No. 99% of the US is not below the poverty line, 1 in 15 is. That's disgusting enough.

dletter: Lando Lincoln: sigdiamond2000: $11,157 for a family of four."

That's just not possible. There's just no farking way people can live on that.

There is no way people can live the way YOU do on that.

If you live in subsidized housing, or incredibly low cost housing area (rural, apartments $250 or less a month)... food stamps, etc... no money for extracurricular activities, little/no health spending, etc. They are surviving, not "living" I guess. But, that is why they are called "poorest of the poor".

After taxes, I make just about $6400/year. The only reason I'm not homeless or dead is because I have a) a boyfriend who makes a lot more and doesn't complain that I'm not holding up my end financially and b) parents who were willing to buy me a car outright and don't complain when I don't make my $50/month payment to them. Other than that, I never go to the doctor or dentist, I pay $80/month for car insurance and $50/month for my cell phone (it's the only phone I have and I need it for my job), and I only ever spend money on food. Everything else is expendable.

The headline reminds me of a certain athlete -- I think either Rickey Henderson or Stephon Marbury -- who, when told of a comment that 50% of the players in his league is on steroids, remarked, "Well I'm not, so that makes it 49%."

Shouldn't it actually be 14.85 out of 15?

CaptainWes: cambie: No body else got the South Park reference yet?

THANK YOU

Is the joke about lack of subject verb agreement?

Lando Lincoln: sigdiamond2000: $11,157 for a family of four."

That's just not possible. There's just no farking way people can live on that.

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. People who aren't familiar with the government assistance programs available, look at how much they earn, how much they are left after taxes and how expensive it is to pay their bills. And they conclude, correctly, that nobody could live on that amount.

But when you earn very little you have a lot more of your check after taxes. You also have assistance programs like food stamps to help with your bills, subsidized housing to help with your rent....I don't pretend to know the details of it; but my sister who is an unemployed single Mom can take her child to the emergency room and pay $0. That's better than any health insurance I've ever managed to get my hands on. I know she lives in subsidized housing; but I don't know how much she pays. I know it's a nicer place than I had while I was in collegel

I also think people are surprised to learn what programs they might qualify for. I ran into this problem with my (now wife) old girlfriend. She was on her own, working a crap job, trying to get into vet school. Her income was so low she qualified for food stamps. She could have filled out some papers and received something like $120 worth of groceries (I might be wrong on the amount, this was a while ago) each month. But she refused to do it, because it was for 'poor people'. Even though she was clearly poor enough to meet the requirements.

Oddly enough, she is more than happy to take advantage of tax deductions and credits; but there is a stigma that some forms of paying less in taxes are for poor people while other forms of paying less in taxes are for rich people. So she wouldn't get food stamps; but would gladly accept subsidized student loans.

sigdiamond2000: Brandyelf: No. 99% of the US is not below the poverty line, 1 in 15 is. That's disgusting enough.

It's even more disgusting than that. 1 in 15 are worse than just below the poverty line. 1 in 15 are now "the poorest poor," meaning "an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four."

The actual poverty statistic is more like 1 in 6.5.

But I'm sure someone will come in here shortly and explain that these people are living high on the hog what with their cell phones and refrigerators.

RTFA

About 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population, make up the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the official poverty level. Those living in deep poverty represent nearly half of the 46.2 million people scraping by below the poverty line. In 2010, the poorest poor meant an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four.

/Is in the poorest poor

FTFH: "1 in 15 people is are now the 99%. Shouldn't it be 14.9 out of 15?"

Goddamn it, subby, why do you make me hit you?

Kirkenhegelstein: FTFH: "1 in 15 people is are now in the 99%. Shouldn't it be 14.9 out of 15?"

Goddamn it, subby, why do you make me hit you?

Goddamn it, Kirkenhegelstein, why do you make me hit you?

Um... no.

14.9/15 = 0.99333333333...
14.85/15 = 0.99

get your math right.

Wow. You spectacularly failed at current events and math all in one headline. This headline may well be even dumber than Pricipal caught sayof.

And grammar! You failed at grammar, math, and current events all in one headline.

Goddamit so much submitter...

sigdiamond2000: Well, this is an incredibly depressing article.

This is also one of the worst headlines ever greenlit on Fark.

^ This.

Can't tell if the headline was supposed to be funny somehow or if tardmitter is that batshiat ignorant.

Splinshints: You failed at grammar, math, and current events all in one headline.

Goddamit so much submitter...

Came here to say this... left with disappointment that I am too slow.

/headline still sucks
//poverty sucks
//slashies dont suck.

So what, they have refrigerators don't they?

The saddest (or most satisfying?) thing about this study is the places hit the hardest are the ones who continually vote against their own economic self-interests.

Disposable Rob: Seen every episode multiple times and I still don't get this. Is this like a Simpsons thing where most people who stopped watching after the first couple seasons can quote every episode from those seasons, but those of us who've seen every episode barely even remember them?

I think last night's episode was on OWS, so it should be missed by anyone that hasn't seen it already. I'm just guessing, b/c it is still sitting on the DVR for me.

dletter: If you live in subsidized housing, or incredibly low cost housing area (rural, apartments $250 or less a month)... food stamps, etc... no money for extracurricular activities, little/no health spending, etc. They are surviving, not "living" I guess. But, that is why they are called "poorest of the poor".

Especially noteworthy that in this study, for the first time, they included benefits like housing/food subsidies, and still came up with the 1:15 figure. Of course, they did deduct "cost of being poor" type things like higher food prices, low mobility, etc...

You mean to tell me that a huge influx of unskilled immigrants that breed like rabbits combined with rednecks that breed like rabbits will have a substantial impact on pulling down the bottom end of the 99%?

Adding to social programs and being supported by others, I've known a couple of people who were that low get by with under the table jobs. They didn't have a full time job so they spent their free time shoveling snow or cutting grass for neighbors, volunteering to programs that fed their volunteers, collecting scrap etc. Anything to make a buck or get a meal and those things usually paid cash and didn't show up on their tax returns.

DrAwesomeTBM: Can't tell if the headline was supposed to be funny somehow or if tardmitter is that batshiat ignorant.

Well, I like the headline.

sigdiamond2000: Brandyelf: No. 99% of the US is not below the poverty line, 1 in 15 is. That's disgusting enough.

It's even more disgusting than that. 1 in 15 are worse than just below the poverty line. 1 in 15 are now "the poorest poor," meaning "an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four."

The actual poverty statistic is more like 1 in 6.5.

But I'm sure someone will come in here shortly and explain that these people are living high on the hog what with their cell phones and refrigerators.

Refrigerators? They have more than one now? They can't be poor!

xaveth: img856.imageshack.us

You're saying that Obama should do everything in his power to unilaterally bypass Congress to get necessary changes done?

Well, you're bold, I'll give you that.

LouDobbsAwaaaay: Did South Park become funny again, or are they still all preachy and lame? I haven't watched the show in years. Actually I'm surprised it's still on the air.

It stopped being funny when Matt Stone quit writing for it.

Sumpinlikedat: dletter: Lando Lincoln: sigdiamond2000: $11,157 for a family of four."

That's just not possible. There's just no farking way people can live on that.

There is no way people can live the way YOU do on that.

If you live in subsidized housing, or incredibly low cost housing area (rural, apartments $250 or less a month)... food stamps, etc... no money for extracurricular activities, little/no health spending, etc. They are surviving, not "living" I guess. But, that is why they are called "poorest of the poor".

After taxes, I make just about $6400/year. The only reason I'm not homeless or dead is because I have a) a boyfriend who makes a lot more and doesn't complain that I'm not holding up my end financially and b) parents who were willing to buy me a car outright and don't complain when I don't make my $50/month payment to them. Other than that, I never go to the doctor or dentist, I pay $80/month for car insurance and $50/month for my cell phone (it's the only phone I have and I need it for my job), and I only ever spend money on food. Everything else is expendable.

lol wut?

What do you do for work?

dletter: nyseattitude: lol wut?

What do you do for work?

That doesn't sound like much, but... just mapping it out... if they make a minimum wage of $7/hr.... lets say the before taxes is $7,500 (since, she shouldn't be getting hardly anything taken out at that level)... that is 1071 hours worked in a year, which comes to 20.6 hours a week, or the very definition of a "part time" job.

So, congratulations... you just met your first part time minimum wage earner.

Same boat plus 50 grand in debt from lol student loans. Please kill me.

Sumpinlikedat: After taxes, I make just about $6400/year. The only reason I'm not homeless or dead is because I have a) a boyfriend who makes a lot more and doesn't complain that I'm not holding up my end financially and b) parents who were willing to buy me a car outright and don't complain when I don't make my $50/month payment to them. Other than that, I never go to the doctor or dentist, I pay $80/month for car insurance and $50/month for my cell phone (it's the only phone I have and I need it for my job), and I only ever spend money on food. Everything else is expendable.

So, in other words, you're a spoiled, privileged little snowflake who is prostituting herself, albeit to a single repeat customer?

I love how the Fark Independent response to people living on less than 10K per year is "That can't be... that's impossible."

A crappy $15/hr job 4 years ago is now going for $11-12/hr now, at most. For those of us not currently employed, who were making around $20 and have to change fields now? Yeah, we're farked. Basic administrative duties are being filled by bachelor and master's degrees. Beyond farked.

We actually have the largest population of poverty in any developed country: 39%. America the beautiful...

/btw subby, 99% includes not just the poor, but everyone making less than $500K.

Slackfumasta: Sumpinlikedat: After taxes, I make just about $6400/year. The only reason I'm not homeless or dead is because I have a) a boyfriend who makes a lot more and doesn't complain that I'm not holding up my end financially and b) parents who were willing to buy me a car outright and don't complain when I don't make my $50/month payment to them. Other than that, I never go to the doctor or dentist, I pay $80/month for car insurance and $50/month for my cell phone (it's the only phone I have and I need it for my job), and I only ever spend money on food. Everything else is expendable.

So, in other words, you're a spoiled, privileged little snowflake who is prostituting herself, albeit to a single repeat customer?

I make over 100K a year and life is pretty farking good! You people need to quit farking around on fark and facebook, get your shiat together and get a god damned job. farking whiney biatches.

Propain_az: I make over 100K a year and life is pretty farking good! You people need to quit farking around on fark and facebook, get your shiat together and get a god damned job. farking whiney biatches.

So do I. But I also realize that not everybody is as lucky as I am. you should think about somebody other than yourself, for a change.
I work with a guy who hired in right out of college. He's never had to work a minimum wage job in his life. He sounds like you. Born on third base and thinking you hit a triple.....