Economy The Poorest 20% of Americans Are Richer on Average Than Most European Nations

[Mendacious]

lol this is the most dogshit right wing garbage.
"groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and food stamps, the poorest 20 percent of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries"

So in translation:
We worship at the feet of the rich writing misleading tabloid garbage that tries to imply that poor people have it great by running weird tallies of all the potential charities and government program they could conceivably get then compare it to a ridiculously lower cost of living area like eastern Europe which is also a shithole. therefor super rich people are great, government is bad, and poors need to vote for less taxes and the middle class should sneer at the uppity poors.

Eastern Europe wouldn’t qualify for affluent societies

That being said, this flawed methodology produces the sensational headlines about how 20% of American children go to bed hungry.

It just scans people according to income and if they qualify for food stamps, and if they are on food stamps or not.

If you do not receive food stamps and your income falls at or under that line, that is how they determine Americans are starving.

 

[RetiredSlave]

Youre talking currency poor. Lotta currency poor Ive noticed are richly generous, to a fault, in some cases thats why theyre poor.

 

[LMP]

I dont see what this has to do with the fact that the top 20% own >80% of the wealth in America. That means that most everyone from America is fighting for that last <20%. That's not a great sign fo a sustainable future. As more and more of that wealth will continue to be taken by fewer hands.

Also this article states that just because America's bottom 20% has more "wealth", doesnt mean they have a better quality life. There are other factors to consider.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

It’s almost as if there are other European countries other than Germany, France and the U.K.

And according to OECD the avg income in the US is higher than every country except Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Iceland.

The 3 countries you listed are 13, 14, and 15th.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

i dont buy it.
been to poor america and been to poor europe.
i'd rather be in poor europe, at least there's free healthcare and education.

This study is saying you can go to the free clinic..

 

[F1980]

You see this in travel vlogger videos on Youtube where Europeans come to the US and make videos about their opinions. They always talk about how much more "choices" we have and how much "stuff" there are at Walmart, Target, etc...

and also how Americans drive everywhere instead of walking

and how big the food portions are compared to theirs. We get a lot more food for less money

 

[PHATV]

The only people shocked that this could very well be true are those who don't seem to get that there is such a spectrum when it comes to wealth among European states.

Also, would you rather be poor in America with a bit more "stuff" or in a state where you can go to school and the hospital for free or next to nothing?

Americans be like yeahh, we got more stuffs! America, F Yeah!

Do people not know that our poor get (and have always received) free no-deductible HC including dental and vision?
Prior to Obamacare, even. Medicaid. And a hospital treats anyone who comes in the door by law. Again, all before anyone ever heard of Obama.
I never did understand the HC BS.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

I dont see what this has to do with the fact that the top 20% own >80% of the wealth in Americe. That means that most everyone from America is fighting for that last <20%. That's not a great sign fo a sustainable future. As more and more of that wealth will continue to be taken by fewer hands.

Also this article states that just because America's bottom 20% has more "wealth", doesnt mean they have a better quality life. There are other factors to consider.

1st paragraph: Wealth isn't a finite resource, but I agree with the general premise.

2nd para: Spot on, but "quality" is arbitrarily assigned in most situations.

 

[Deleted member 159002]

Do people not know that our poor get (and have always received) free no-deductible HC including dental and vision?
Prior to Obamacare, even. Medicaid. And a hospital treats anyone who comes in the door by law.
I never did understand the HC BS.

True to an extent. Patients without insurance can under certain circumstances get treated and then refuse to pay the bill. However, if they do this, their credit will get ruined.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

Poor today isn't the same as poor when most of us were kids. Poor today just means you don't feel like working.

Poor today means that you have to go thru Cricket for a smartphone instead of Verizon..

 

[PHATV]

True to an extent. Patients without insurance can get treated and then refuse to pay the bill. However, their credit will get ruined.

Medicaid pays for it all if you're on welfare. You don't have to.

Same as if you refuse to pay for anything if you're not on welfare, I suppose. But let's not kid ourselves. They don't care about their credit. They don't need any. Free rent, free utilities, free school, free school breakfast, lunch and dinner for their kids (year-round, not just during the school year), free medical, free dental, free vision, free transportation, it's all very bad for the poor here. And by poor, I mean anyone who chooses not to work.

 

[Deleted member 159002]

Same as if you refuse to pay for anything, I suppose. But let's not kid ourselves. They don't care about their credit. They don't need any. Free rent, free utilities, free school, free school breakfast, lunch and dinner for their kids (year-round, not just during the school year), free medical, free dental, free vision, free transportation, it's all very bad for the poor here. And by poor, I mean anyone who chooses not to work.

Many people who get an expensive illness/injury do care about their credit and want more than public housing, free sausage and egg sandwiches at school for their kids, etc. A lot of these people have insurance, but their plan says they owe thousands of dollars out of pocket.

 

[Sketch]

You see this in travel vlogger videos on Youtube where Europeans come to the US and make videos about their opinions. They always talk about how much more "choices" we have and how much "stuff" there are at Walmart, Target, etc...

and also how Americans drive everywhere instead of walking

and how big the food portions are compared to theirs. We get a lot more food for less money

With double the GMO

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Yes, the low cost of everyday goods in the US benefits everyone. Even the economic eunuchs and incapables

 

[PHATV]

Many people who get an expensive illness/injury do care about their credit and want more than public housing, free sausage and egg sandwiches at school for their kids, etc. A lot of these people have insurance, but their plan says they owe thousands of dollars out of pocket.

I've been there. They arrange payment for those situations. If you owe $8000, they'll gladly take $80/month. $40/month if that's all you can pay. The whole narrative is bullshit, my man.

I was referring to actual poor people who are already availed free health care here and always have been.

Not those idiots who walk around with no HC by choice. Because they "can't afford it" while they have an iPhone and all their kids do, cable, flat screen TVs throughout the house, more car than they can afford, I've seen more examples than I can count on my fingers and toes exactly like that.

F 'em.

 

[Deleted member 159002]

I've been there. They arrange payment for those situations. If you owe $8000, they'll gladly take $80/month. $40/month if that's all you can pay. The whole narrative is bullshit, my man.

lol I work in billing for a semi-large healthcare provider and I can tell you we do not do payment plans that last anywhere near 8 years. The absolute longest we might hold an account would be a little over a year before sending it to external collection, and even that would be a rarity.

I was referring to actual poor people who are already availed free health care here and always have been.

Not those idiots who walk around with no HC by choice. Because they "can't afford it" while they have an iPhone and all their kids do, cable, flat screen TVs throughout the house, more car than they can afford, I've seen more examples than I can count on my fingers and toes exactly like that.

F 'em.

The average Bronze plan (which are shit) monthly premium for an individual plan last year was $379.70 https://news.ehealthinsurance.com/n...ealth-com-for-the-2019-open-enrollment-period. I can't find deductible data for 2019 or 2018 but in 2017 the average deductible for an individual Bronze plan was $7,148 https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/re...ow-much-does-individual-health-insurance-cost. That should be criminal. A 50 inch flat screen TV costs about $300 and it's not something you replace every year or even every other year. An iPhone 11 costs $700, but you can get it for $450 if you trade in an old iPhone.

Sure some people live profligately, but someone who has worked to earn a certain wage shouldn't have his spending dictated by needs significantly more than his coworkers.

 

[PHATV]

lol I work in billing for a semi-large healthcare provider and I can tell you we do not do payment plans that last anywhere near 8 years. The absolute longest we might hold an account would be a little over a year before sending it to external collection, and even that would be a rarity.



The average Bronze plan (which are shit) monthly premium for an individual plan last year was $379.70 https://news.ehealthinsurance.com/n...ealth-com-for-the-2019-open-enrollment-period. I can't find deductible data for 2019 or 2018 but in 2017 the average deductible for an individual Bronze plan was $7,148 https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/re...ow-much-does-individual-health-insurance-cost. That should be criminal. A 50 inch flat screen TV costs about $300 and it's not something you replace every year or even every other year. An iPhone 11 costs $700, but you can get it for $450 if you trade in an old iPhone.

Sure some people live profligately, but someone who has worked to earn a certain wage shouldn't have his spending dictated by needs significantly more than his coworkers.

University of Cincinnati Hospital will. I promise. And I'm not sure what you're talking about, but even the people I know who can write a check usually pay down a large provider bill in the same manner. A monthly payment plan. I'm not young and I know many people who have done it that way all over the country, so I'm not sure what to say.

You're touting HC that people buy. We're talking about two different things. I'm talking about government-provided Medicaid which is free, no deductible coverage for medical, dental and vision. And it has been, long before Obama. If you're on assistance, i.e. if you're "poor" in the US. I don't know anything about the "Obama" plans because everyone I know has HC provided through their employer. Where they work. A job.

Anyone who "can't afford HC" should not have a 50" TV or an iPhone, my man. Ever. It's absurd. And insulting to the producers of society who pull their own weight.

 

[nostradumbass]

lol, and how much richer are the top 20%?

It was never about people having it that bad. It's always been about envy, which is no surprise since promotion of the 7 deadly sins is pretty much the left's entire platform. Hell, they've even created holidays and entire months around a movement called "Pride" that revolves around lust.

https://www.wisebread.com/our-high-high-standard-of-living-1

In the 1950s and 1960s, a working man could support a family at a middle-class standard of living with just one income. It might surprise you to learn that one person working full-time, even at minimum wage, can still support a family of four at that standard of living. Nowadays we call that "living in poverty."

In the early 1950s, fully two fifths of American households had no automobile, about a third did not have a private telephone or a television, and the homes of about a third of all Americans were dilapidated or were without running water or a private toilet and bath. Only a small minority of families enjoyed such basics as a mixer or had a hot-water heater.

 

[xcvbn]

 

[Deleted member 159002]

University of Cincinnati Hospital will. I promise. And I'm not sure what you're talking about, but even the people I know who can write a check usually pay down a large provider bill in the same manner. A monthly payment plan. I'm not young and I know many people who have done it that way all over the country, so I'm not sure what to say.

It's not uncommon for hospitals, surgeons, and anesthesia to each bill separately, as each one's staff are employed by a separate company. Just because a hospital might do payment plans that last years doesn't mean every company billing the patient will.

I'm not surprised you know lots of people who have no trouble paying their out of pocket (OOP) charges since OOP spending is highly concentrated. 5% of the population accounts for almost half of the US' OOP spending. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org...-concentrated-as-overall-health-spending_2016

You're touting HC that people buy. We're talking about two different things. I'm talking about government-provided Medicaid which is free, no deductible coverage for medical, dental and vision. And it has been, long before Obama. If you're on assistance, i.e. if you're "poor" in the US. I don't know anything about the "Obama" plans because everyone I know has HC provided through their employer. Where they work. A job.

Anyone who "can't afford HC" should not have a 50" TV or an iPhone, my man. Ever. It's absurd. And insulting to the producers of society who pull their own weight.

States can impose OOP costs on Medicaid patients (albeit low). Middle and working class people should be able to have low OOP insurance that doesn't cost them a fortune in premiums just like poor people.