Poor // Current TV

Fat Cats Get Fatter, 2011 CEO Pay Rose 6% To Average $9,600,000. Here's How Many Poor Families That Paycheck Can "Sponsor"

Let's weigh the fat cat

mfb1949
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5 days ago
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Climate related disasters on the rise in Asia Pacific

Is the Asia-Pacific region set to bear the onerous title of having become the disaster centre of the globe? So it would seem if one went by UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Report “One Planet to Share — Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate”.
Climate-related disasters are on the rise and during the last two decades, 45 per cent of the world’s natural disasters, whether it be floods in Pakistan in 2010 or Cyclone Nargis which hit Burma in 2008, have occurred here, resulting in numerous deaths, massive human dislocations and severe economic losses.

The public here remain extremely vulnerable largely because while this region hosts half the world’s population, it also has two-thirds (900 million) of the world’s poor. India with its sizeable population hosts a sizeable chunk of this below the poverty line population whose access to social services remain limited and who, because of their limited means, will perforce bear the brunt of climate change.

Mountain communities, with a sizeable 140 million population, are vulnerable to food insecurity, especially those living above heights of 2,500 metres. Temperatures here are rising, snowfall is decreasing, springs are drying up as are other water sources. The communities living in India and Nepal complain against a proliferation of crop diseases and pests which is attributed to shrinking winter period and a decline in snow fall.
The river deltas of India, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam are being threatened by rising sea levels. River bank erosion, the report suggests, is displacing 500,000 people every year. Rising sea levels, one report suggests, will reduce land area by 21 per cent, thereby affecting 16 million people.

Erratic weather patterns have been found to adversely affect indigenous tribal populations who comprise 240 million with more than 500 ethnicities. Their problems may vary as is the case of tribal women in the Khuti district of Jharkhand who complain that rising temperatures has meant a decrease in the harvest of lac, a natural polymer from an insect, used to polish handicrafts and help maintain freshness of fruit.

More at the linkIs the Asia-Pacific region set to bear the onerous title of having become the disaster... more

JanforGore
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19 days ago
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1 comment

Let them eat rice and beans: is Sean Hannity really a vegan?

Is it possible the Sean Hannity is a closet vegan?

WizardOfOsrin
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30 days ago
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California Congressman Pete Stark Calls Mitt Romney's Bluff On Motherhood As Work: His H,R, 4379 Proposes TANF Amendment

Work vs. work

mfb1949
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1 month ago
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4 comments

"The Real Obama"

Sean Hannity continues his vetting of our All-American President, in this segment he... more

LT4456
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1 month ago
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2 comments

People line up for Obama stimulus money debit cards that don't work

People in NYC are lining up because they heard that people were getting a debit card... more

starfan82
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1 month ago
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What's a Liberal?

Progresshiv talks about what it means to be a liberal.

Progresshiv
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1 month ago
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251 comments

No Tooth Fairy For Me

Another dentist appointment today. Seems like I just had one. I go every 6 months for... more

joeeddy
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1 month ago
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Romney Elevates His Distance With Car Elevator - Here's His FCQ (Fat-Cat Quotient)

How many poor families can Romney afford?

mfb1949
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2 months ago
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4 comments

Article: ALEC Watch 3/27/12

it's usually a good idea to know what these guys are up to - usually out to get... more

frankpatton
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2 months ago
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Paul Ryan's Plan: The GOP Budget And The 2012 Race

Impact on safety net of Ryan budget plan:... more

jsayler
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2 months ago
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Hero of the Day Wisconsin Rep Fred Kessler

A "fiery speech illustrating the truth on yet another Republican initiative to... more

KB723
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2 months ago
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73 comments

Bernie Sanders: Vermonters Vote to Undo Citizens United

Sen. Sanders discusses the initiatives in 60 Vermont towns to overturn the Citizens... more

KB723
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3 months ago
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68 comments

The Class War Paradigm

One of the few things garnering any bipartisan support these days is that America is... more

omnipotentpoobah
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3 months ago
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America's POOR 101

Isn't it strange that we need the BBC to tell us that America does not give a damn about the poor (mostly working poor) of our country (or the middle class for that matter), even though it is apparent and all around for us to watch how quickly our country is becoming a Plutocracy. The Republicans, who are blatantly leading the way, with a Mitt Romney, so out of touch with we-the-people, he remarks…He’s not concerned about the very poor… That says it all, of course they (GOP) are not concerned about the poor that is why they try to gut ANYTHING that tries to help the poor and lift them from their poverty shackles.

It does not make sense but I guess as a member of the 99%, spending most of my life physically working hard, trying to make an hourly wage in order to feed family, while fending off any fear that homelessness could possibly become a reality, I along with the other 99%, WOULD find it difficult to make sense of the Republicans' revulsion with poor people. I don’t think the rich could ever lay claim to that affirmation. thinkingblue

PS: Here's a guy with a great idea: William Gay http://www.timesargus.com/article/20111214/OPINION02/712149958/0/NEWS01
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Give the wealthy a dose of ‘reality’

It seems that the “reality” shows are all the rage. “Dancing with the Stars” and “Survivor” have captured the attention of an audience that only dreams of becoming more than what they are.

Given that, I have come up with another reality show that may not only serve those with a hunger for distraction but also those who see our social network and the politicians that effect it way out of touch with reality. I call it “Poverty Survival for the Wealthy.”

It would entail taking 10 of those of the 1 percent and putting them into an impoverished situation. It would also mean that their family would also be part of survival without means. Each of the contestants would be placed in poverty in either a rural or urban setting. They would have to survive facing government cuts to health care benefits, food stamps and assisted living. Their children would learn what it is to be in schools that are not about education but about survival. They would actually have to shop for groceries knowing that they are limited to only buying food that is not only inexpensive but relatively unhealthy. Also, they may have to face the fact that the clothes they wear make the Salvation Army the haberdashery of choice.

The only problem I have with this is how to decide the winner. I think that it would be the one who most strongly realizes that those of wealth need to understand that being poor is not a choice but a reflection of a system that only favors the wealthy, a system that is stacked against those who are poor and offers them no escape. I can’t wait to see how the “Donald” survives.Isn't it strange that we need the BBC to tell us that America does not give a... more

thinkingblue
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3 months ago
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9 comments

Update: Rick Scott's Drug Testing Poor People Law

Rick Scott is an abomination. How he EVER got ANYONE to vote for him is beyond reason.... more

thinkingblue
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4 months ago
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3 comments

Voice in the Wilderness: Amenities in Poor Households - America vs. India

AMERICA POOR IS HIGH CLASS COMPARED TO OTHER NATIONS

charkeseharvey
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4 months ago
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Food Stamp President

Food Stamp President

Why doesn’t someone just come out and call Newt Gingrich out? When Newt called President Obama the ‘food stamp’ President what he was really doing was slamming the President for having been ‘poor’! He was making an inside joke as to why Obama is not ‘fit’ to be President, in Newt’s mind (world), Obama is just not one of the ‘good ole’ boys’, he was not privy to an elite and preppy upbringing, he didn’t mingle and rub noses w/the ‘1%’ as a child. Newt really wanted to say that Obama was born on the wrong side of the tracks, but he knew that would be a little too racially charged so he toned it back a bit, the meaning, however, is still the same.

Saying that ‘more people than ever are on food stamps under Obama …’ was his out and he calculated that, Newt is Macovellian in that way. He knew that w/the ‘1%’ they would understand his lingo and snicker and w/the other ‘99%’ they would accept his follow-up definition, as he knew that he would need to clarify at some point. Let’s just call a spade a spade!

Newt is known for his dirty tricks, in the ‘90’s Newt was fined over $300k for ethics violations in the House while he was Speaker of the House, and remember that this was under a REPUBLICAN Congress! Newt has found that it is easy to retell his story if he waits a few years ~ the public at large seem to have a short memory and a shorter attention span ~ and simply changes the parts of his history that he does like, or at least the parts that he finds most hindering in his ongoing quest for power.
Newt is not using Reagan as an example that is a travesty to the integrity of Ronald Reagan. Newt is using Nixon as a model. Nixon lost to JFK in 1960 despite his (Nixon’s) dirty politics, and then came back several years later in 1974 to beat McGovern for the Presidency. In that 14 year span people seemed to forget the kind of person that Nixon was so when he played the ‘dirty politics’ card in 1974 it worked. That is Newt’s model ~ Newt, who left the House of Representatives in disgrace, much the same as Nixon left the White House in disgrace.Food Stamp President Why doesn’t someone just come out and call Newt Gingrich... more

politicalair
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4 months ago
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White Folk On Welfare

I was watching the Daily Show with John Stewart the other night and he had a guest who... more

baghdadbythebay
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4 months ago
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56 comments

Income inequality in the Roman Empire:more equal than U.S?!

Income inequality in the Roman Empire

December 16, 2011 by Tim De Chant

Agrippina the Younger

Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the top 1 percent used to control a little over 30 percent of the wealth, they now control 40 percent. It’s a trend that was for decades brushed under the rug but is now on the tops of minds and at the tips of tongues.

Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by almost 10 percent, making it more unequal than Russia, infamous for its powerful oligarchs. The U.S. is not faring well historically, either. Even the Roman Empire, a society built on conquest and slave labor, had a more equitable income distribution.

To determine the size of the Roman economy and the distribution of income, historians Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen pored over papyri ledgers, previous scholarly estimates, imperial edicts, and Biblical passages. Their target was the state of the economy when the empire was at its population zenith, around 150 C.E. Schiedel and Friesen estimate that the top 1 percent of Roman society controlled 16 percent of the wealth, less than half of what America’s top 1 percent control.

To arrive at that number, they broke down Roman society into its established and implicit classes. Deriving income for the majority of plebeians required estimating the amount of wheat they might have consumed. From there, they could backtrack to daily wages based on wheat costs (most plebs did not have much, if any, discretionary income). Next they estimated the incomes of the “respectable” and “middling” sectors by multiplying the wages of the bottom class by a coefficient derived from a review of the literature. The few “respectable” and “middling” Romans enjoyed comfortable, but not lavish, lifestyles.

Above the plebs were perched the elite Roman orders. These well-defined classes played important roles in politics and commerce. The ruling patricians sat at the top, though their numbers were likely too few to consider. Below them were the senators. Their numbers are well known—there were 600 in 150 C.E.—but estimating their wealth was difficult. Like most politicians today, they were wealthy—to become a senator, a man had to be worth at least 1 million sesterces (a Roman coin, abbreviated HS). In reality, most possessed even greater fortunes. Schiedel and Friesen estimate the average senator was worth over HS5 million and drew annual incomes of more than HS300,000.

After the senators came the equestrians. Originally the Roman army’s cavalry, they evolved into a commercial class after senators were banned from business deals in 218 B.C. An equestrian’s holdings were worth on average about HS600,000, and he earned an average of HS40,000 per year. The decuriones, or city councilmen, occupied the step below the equestrians. They earning about HS9,000 per year and held assets of around HS150,000. Other miscellaneous wealthy people drew incomes and held fortunes of about the same amount as the decuriones.

In total, Schiedel and Friesen figure the elite orders and other wealthy made up about 1.5 percent of the 70 million inhabitants the empire claimed at its peak. Together, they controlled around 20 percent of the wealth.

These numbers paint a picture of two Romes, one of respectable, if not fabulous, wealth and the other of meager wages, enough to survive day-to-day but not enough to prosper. The wealthy were also largely concentrated in the cities. It’s not unlike the U.S. today. Indeed, based on a widely used measure of income inequality, the Gini coefficient, imperial Rome was slightly more equal than the U.S.Income inequality in the Roman Empire December 16, 2011 by Tim De Chant... more

figgdimension
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5 months ago
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6 comments

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