According to that chart it was lower during W's entire two terms than under Clinton's first term (before Gingrich forced him to cut Welfare costs).
But the real point is that living in poverty is a hell of a lot better today than it was in the 60s, and that is because people's lives have been made better by cheaper, better products resulting from free enterprise and not taxpayer dollars.
Poor people today have cars, air conditioning, Cable TV and satellite systems, microwaves, DVRs, various music alternatives, Internet, computers -- all the things that make life as a poor person better than before. It has been shown that poor Americans -- those living below the poverty line, have more living space (twice as much, IIRC) than those in other advanced countries. Almost all have cell phones, most with high-speed Internet. These things didn't come from government. Many poor families have multiple cars and even own their own homes. And they have access to the best health care in the world. Better than you'll find anywhere else.
If you look around, the only times you see people who have been pulled out of abject poverty it has been as a result of a free market system. Not government bureaucracy. |
