Newsweek: You’re Probably Going to Be Poor

[IDemo]

Last edited Sun Jul 26, 2015, 10:06 AM - Edit history (1)

-- Cross-posted from GD:

College undergraduates—even those headed into lucrative fields like computer engineering, consulting and finance—often live in mortal anxiety over the possibility of being poor. According to a study published this week, their fears might be well founded. Around 60 percent of people between 25 and 60 will fall into the 20th percentile of incomes at some point in their lifetime, while 40 percent will dip below the 10th percentile line, according to Mark Rank, a professor of social welfare at the University of Washington, St. Louis.

The findings suggest that for many Americans, a steady income and a stable career trajectory are not necessarily the norm. Using data from households collected between 1968 and 2011, Rank finds that over the course of a lifetime, Americans' economic situations can shift drastically. In a previous study published in his book Chasing the American Dream, Rank found that a striking 54 percent of Americans at one point fell below the U.S. poverty line.

“Taken together,” Rank said in a Washington University press release, “These findings indicate that across the American life course there is a large amount of income volatility.” In other words, when it comes to going through hard times, the question may not be “if,” but rather “for how long?” While 60 percent of people will experience poverty for at least a year, the new study says, around 25 percent are likely to experience five or more years of poverty, while about 12 percent are likely to go through five years of extreme poverty.

“Poverty is often thought of as a ‘them’ issue,” says Rank. “What these findings indicate is that poverty is an ‘us’ issue. It’s something that many of us, not just some, should be concerned about.”

http://www.newsweek.com/youre-probably-going-be-poor-357104

Sanders on poverty, from his US Senate website:

Let’s be clear, it is a national disgrace that 46.5 million Americans are living in poverty today, the largest number on record. It is a national disgrace that at 21.8 percent, the U.S. has the highest childhood poverty rate of any major country on earth.

But without the current social safety net which was largely established as a result of the War on Poverty and the New Deal, economists have told us that the poverty rate would be 29 percent - almost twice as high as it is today.

[Demeter]

1. It depends on what one values

If Money is your only value, yes, you are most likely going to be poor...frequently, randomly, or by your own hand if you do something stupid.

But as this is America, your poverty varies. Are you healthy? Do you have a social support group? Are you educated to a level that sustains your efforts to live a life worth living? Do you have training for the middle class (even as it slowly fades out of existence)?

Are you white? Have you recently immigrated? Do you have family to help you?

Do you know how to access support from the governmental organizations and the private ones?

Do you have a safe place to sleep at night? Regular meals? Know how to get at least minimal health care?

Being poor is a full-time job that requires college training to do well.

Do you know how to NOT spend money for everything? Can you amuse yourself and your companions with art, stories, activities?

Money isn't everything. It's important when only money will do, but living in the cracks of society is possible and many people do all the time, some for most of their lives.

Being an evil person is much, much worse.

[merrily]

2. Thank you, so much for cross posting. In this forum, I can point out that

this is exactly what Bernie has been saying. He says he thinks the middle class will be gone in a generation or two. He has cited that as the reason he decided to go for the Presidential nomination. He did not announce until it became clear to all that Warren was not going to do it.

He is in this for us and only for us. If he were running for him, he would have done it sooner. No one who is running out of personal ambition announces an exploratory effort for the first time at age 72. Sure, it's fun to hear the applause, but campaigning is a huge effort, especially if you have to do it on a shoestring.

Since he is doing it for you and yours, back him up! Sign up. Sign his petitions. Sign up to receive his newletters. Donate. Volunteer. July 29 is only a few days away. Find an event to attend. https://berniesanders.com/organize/

And smile.

[Autumn]

3. Thank you. A great article and a discussion that needs to be had.

Poverty is an us issue.

[IDemo]

4. Poverty is an us issue.

I think a point needs to be made about the article. It comes across as only an 'us issue' in that many will experience poverty directly during their lifetime. But I think it's an us issue as well for those who may never experience life at that level, but nonetheless empathize with those not so fortunate. That's the primary difference between conservative and progressive thinking, and Bernie embodies that.