SOCIALISM!

Last week, the US Census Bureau released new figures showing that nearly one in six Americans lives in poverty – a record 46.2 million people. The poverty rate, pegged at 15.1 percent, is the highest of any major industrialized nation, and many experts believe it could get worse before it abates. Overall, though, the figures seemed to be greeted with resignation, and political leaders in Washington pressed ahead with efforts to cut federal spending. The Pew Research Center said its recent polling shows that a majority of Americans – for the first time in 15 years of being surveyed on the question – oppose more government spending to help the poor.

I should add the US unemployment numbers are artificially low. The system is pretty bizarre in that it counts the percentage of the working-age population that is working or is actively looking for a job added to those who are collecting unemployment. That number neglects the underemployed, the long-term unemployed, the unemployed have exhausted all unemployment benefits, and so on, which the Bureau of Labour Statistics do not deem unemployed. Ultimately, the US unemployment figure is far higher than the 9.1 percent unemployment figure pushed by the media and many lawmakers; in fact it’s considerably worse. The problem is that the true figure is unknown. That means there is no impetus to address this issue in a realistic manner.

Although, one element of Obama's jobs plan was welcomed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, on Sunday. That's the president's plan to allow businesses to hire the long-term unemployed for a limited period of time for free. It's based on a programme called Georgia Works in which Georgians receiving unemployment benefits are matched with employers who are seeking employees and who agree to provide up to eight weeks of training. The employers do not pay the workers, who work no more than 24 hours a week; instead workers continue to receive their unemployment checks and a $240 stipend to help cover transportation, child care and other expenses.

I'm not sure how that will get people out of poverty.

Of course, the nice thing about all this poverty is that it does bring families back together as they move into one home since they can't afford their own.

That or get used to being homeless.