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<blockquote data-quote="roadrunner2012" data-source="post: 1188998" data-attributes="member: 40736"><a href="http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/21/cato-institute-report-says-poor-americans-have-it-too-good/" target="_blank">Think Tank Report Says Poor Americans Have It Too Good | The Poverty Line, What Matters Today | BillMoyers.com</a>Excerpt:They also acknowledge the central flaw in their conclusion: in real&nbsp; life the “typical” family in their study doesn’t come close to receiving&nbsp; the maximum benefit from every single program for which they’re&nbsp; eligible. But here the authors’ caveat doesn’t go far enough. Due&nbsp; largely to the fact that eligibility requirements have already become&nbsp; harder to overcome, these programs are helping fewer poor families get&nbsp; by. In 2009, <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&amp;id=3625" target="_blank">around three out of four poor families with kids weren’t getting any TANF benefits</a>. At the height of the economic crash, <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/detail.aspx?chartId=38114&amp;ref=collection" target="_blank">about 25 percent of those eligible for food stamps weren’t receiving them</a>;&nbsp; during better times, that number hovers around 40 percent. And as the&nbsp; CATO study concedes, six out of seven poor families aren’t getting&nbsp; housing assistance.So a study that claims to tell us about the&nbsp; “typical” poor family is really describing a rarity — the equivalent of a&nbsp; four-leaf clover. But the purpose of these studies isn’t to inform good&nbsp; policymaking. They feed a narrative that the poor are lazy and&nbsp; undeserving, and provide wonky cover for further weakening our social&nbsp; safety net. When studies like this one <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/19/Study-NY-Welfare-Recipients-Eligible-For-More-In-Benefits-Than-Teachers-Make" target="_blank">are picked up by the conservative media, all of the authors’ caveats tend to be stripped away</a>,&nbsp; and they become straightforward claims that poor families sit back&nbsp; enjoying a good life, forcing overburdened tax-payers to pick up the&nbsp; tab.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="roadrunner2012, post: 1188998, member: 40736"] [URL="http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/21/cato-institute-report-says-poor-americans-have-it-too-good/"]Think Tank Report Says Poor Americans Have It Too Good | The Poverty Line, What Matters Today | BillMoyers.com[/URL] Excerpt:[I] They also acknowledge the central flaw in their conclusion: in real life the “typical” family in their study doesn’t come close to receiving the maximum benefit from every single program for[/I] [I]which they’re eligible. But here the authors’ caveat doesn’t go far enough. Due largely to the fact that eligibility requirements have already become harder to overcome, these programs are helping fewer poor families get by. In 2009, [URL="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3625"]around three out of four poor families with kids weren’t getting any TANF benefits[/URL]. At the height of the economic crash, [URL="http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/detail.aspx?chartId=38114&ref=collection"]about 25 percent of those eligible for food stamps weren’t receiving them[/URL]; during better times, that number hovers around 40 percent. And as the CATO study concedes, six out of seven poor families aren’t getting housing assistance. [/I] [I]So a study that claims to tell us about the “typical” poor family is really describing a rarity — the equivalent of a four-leaf clover. But the purpose of these studies isn’t to inform good policymaking. They feed a narrative that the poor are lazy and undeserving, and provide wonky cover for further weakening our social safety net. When studies like this one [URL="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/19/Study-NY-Welfare-Recipients-Eligible-For-More-In-Benefits-Than-Teachers-Make"]are picked up by the conservative media, all of the authors’ caveats tend to be stripped away[/URL], and they become straightforward claims that poor families sit back enjoying a good life, forcing overburdened tax-payers to pick up the tab.[/I] [/QUOTE]

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