Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox 6
Anybody can just make up a random statistic and people will believe it at face value. 38% of all people know that.
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Yes, and that goes both ways, including arguments about how the rich are soaking the poor. Example: A common fact thrown around by the left is that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing. That's true, but what does that really mean?. The GAP is growing, but that does not mean that the poor are getting poorer. It means the rich are gaining wealth at a higher rate than the poor, but the poor are gaining wealth well above the rate of inflation. (I believe over the last 30-40 years (inflation adjusted) the rich have grown at 70%, but the poor have grown at about 30%). Hence the gap, and how those who wish to abuse statistics can do so for political gain.
Another "fact": The middle class is shrinking. Yes, it is, but levels of what are considered poor have remained relatively stable over time. So what is happening to the middle class? They are graduating to upper middle class, not dropping to the poor. Again, this is all about how people define the classes to drive statistics. If we use a modern, political definition of poor, or an overly rosey definition of the upper middle class, we can create whatever class war we wish.
Most of this is caused by another myth: There is only so much wealth to go around. I disagree with this economic world view for reason I've briefly touched on (and the vast increase in wealth after the emergence of the industrial age). If you believe there is only so much wealth to go around, then when you hear the rich are getting richer you automatically believe the poor must be getting poorer. Where else could the wealth be coming from from? Simply put, they created it.
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Personally I think the fact that we have redefined poor over the last century reveals more in the way of prosperity than impoverishment than statistics ever could. My dad grew up with an outhouse and a communal sink for 7 siblings and they considered themselves working class.
Now if you can't afford a data plan for your cell phone or cable TV you're one step above homeless.
Note: Any information I post without a source linked is from personal recollection, so I may misremember the exact numbers, but the jist of it should be on point.