Speaking of liberals running down the economy to further their political agenda, the predictably left-wing Pew Center has a new study out indicating that one third of Americans aren’t making enough money, and only another third are “living comfortably.”
About four-in-ten (38%) adults in this country say they are living comfortably; another three-in-ten (28%) say they have enough money to meet expenses with a little left over for extras; and about one-in-three (32%) say either that they are just meeting basic living expenses or that they don’t have even enough for the basics.
The study goes a bit further, asking working Americans if they’re making enough money to live the life they want:
A similarly stark division emerges when employed Americans are asked whether they earn enough money to lead the life they want. Just under half (46%) say they do, while 53% say they don’t.
As far as that last bit goes, I’m actually surprised that 46% said they are making enough to live the life they want. Given what I know of people always wanting more out of their lives, the idea that nearly half of Americans are content with their income and quality of life is surprising. If you asked me if I make enough money to live the life I want I’d say no, because the life I want is one where I spend all winter on a yacht touring the world and all summer in a private jet touring American major league ballparks.
Regardless, most people would like a life of riches and leisure. Not many Americans make enough money to live that way. That 46% of respondents to this poll are happy anyway surprised me.
As for the rest, the Pew press release has to do some verbal juggling to make this sound bad. Some 38% of poll respondents say they make enough to live comfortably. 28% say they make enough to pay for the necessities plus some for extras. That’s 66% of Americans who are doing just fine fiscally speaking.
That leaves the 32% who say that they don’t have enough “for the basics.” The problem is, what are the basics? Food, clothing, shelter, transportation and a telephone obviously, but what else? A cell phone? DVD’s? A television? Cable or satellite? A computer? Internet?
Those things aren’t basics, to my mind. Those are luxuries, yet a lot of the people responding to this poll are calling them “basics.” How do I know this? Because I find it hard to believe that nearly 1/3 of America is doing without clothing, shelter and/or food, etc. That’s just not reality, and if you don’t believe me just look around your community. Are 1/3 of your fellow citizens doing without food? Or clothes? Or a roof over their heads?
Of course not. And for further evidence, look at some of the stores that are popping up in your neighborhoods. Stores specializing in movies, music and electronics like Best Buy, etc. These stores are popping up all over to service Americans with money to burn on luxury items. And they wouldn’t be popping up if this Pew poll were even halfway accurate.
So why is this poll misleading? Easy, because liberals love turning people into victims. All the better to pander to them with government programs and entitlements. If the citizenry is convinced that they’re leading a miserable existence, it’s easier to convince them that they need to be dependent on government largess to get buy. And once you have these people dependent on the government, it’s easy to buy their vote with some new social spending.
Conservatives, on the other hand, seek to empower people by making them independent of the government. Now think, which approach to politics is ultimately better to America? The one that seeks to tear people down in order to make them subservient dependents, or the one that seeks to create a nation of independent-minded citizens?
Seems like a question with a rather easy answer to me.