I'll show you poverty!

[Pat Hurley]

I never cease to recoil at liberals who tell us how poor the poor are in America and how many poor people we have. That we should be ashamed, redistribute our country's wealth to the "poor", and jack up spending on social programs designed to alleviate the crushing poverty we have in this cruel, racist land.

Phooey. Bull butter. Poppycock.

How should poverty be properly defined?

You show me an American home WITHOUT...
- cable/satellite TV
- $100 sneakers
- DVD players
- a car at least 10 years old
- occupants who "eat out" a majority of each week
- a full liquor cabinet
- cigarettes
- cell phones
- a Sony PlayStation or Xbox
- a computer

...and I'll show you a poor household!! But how many American homes fall into this category?! Yes, VERY few.

I remember back when I lived in Fort Lauderdale and served as a Lector (the guy who reads the Old Testament reading, a reading from one of the Epistles, and more) at Saint Anthony Church, I had a very upsetting occurance prior to Mass as I was going over the Prayer of the Faithful (these are special intentions, written by the Diocese, to be read aloud at each Mass). The response to the prayer is "Lord, hear our prayer.". So, I'm going over all the prayers and one of them reads "Let us pray for all those who are oppressed in our country." I said to Father Hannon, "what in the the hell is this?!" So, I read it to him aloud. And then I asked, "who, in the name of heaven, is OPPRESSED in America today?!!" He agreed that it was clearly over the top and we eliminated it. But just look at how some pinko liberals are so desperate for us to think that you and I are the cause of people starving in the streets, and overseers of people being deprived of their most basic rights, that they're willing to try slip such preposterous falsehoods and commie propaganda into a holy proceeding. They have NO SHAME.

Liberalism is a mental illness. It is, at its very core, lies and absurdities that fly in the face of reason and logic. It is unexplainable guilt, emotionalism run amok, it's insulting, and racist, all rolled into one.

[lohki13]

There are some truly poor households but that is most likely the adults be crack heads. Wish i didn't have to pay 100.00 for shoes but it's hard to get a size 14 or 13ee

[Bruce FLinch]

1 Lot's of poor Americans have an addiction of some kind, whether it be booze or dope or gambling.

2 Most of those addictions are preceded by stupidity to a certain degree.

3 Oh yeah & having 3-6 kids in or out of wedlock, can cause poverty. ( see # 2 )

[bunnyhunter12]

I agree Bruce, the worst I ever saw was once when my buddy and I were at our local pub. The place was pretty near empty so we noticed when a guy came in around 1:00am and sat down at one of the slot machines. He sat there for about an hour and a half, never printed a ticket winning money but kept feeding the machine twenty dollar bills. At this point the door opened and a little girl no older than seven came into the bar wearing her pyjammas and went to the man on the games and asked, "daddy can we go home now?". He said, "in a little while, go back to the car." and continued playing. My friend and I looked at each other as the little girl went back outside. This was too much, so we got up, "escorted" him to his car (didn't want to knock him out in front of his kid) and called Child Services when we got back inside. The case is still pending.

This kind of thing cannot continue. I knew this man, not personally but I knew his situation. He doesn't have the money to spend on gambling and it was winter, with the girl sitting in the car. I wouldn't do that to a dog!

P.S. No, the man was not drinking, we made sure of that before we let him drive home with the kid in the car. I'm no kind of caped crusader going around trying to run other peoples lives but sometimes you have to step in. Am I wrong in this?

[Appliancedude]

My wife is a pharmacy tech. She used to work where they take medical. She would constantly come home and b!t@h about the medical people that would come in with manicured/painted nails and cell phones complaining that they where on medical so they don't have to pay the 2 dollar copay

[firebird]

Originally Posted by Pat Hurley

- a full liquor cabinet

Could you define a "full" liquor cabinet???

[southernshooter]

Originally Posted by Pat Hurley

You show me an American home WITHOUT...
- a car at least 10 years old
- occupants who "eat out" a majority of each week
- a full liquor cabinet
- a Sony PlayStation or Xbox

My house

[Don Buckbee]

Redistributing wealth is Marxist, and I'm totally against it, or any form of it.

Don

[charagrin]

I dont have very many video games anymore, No liquer and never will, no smoking, my cars a torino, and no tv. I watch what I want online. I dont even really have that many guns, not in the long rune anyway. I usually get only what I need. -Char

[gaowlpoop]

Pat

My house hold does not have most of the things on your list. I do not have them because MY wealth is what is being redistributed. My income alone has $28 a day stolen from me, and I am retired! That does not include all of the other theft when ever I go to purchase something. Everything is exactly backwards. If you do something good, you are punished. If you screw up everything around you you are rewarded.

[Nighthawk]

Originally Posted by bunnyhunter12

I agree Bruce, the worst I ever saw was once when my buddy and I were at our local pub. The place was pretty near empty so we noticed when a guy came in around 1:00am and sat down at one of the slot machines. He sat there for about an hour and a half, never printed a ticket winning money but kept feeding the machine twenty dollar bills. At this point the door opened and a little girl no older than seven came into the bar wearing her pyjammas and went to the man on the games and asked, "daddy can we go home now?". He said, "in a little while, go back to the car." and continued playing. My friend and I looked at each other as the little girl went back outside. This was too much, so we got up, "escorted" him to his car (didn't want to knock him out in front of his kid) and called Child Services when we got back inside. The case is still pending.

This kind of thing cannot continue. I knew this man, not personally but I knew his situation. He doesn't have the money to spend on gambling and it was winter, with the girl sitting in the car. I wouldn't do that to a dog!

P.S. No, the man was not drinking, we made sure of that before we let him drive home with the kid in the car. I'm no kind of caped crusader going around trying to run other peoples lives but sometimes you have to step in. Am I wrong in this?

NO

[Pat Hurley]

Originally Posted by firebird

Could you define a "full" liquor cabinet???

A representative from the four major food groups... vodka, bourbon, gin, and tequila.

[catfish83861]

[QUOTE=Pat Hurley;265877]I never cease to recoil at liberals who tell us how poor the poor are in America and how many poor people we have. That we should be ashamed, redistribute our country's wealth to the "poor", and jack up spending on social programs designed to alleviate the crushing poverty we have in this cruel, racist land.

Phooey. Bull butter. Poppycock.

How should poverty be properly defined?

You show me an American home WITHOUT...
- cable/satellite TV
- $100 sneakers
- DVD players
- a car at least 10 years old
- occupants who "eat out" a majority of each week
- a full liquor cabinet
- cigarettes
- cell phones
- a Sony PlayStation or Xbox
- a computer

...and I'll show you a poor household!! But how many American homes fall into this category?! Yes, VERY few.

Well Pat I guess I fall into at least one or two of those categories
1) No Sony Playstation
2)No $100.00 SNEAKERS, MINE CAME FROM Wal-Mart FOR $18.00
3) a 1988 FORD Bronco II
4)No cigarettes as the wife not I smoke
5)No full Liquor cabinet- relate that to no cabinet, I do however have a bottle of Seagram's 7 and another bottle of Crown Royal for snake bite medicine.
6) We eat out once a month as that is my requirement for taking the better half out for dinner.
7)Cell Phone, I have one of the pay as you go that the wife carries in case of an emergency on the road.

Now for what I consider the rest of the story as Paul Harvey says.
Are we Poor in a city dwellers thoughts, Yea maybe so! In out thoughts. HELL NO!!! Do we need or want federal help, again same answer. We do not have fancy trimmings but there has never been a friend that has shown up here that has went away hungry, Well now that is unless he/she was a vegetarian. We do consume some small amount of Elk and Cougar meat around here. So I guess I/we fall into the poor class, just don't try to make me go in and beg for food. Might not like my comments. Now that I have run my mouth, I agree with what you have previously stated for the most part. I just don't agree with you have to have or not have to be POOR. I do NOT consider myself poor. Money poor- Yea OK. Money is not everything. Nice but not absolutely required for existence and even fun. Heck we have fun just watching the Animals in the yard. Just one old country boys thoughts. catfish

[Bruce FLinch]

Bunny, you were right on to intervene on behalf of that poor child.

I had to laugh the other day @ my daughter & her friend. Both go to a private school & were each trying to justify to each other how "tough" they had it.

Growing up w/ 4 brothers, my dad worked & Mom stayed home. We were never lacking for food, shelter, or clothing. And we knew we weren't rich, & we knew we were better off than most.

[stash247]

Poor is a 'relative' adjective; when I lived with my grandfather, we lived way west in North Carolina, in a little town of maybe 150 souls, and worked hard for all we had; my best Christmas ever saw me with a pocket knife I had 'lusted after', for several months, down at Bob Green's store, and a "happy Christmas", from Grandpa!
We were never 'poor'; hell, we owned the towing service, a 19 hand Arkansas Mule, who could pull like a tractor!
Whe we got electricity, '55, or '56, I think, it was like going to Disneyland, every day!
The poor lived in the cities, where they could not scare up some venison, or pork, deppending on the weather, with a short walk in the woods; Grandpa's smokehouse was always full of meat, some of it, I find, much later, that might have been just a 'scosh' out of season, but there, just the same.
We had a garden, full of corn, beans, and other, in addition to nature's bounty, so 'lived large', in spite of little income, and shared our wealth with others, in the community, on a regular basis.
No welfare, food stamps, or any other subsidy, as I recall, just an honest living, out of a day's work!
TV? No, until I went back to live with Dad, in 1960, The rest of the electronic BS, never, including cable, except the (recent) cellular phone.
My needs have always been pretty simple, and my debt, modest; I work as an automotive and truck mechanic, days, and now as a "cowdog rehabilitator", after; and this career is my finest calling, IMHO.
God has given me the opprotunity to 'recycle' some of his finest creations, otherwise who would be 'throwaway' animals, soon to be euthanised, into very productive 'citizens', earning their way by their competence, and poise, in every situation!
You need them six cows, in your bathroom? Gimmee five minutes, and one of my dogs will put 'em there!
This is a touch, above poverty, to me, money, not an issue.
I got a lot full of dogs, all smarter than their 'prior' owners, who 'work' like a fine swiss watch, most, by hand signals, alone!
By census sandards, I suppose I am among the 'working poor', but by mine, very rich!
Be very careful, with labels, as they may end up 'biting you on the butt'!!!