billion on an unjust war? at least the liberals want to help mankind. the neocons just want to steal it for their own pockets

  • hey stick your noodle bucket back up your ass you brainless fuck! you and the rest of the fucking socialist scum in this country need to be bitchslapped you are the skidmarks in societies shorts!

  • Only Lou Dobbs CAN save America,mexico dump their poverty to this country becoming CESSPOOLS

  • Maybe we should stop flooding the country with foreigners here on visas like the H-1B and the L-1 that undermine the ability of skilled Americans to get the jobs they trained for in college!

  • The statement of poor American boys at age 18 weighing 10 pounds more and being an inch taller than the GI's who stormed Normandy is rediculous.Poverty stricken Americans of TODAY are exposed to and forced to buy (because its cheaper) pre-processed foods and oils that make up approximately 80% of trans fat in the diet. Whereas even 20-30 years ago, for a working poor family it was cheaper to buy fish, chicken and fresh vegatables as opposed to convienience of processed food products.

  • Not true--I grew up in the 50's and can't remember having fresh vegetables. Canned everything! But, no chips, fritos, ice cream at home, pop tarts (breakfast was toast), no hoagies, steak sandwiches, bagels, doughnuts, etc. This generation should try to imagine NO SUPERMARKETS--corner stores only, butcher once a week driving his truck, etc.

  • Well now, I suppose alot of that (fresh veggies)depends on growing up urban, rural, what part of the country your from and family habits. In MN home gardens and local farms were a plenty and most of the cans in our home had Kerr or Mason on the side. This generation can imagine corner stores, butchers, milk trucks by watching T.V (again back to the weight issue)The average American can only utilize what is shoved upon us. THANKS WALMART-no just kidding, it cant all be blamed on a chainstore.

  • Read the book, "The Working Poor." Won the Pulitzer. Tells the truth, instead of this lovely alternative from Heritage.

  • I live in Chicago where there are 100,000 homeless High School Students. Once out of high school, systematic police corruption will ensure that they have a rap sheet, which will likely exclude them from student loan eligibility. Think about it. Republicans make money from underfunding education so that they can maintain a poor working class. It's intentional, they're selfish elites, and some of you are clearly fools.

  • 1000,000?haha please. police corruption doesnt make people commit crimes. govt schools have no competition, and dems and teacher union shave run education for decade, not repubs. quit whining about your poor wk ethic.

  • Ron Paul is the only candidate that follows the United States constitution, and nothing but the United States Constitution. He is for small government, and wants to keep the government out of our daily lives. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for the beliefs of our founding fathers,

    RON PAUL 2008!!!

  • Ron Paul is a liberal goober, he has no chance of winning, he could not even win mayor of a small town, mostly due to his left-wing nutjob supporters that spam every Utube video they see with hate and retardation.

  • thanks for the facts and not just emotional scare tactics.

  • that's funny, i arrived in the US illegally from cuba last year, i'm gay, have two kids with my husband, work 15 hours a week, and by growing all of my food, generating my own electricity, not paying taxes, and squatting on private land, i not only have completely disconnected myself from the American system of control, i meet all of my needs and am incredibly happy. looks to me like the H.Foundation is populated by unhappy Americans. hey AF folk, don't worry, be happy.

  • This is the same "GRAND OLD CRAP" that has been the rhetoric of the "Kinder and Gentler" conservative movement that has plagued our nation for decades.

    When families have two working parents, some parents with more than one job living one paycheck away from becoming homeless, having to live a meager existence, unable to afford health insurance, unable to afford an insured reliable vehicle. and or relying totally on public transit, begs the question what is wrong with this picture.

  • yeah! they need to NOT do drugs, they need to NOT have babies they cant afford (duh), they need to NOT have rap sheet, and stay in school, NOT buy rims, NOT do stupid shit to make them poor. lazy, stupid mouth breathers

  • what's your point?

  • meaning that people live above their means, have kids they cant afford and are surprised when they dont have money. dont "blame bush" (ooooh)for your poor decision making.

  • My wife and I have jobs. We and my 4 kids are poor. I'm not saying were starving, but we're poor. We don't have Cable or a good car. We eat, but not good food. Good food is expensive. I just wanted to let the republicans know, that its tough being stupid and lazy.

  • jjistheman, who made you have 4 kids if you are poor? You should have stopped at 3.

  • The real problem is the antisocial, entitled, adolescent attitude of most of the so-called "poor" people. My family lived on $99 a week in 1985. We were frugal. Our biggest problem was lack of education, so we put each other through school. We just did without and ate beans and rice. The only thing wrong with poor people is that they are LAZY and they have an IMMATURE, ENTITLED ATTITUDE.

  • What is your beef?

    That they think??

    That they look tanned???,

    or that they are better looking than you or I????

    I don't get you.

  • Why do they actually call those guys Republican "thinktanks"? Seems to be a money wasting silly propaganda machine full of sun- tanned frat guys.

  • you heard about Mike Gravel being kicked off the AARP debate maggie?

    blocking out the only senior in a debate about SENIORS

    why don't they block out Obama from the next minority debate? or Richardson from the next immigration debate. This is an outrage. call them 1-888-687-2277

    Bruce at 515-697-1001. liberty or death!

  • The Bush administration has lost over $3 trillion dollars, there is no explanation from the government, or the heads of the defense department, HUD, and other departments involved, where this money has gone. Some of you are worried about lazy, slack ass Americans? lol

    This is surreal, this has to be dystopia. That is over $3,000,000,000,000 missing, do you get it?

  • huh? eeeek!

  • instead of worrying about lazy people, I would really be asking your corrupt president where the money has gone. this is truly amazing, that some people find the poor lazy or whatever you want to call them, and see them as a drain on your economy, and your magnificent president looses $3 trillion, it isn't funny, that is money the average American, and their children are going to have to pay for. Funny?

  • I would have to agree with the consensus here that this is blatant Republican propaganda. "Marriage and hard work are better solutions than bigger government programs that don't work". Over-simplified arguments to dismiss real problems, rather than acknowledging them and addressing them. I don't dispute that there are plenty of people "in poverty" out of sheer laziness, but certainly not all. How about promoting Habit for Humanity?

  • The answer to poverty is for poor people to quit being lazy, and get jobs.

  • they are addressing them. its called get off your ass, stay in school, dont smoke crack, DONT BREED, dont commit crimes. do u know anybody who adheres to that who is poor? id really like to know.

  • So what you're saying is that everyone that is poor is a lazy, drop-out, crack smoking, promiscuous criminal. As I said... oversimplifying. I don't fall into any of those groups, and stuggled for a couple of years due to layoffs, etc.

  • The poor people are so lucky in this nation, If they would quit the begging and get jobs, they would not be poor.

  • Men...marriage and hard work that solved the problem.. dude have been in rural United States? and seen poverty.. get off from your rich suburb and get to know your country better.. by the back road

  • naceval, If it's so bad in rural areas, why don't they move to the city?

  • To put things in perspective, the heritage foundation is payed for by The Republican National Comittee. Good luck getting any non bias information. (with the exception the donor list)

  • Wow! you mean all we have to do to erase poverty is go to work 40 hours week and get married? Wow . Bullet proof stuff you got there...

  • wow: a rich WASP in a suit from the Heritage Foundation of all places is supposed to convince me that poverty does not exist. I'd say you try getting a (minimum-wage) job but daddy probably pays for your car, condoms and conservative $1,000 haircut. And no, I'm not an Edwards supporter. But I sure as hell don't support your people either, blondie.

  • one of the best points I've seen on a youtube comment.

  • That's all just work and marriage? Easy enough.

  • Do you dumbasses with a computor think you are so well off? Worked my hole life and payed taxes. And am afraid to go to a doctor, Because some jackass lawyer is bribing a congressmen disquised as a lobbyist!

  • 5.15 an hour while congress salary raised 34,400! Now most poor people drive long distance to work and pay out the ass on taxes! Maybe the poor should get a tax break for a change! Or let SS or medicare go towards healthcare.

  • If you are a good worker you want make 5.15 an hour for long

  • It is bad logic to say that people in poverty are all just too lazy to work. If you haven't been in poverty, then you can't make judgments. All of the things people in poverty deal with everyday are overwhelming. This report is rather biased, saying that unmarried women need to stay married to keep their kids out of poverty. Basically, my point is that poverty has many faces and situations, most of which only people that have been in poverty can understand fully.

  • this is pretty biased. Can we get an unbiased report on poverty?

  • Every day at work, I drive through town, and see young adult black men sitting on there porch, all to lazy to work

  • too

  • Wow... evidently all poor people have themselves to blame. The typical Conservative response to a problem... blame the victims, punish kids for their parents' shortcomings, and ship the problem off somewhere else for someone else to deal with. Go ahead and bash "bad parents" if it makes you feel better about yourself as you drive your new BMW home after the interview... but those that you're really victimizing are the kids caught in the crossfire.

  • Judging by the comments, the loony liberal leftists can't face the truth. I work hard for the money I earn. Either do the same or starve but keep your hands out of my pocket. Cut taxes and end government giveaways and income redistribution to those who are too lazy to work for a better life.

  • well if mexicans will work for pennies and take away

    white mans higher labor its poverty thats 1 example

  • la la land...another right-wing justification for people being poor! This is another propaganda piece to keep citizens ignorant. Source for faux news, no doubt.

  • Any adult in the USA, who is not lazy, will not be poor.

  • Wow, instead of actually using a plausible argument against welfare programs, they bash it by saying that most people on welfare are fat sluts. They could say that we need to cut back on welfare because it undermines people's ability to do things for themselves by making them feel like a victim of society rather than it being their fault for them being poor, thus making them feel more powerless.

  • I find it odd I would say this as I would probably consider myself a sortof anti-capitalist, communist, socialist, totalitarian, world domination type. But hey, I would have FREEDOM OF SPEECH, YEAH!!!!!!!

  • The Heritage Foundation is pure, 100% manipulative LIES.

  • Right wingers and religious fools are soon going to find out that communism is NOT dead if they keep up with this kind of bullshit, THEY themselves are creating the conditions that foment revolution when they promote corporate fascism and elitism. Think about it . . . you push extremism, and you will get extremism in return. Resistance does not arise out of nothing, you create it with YOUR extremism. See how George Bush has HELPED communism in South America?

  • OK..this Rectum character is TRULY an asshole!!!!  FUCK WELFARE!!! They penalize the damn KIDS!! There is more honor is being a WHORE than being on welfare...it is MUCH LESS WORK. Anyone on welfare should be paid administration wages because THEY do all of the record keeping and filing and provision of information in the age of the neverending INTERNET! I wanna slap the taste out of this foolz MOUTH!!!! Uuuggghhhhhh

    Tell my fukkin' ROACHES how poor some of us are you JACKASS!

  • Go buy some raid for the roaches and then you can whore your whiny ass on a street corner. Uuuggghhhh!!

  • Ummmm...tell your mother to whore on a street corner, better yet, tell her next time, condoms really DO help...ROFL...I'll see her ass on Maury Povich...got DVR? Retard...

  • Ummmm...you watch Maury Povich while most of us are working. That may be why you have reduced yourself to prostitution and living with cockroaches. Peel yourself away from the television and the computer and get a job. That may improve your self esteem and make you less angry. It's worth a try. GOOD LUCK! Retard...

  • You have shown your idiocy once again. A DVR asshole has nothing to do with staying home, read an article or two..you are officially DISMISSED!!! Next...

    B.

  • You actually record Maury Povich. Wow, you've got more problems than I thought. Stop now,.... you're starting to look like a fool here.

  • THE NAZIS HAVE NEW CLOTHES.

  • OMG good to see that Americans are still justifying their disgusting greed.Of course it isn't the fault of your country it is the fault of the poor themselves, not working enough, low education.Poor kids are fine living in the car. Dont give them government help,make them work harder, give them 2 jobs so that they are unable to look after their kids. I am sure the kids will be safe in the car, and grow to be good members of the community breaking the cycle of poverty!!

  • democrats use poverty to make american feel guilty and give themselves a tax increase

  • Looks like a REAL serious attempt at rationalizing the problem so you can ignore it with a clear conscience, cling to your ignorant redneck christian fake values, and promote more corporate mergers. Ever tried living on minimum wage?

  • If you find it difficult to live on minimum wage, that is a sure indicator that you should look for a job that pays more. Minimum wage was never designed to support a family. Learn a trade, or get a second job. If you're 30 years old and living on minimum wage, you missed the boat. It is up to the individual to improve their condition. The opportunity is there but action is required.

  • What? This is completely ridiculous right wing propaganda. Why does this man want to hurt the poor? I hope none of you buy this slander paid for by rich white americans so they can keep the masses from taking back what they were swindled out of by this diabolcal banking system.

  • Mr.Rectum reflecks the outlook of the government! I have free healthcare a great salary and pension! Did poverty let the bridge fall? I am a citizen in a demacracy and the richest country on earth! And 5% of the population control 70% of the money! And want to control the world! Why should my taxes pay for a rich motherfuckers healthcare?

  • whats the big deal with poverty... every society has it and always will.

  • Simple answer - The way they get the unemployment numbers is pretty misleading. It is done by telephone survey with questions that are designed for just this outcome. Also - they're not calling crickets, they are calling listed numbers. This survey is not really set up to include the poor.

    Other answer - The poor ARE working. I have worked with them. Most people can't support a familiy on 175.00 a week.

  • a) The "stuff" the poor have is mostly from credit. Credit has been the solution to poverty in this country, when all it does is transform poverty into slavery. Not all the bad debt in this country is from spend-crazy college kids.

    b) The poor have Medicaid, Wellfare, housing, and food assistance. The areas that progressives want to improve are education (to help the chronically poor to escape their situation) and guaranteed healthcare for all Americans.

  • welfare is slavery

  • welfare without offering hope for a better future IS slavery, I agree. Who have you met that argues we should just write bigger checks to the poor?

    We need to improve public, access guaranteed education. We need to stop the exportation of work to other countries. We need to make sure that all Americans (especially those without "the power of the purse" as their ally) have access to medical care.

    This is the progressive agenda.

  • well those, and get the illegals out of our country. that and we have to now try (the biggest problem) to get these people who have been born and raised in this type of system (welfare) to do a 180 and teach them the right way, which is always hard work.

  • Absolutely. Welfare is step one (stop people from dying) of a total course of action to improve our country. We never really got around to step two, which is offering the poor access to the same opportunities that the wealthy and (shrinking) middle class have had. The situation is never going to change if we don't tear down the barriers to success.

  • I also agree that immigration reform is key to the turnaround. It won't be fixed until we can find a humane compromise, however. Special interests have too much riding on cheap labor to allow real progress to be made on this issue. Spend money stopping more illegal immigration, coupled with bringing the immigrants (human beings) who are already here onto the radar. Stop the flow of good jobs out of the country, and bring up the standards on the crappy ones by shining a light on exploitation.

  • yeah, they need to kick these fucking companies asses that send all their labor to other countries...then again, those guys pay off our congress, senators, president, etc. with BILLIONS of dollars a year in "lobbying" money, the biggest form of legal bribery EVER!

  • yes they do outsource work to other countries which costs american jobs like to india for example, we have people here who need those jobs to feed there families our government is crooked and big buisness is laying americans off for cheaper labor to avoid paying taxes, it needs to stop NOW americans need good paying jobs

  • We live in a dynamic economy, more people are working today, than 10 years ago, Good workers can always find another good job, the rest just bitch about it.

  • Hollywood multimillionaire friends do not share their wealth with these poor people. Why do these actors and actresses need so much money? All they do is read lines and be cute. I am sure they can solve the problem if they had any social responsibility. The fact that they do not share their money with the poor shows that they do not care.

  • Well that's what proper taxation and allocation of revenues would do for them in a well designed system. What are they supposed to do, run around trying to discern the most deserving recipients of their philanthropy? How ridiculous is blaming hollywood. short sighted response

  • I think it was more of a critique on Hollywood preaching about social causes than actually doing any little. NPO's that I see seem to be only about publicity and just another way for someone in some form of power exploit it get rich. That is the name of the game in capitalism.

  • Great. Ist hurts but is true. Dont work you get poor.

  • What more can we expect from an arch-conservative "think tank"?

    What I want to know is, what is the Heritage Foundations' motivation for swaying public opinion AWAY from fixing this country's massive and growing gap between rich and poor?

  • My god! evil conservative think tank, is trying to change peoples opinion by encouraging/giving a more nuanced view on statistical information. What was wrong with their usual strategy of just blatantly lying/ deceiving.

  • Keep, in this day and age, "Ye who has the best spin, wins!" check out my video response.

  • Great video!

  • The "poor" in this country do it to themselves. They drop out of school, get pregnant and then complain that they cant get a decent job with a living wage. They use poor (pun intended) judgment with finances. They use check cashing places to cash their checks for a ridiculous fee. They rent furniture. They buy cars at crappy interest rates. The list of stupid financial decisions poor people make could go on forever.

  • People are products not only of the choices they make but also from the social environment they grow up from. So Alas you can't always blame poor people for their poor judgment, when they have little choice.

  • So what you're saying is that poor people are stupid and cant help themselves. I agree. Thats why we need school vouchers. Our public education system is not helping poor people at all.

  • This is satire right? Very good!!! Almost frightening !!! We all had a good laugh - thanks.

  • No what I am saying is that people are affected by their environment. The society can change and modify that environment to promote a positive impact. unfortunately it is difficult to break/change negative social heritage.

  • Another BUSH baby! There is no middle class anymore.....just super rich and poor. They get medical help but spend their whole lives paying off the bills.

  • Aren't these the same tools that thought Iraq was a good idea? This is NeoCon propaganda!

  • Protein most expensive? try Macdonald's 1 buck for a hamburger

  • Hey dumbass.....McDonalds leads to more medical bills......what an idiot!

  • Beans n' rice = complete protein and its super cheap. Thats why both are food staples in third world countries. He should have said meat protein.

  • Guy is dead on! American poverty is like living like a king where real poverty exists.

  • Yeah! They get free cars, a free house in the suburbs, there are beautiful eateries that charge pennies for amazing meals on every corner, they get limo rides weekly to pick up their free sack of money... it must be great!

  • Maybe in third world countries. I really doubt that's true for Western Europe, Japan, etc. Maybe if the Govt got out of our lives it eventually would balance itself out. Black owned businesses serving the black community with black employees is a good solution to that problem. It works for my immigrant community where my family benifits from the richer people of my ethnicity.

  • what a slimy scummy organization. a "think tank" funded by neocons. that's an oxymoron?

  • So...if marriage is the answer...why not let two women marry?

  • I personally enjoyed the copious "benchmarking" for babyboomers -like there's shortage of people telling old folks what they want to hear. p.s. I'd be really let down to find that "air conditioning" refers to heating AND/OR cooling.

  • good attitude brother - Cheers

  • I poked around a little about this -anecdotal seems to say that it is indeed cooling. A funny point not mentioned is that a large number of poor are elderly who's lives may depend on it -funny because this message seems tailored for the "Archie Bunker" crowd who are maybe a component in the stats.

  • Maybe 60% of poor are renters -A/C may be provided. Maybe 40% are home owners, again many may be elderly -who paid off years ago and can no longer work -or be lifted from poverty by getting married and watching Andy Griffith reruns.

  • Sorry to rant - low income renters may have become "new" homeowners as result of recent financing fiascos -and are now poor homeowners -they may have been dumb to overextend credit, but the folks who loaned the cash aren't suffering a shared burden -banks got bailed out

  • health coverage???????wtf?bullshit

    a suit telling poor people how to live??

    That's like the Pope telling a pimp "not to smack them bitches upside the head". Seriously, look inside your soul before you do shit like this. Don't sell out.

  • This is an extremely unbalanced video. They interview one person, no opposing points of view, and then wrap it up with "so as you can see, the poverty in America ain't so bad, because kids get plenty of protein after all, and what we really need to do is get married and kick out the illegal immigrants."

    Really pathetic.

  • He was making obvious the facts that poverty in America is not what most poeople think of when they hear the word poverty, that it is easier to support a family with two adults in a family than one, and that allowing immigrants in with the education of high-school drop-outs, whether legal or illegal, inflates the number of people earning wages below the official "poverty" line. None of those should be a surprise.

  • statistics ......... what are the unions doing to keep jobs in north amercia? lets all move to where the companies are getting their products made for half the cost ...sigh the older i get the more i dont want to know ...no kidding

  • I might be considered poor by these statistics. I work hard to make ends meet. Cable doesn't fit into my budget, so I don't have cable. I rarely use air conditioning to save $, but that is life. I am working hard and creating a better life for myself and in about three years I will own my own business and then I'll be doing well. This country has always been based on the harder you work the better you do. The truth is successful people are willing to do what the unsuccessful poeple are not.

  • Not everyone can be strong. Not even in this country. But good luck with your business.

  • I agree, not everyone can be strong. But should those that cannot be given handouts?

  • No, but strength can be taugth and even triggered in an education system not based on competition but on personnal and global development. Don't give a hungry man a fish, don't blame him for being hungry, teach him how to fish. No one, not even the wealthy is responsible for poverty. We are responsible for not doing anything else about it than, at worst, complaining or blaming, or, at best, feeling guilty.

  • Cable television is much cheaper than going to the dentist, paying a mortgage, fixing bad plumbing, subscribing to health insurance. No one is stupid enough to actually want to be poor, not even "illegal aliens" that do the crap work we won't do... well because it is simply not paid enough. fighting poverty does not equate to fighting poor people. Rather, it starts with the acceptance of its causes: injustice, competition, poor education. Heal the tree, don't dump the fruits.