We're Not As Wealthy As We Like To Think We Are

We Americans are not nearly as wealthy as we think we are.  We have that dream, of course, and we're all just a few months or years away from striking it rich and retiring early.  All we ever see on television and in movies is rich people, and since television is the peer group for most Americans, it is natural for us to think of ourselves as being part of a wealthy peer group.

Millions of Americans went into the recession with whopping credit card bills (the average American's credit card debt is $8,000), mortgages they couldn't really afford, and a mysterious appetite for clothing and consumer goods.  For Stuff.  

Lulled by the bedtime story into what Dave Ramsey calls "keep throwing the ball forward" mentality, most Americans had grossly overextended their finances and were living well beyond their means.  Convinced, of course, that their big break would come soon, and they would be able to pay off all those bills any day now.

The truth is that we are a lower-middle-class nation at best.  Although the average household income (the money earned by all members of a household) is $50,000, the actual median income (i.e. the amount of money most people earn) is $26,000 per person. This discrepancy is caused by two-income families (both parents earning $26,000 apiece will create a household income of $52,000) and by a small but statistically significant number of super-wealthy.

The situation with hunger in America is getting increasingly hard to ignore.  This weekend the New York Times carried an article about the food stamp program, which was streamlined and improved during the last Bush administration, making it easier for people to get signed up for what is now called "nutritional assistance."  (I was surprised to learn that George W had done anything to help the poor, much less something as patently good as improving the food stamp program.)

The food stamp program is expanding by about 20,000 people per day.  You can click on their interactive map to see the food stamp statistics for your county.  15% of people in my county are on food stamps, and 28% of children.  As the New York Times says, "Even in Peoria, Ill. - Everytown, U.S.A. - nearly 40 percent of children receive aid."

In other words, we are close to being able to say that the average American is on food stamps.  Only about 2/3rds of the people who are eligible for food stamps are receiving benefits.  Hunger doesn't affect some random stranger in a big city ghetto far away, it affects your friends, neighbors, family members, and coworkers.

Nevertheless, Rush Limbaugh has the gall to insinuate that the number of food stamp recipients is as high as it is because of fraud.  Because people would rather be on food stamps than work for a living.  And state that food stamps, as well as other government assistance programs like unemployment and Medicare, are "going to destroy what was the greatest country on Earth."

And I can't help but wonder… what country is it, that Rush is living in?  Because it obviously isn't America.  Rush lives in a country where the government has "a move on to convince people to stop trying" and go on public assistance.  I don't like the country where Rush lives.  Let's call it the United States of Crazy.