We always hear about poverty, but just how does the government decide what poverty is? In the 1960’s, a formula was created to define poverty. It was assumed at the time that food comprised one-third of a family’s budget, so any family that earned less than three times the amount of money that it took to buy food for the household was assumed to be poor.
Every year, the government calculates what they think it should cost to feed a family, then multiplies that number by three to arrive at a figure for the poverty line. How do they calculate that? How do they know what it costs to feed a family? Easy. They look at what it cost a family in 1963 to sustain itself, then adjust that number for inflation. Nowadays, there are idiots claiming that this number isn’t accurate- and I will grant you it isn’t- but they are using that to claim the new poverty number is 16, that is, a family needs to make 16 times what it costs for food in order to not be poor: $140,000 per year for a family of four. If you are poor, you should get government assistance. By this math, 60% of our nation would be living in squalor.
That’s ridiculous.
Where is that number coming from? The leftists claim that this is because the cost of childcare, Internet, and cell phones. First off, if you can afford cell phones and Internet, you aren’t poor. There are people all over the world who manage to exist without those things. Social safety nets are there to make sure people don’t starve. They aren’t there to buy Pizza Hut, video games, and cell phone porn.
The left is invested in making this economy look bad. They want Americans unhappy with the economy. There is an election next year, and Americans vote with their wallets. The press needs to hammer this home every day: “The economy sucks, but Joe Biden’s 9% inflation was the best economy in the past 50 years. Vote for us.”
Instead, let’s use the World Bank’s definition: Making less than $3.00 per person, per day. Under that definition, a family of four would be living in poverty if they had a household income of less than $4,400 per year. I will even be generous- we live in the richest nation in the world, so make that $10 per person, per day. A family of four who makes less than $14,600 is below the poverty line.
Would it suck to make that little? Sure it would. Being poor sucks. However, $10 per person, per day would make you more wealthy than 61% of the planet. That’s why we can’t afford to keep importing more and more poor people- they aren’t enriching us, they are dragging us down into poverty with them.
This article says that when poor people see rich people, they are more likely to vote for wealth redistribution. This is the exact reason why we are not a democracy. Flip it- suppose that the 51% of people who are the richest vote to make the 49% of the poorest become slaves. How would this be morally any different than the poorest 51% voting to take the money of the richest 48% for themselves?
This picture has been making the rounds on liberal social media accounts:
So you need a background check and a waiting period to purchase healthcare with your own money? Is healthcare not permitted in certain cities? Do some cities require a permit to see a doctor?
Or are they saying that they support giving everyone all of the guns they desire, free of charge?
They call us the stupid ones, but then post stupid, easily refuted drivel like this…
What we are all watching right now is a collapse of the old Democrat party. Pelosi is out- I think they are pushing her out for her role in replacing Joe with the Hoe. Schumer is about to be forced out by AOC as part of the end of the government shutdown, and all of a sudden the crazy old man who was seen as the outlier is mainstream. The democrats took a hit for shutting down government, then caving to the Republicans without getting a single concession.
That’s right, with Mamdani winning the NYC election, commie Bernie Sanders is now the mainstream. That’s the pitfall of drawing a line in the sand over what you call a non-negotiable, then backing off of your so-called non-negotiable without a whimper. You come off looking weak and ineffective, something that Republicans have been the best at for decades. Until now.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the US is willing to keep voting in communists.
Social media is filled with posts showing Chinese cities looking spectacular, and morons claiming this is proof that Socialism works.
It’s all smoke and mirrors, and those posting it are likely paid shills for the leaders of China. The reality is that most Chinese citizens are virtually slaves, forced to live in conditions that most Americans would NEVER willingly accept.
For example, at Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), which manufactures products for Apple and other companies, many workers live in company-provided dormitories that are located on or near the factory grounds. This setup is common at large electronics manufacturing complexes in China and other parts of Asia. Workers often live in shared rooms (typically 6–10 people per room). The dorms are part of large factory campuses that also include cafeterias, shops, and recreational areas.
Most Foxconn campuses (like in Zhengzhou, Shenzhen, or Chengdu) are enormous — small cities in themselves — with tens of thousands of employees. Workers live in dormitory buildings right next to the production zones. There are 6–10 people per room sleeping in bunk beds, with shared bathrooms and showers down the hall, they have only basic furnishings: metal lockers, small desks, fans or air conditioning. Laundry facilities and common rooms are available in the building.
They eat in company cafeterias with “subsidized” meals that are paid for with payroll deduction, they shop in convenience stores using that same deductions, and have security gates limiting entrance and exit to and from the factory complex. Rent to live there and for meals is automatically deducted from wages as well.
The schedule looks like this:
6:30 a.m. – Wake up Workers get ready, have breakfast in the canteen, and line up for the shuttle or walk to the assembly building.
7:00 a.m. – Start shift Workers attend a short morning meeting, then start their station work — like assembling iPhone parts or inspecting components.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch break Around 1 hour. Some rest at their stations or go back to the dorm if close.
1:00 p.m. – Afternoon shift Work resumes. Music or motivational announcements sometimes play in the background.
8:00–9:00 p.m. – End of shift Return to the dorm, shower, relax a bit, maybe chat, watch videos, or sleep early to repeat the next day.
One day off per week (though during peak periods, even weekends may involve work or partial shifts).
They largely cannot leave, so they are forced to buy from the company store. The US tried that and moved away from it. Tennessee Ernie Ford even sang a song about it. It’s called the Truck system and has been illegal in the US for decades.
Historically (especially in 18th–19th century Britain and the U.S.), a truck system was when employers paid workers not in full cash, but partly in credit, goods, or services, often redeemable only at the employer’s store or housing. Workers were thus economically dependent on their employer for everything, including housing, food, and basic supplies. It effectively ties workers to the employer, reducing their freedom to leave or negotiate better pay. This practice was widely condemned and outlawed in many countries because it created a form of economic bondage. What China is doing is slavery.
In Foxconn’s case, workers are legally free to quit and spend their wages outside the factory, but the practical barriers (location, cost, lack of time, dependency on dorm housing) make that freedom constrained. It’s not legal bondage, but it can create economic enclosure: a self-contained world that keeps workers tethered. The average worker makes about $400-700 US dollars per month, but then has about $120 of that deducted for housing and food.
This is nothing more than slavery. These workers are prisoners and are being forced to work under penalty of being accused of a “worker contract breach,” which can result in criminal penalties like having social credit scores reduced, and are held there purely by economic slavery means.
The pictures of modern cities with great conditions are the result of the “owners” of the factories living large from the profits of these Chinese sweatshops. In places like Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, and Hangzhou, the living standards can look — and often are — comparable to those in developed countries:
Modern skylines, clean public transit, high-speed rail, cashless payments everywhere.
A large urban middle class with apartments, cars, good schools, and consumer lifestyles.
Tech professionals, designers, engineers, and businesspeople can earn salaries on par with or higher than those in some Western cities (adjusted for cost of living).
Poverty in these urban centers has become rare, and many people live comfortably by global standards.
Prosperity is not universal. China’s growth model has relied on hundreds of millions of migrant workers from rural areas who move to cities for factory or construction work.
These workers often earn 2,000–4,000 RMB/month (≈ US$280–560).
Many live in dormitories or shared housing to save money.
They often lack urban residency rights (hukou), which limits access to public schools, healthcare, and social benefits.
For them, life can still feel precarious and exhausting, with long hours, low pay, little time off. It’s not “slave labor” in the legal sense (they’re paid and can leave), but it’s often wage labor under intense pressure — especially in export manufacturing and gig economy jobs.
The city life you see in those posts is not the reality for the overwhelming majority of people in China. Of course, China claims prosperity. China officially declared an end to extreme poverty in 2020 — meaning almost no one lives below the UN standard of $2.15/day. Uh, so their claim to a workers’ paradise is that no one makes less than $2.15 a day.
The modern Chinese city is real — but it doesn’t represent everyone’s experience. Less than 1% of China’s population lives in those gorgeous cities in nice buildings.
Region
Quintile
Per-Capita Income (RMB)
Approx. USD
Urban
Lowest 20%
18,000
≈ $2,500
Urban
Highest 20%
113,750
≈ $16,250
Urban
Highest 1%
515,000
≈ $70,000
Rural
Lowest 20%
5,400
≈ $775
Rural
Highest 20%
53,800
≈ $7,700
Imagine working 72 hours per week and making $2,500 per year. The fact that the AVERAGE wage for a rural peasant is around $1200 per year, you know why you don’t see many pictures of rural life in China. As I said, the US did this in the era of sweatshops during the early 20th century. Workers were locked in factories that had no fire escapes, forced to work long hours for low pay, and child labor was the norm. Workplace injury and death were fairly common, while the rich owners lived in absolute luxury. Life for the rich people that owned the factories was pure splendor. See the difference between first class and steerage class on the Titanic for an example.
This isn’t anything new. Anyhow, this post has been long enough, and I think I’ve made my point.
The case bears similarity to that of former nurse Niels Högel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 after he was convicted of murdering 85 patients at two hospitals in northern Germany. He is believed to be the most prolific killer in Germany’s modern history.
He calls himself the “collector” and hates them, even though he was never a slave, he doesn’t know anyone who ever was a slave, and that family he hates so much? None of them ever owned slaves, or ever knew anyone who ever did. He even admits that the family he hates so much is broke.
This is class envy- blacks hate you and want you dead.
One of the things that a dictator does, is ban those it intends to rule from having or using weapons. That’s been true for centuries. For example, Great Britain had the 18th century disarming acts. Scottish citizens had laws passed against weapons in 1715, 1716, 1725, and 1746.
Disarming Act of 1715 (Highlands Services Act): Enacted after the 1715 Jacobite Rising, this act of Parliament aimed to disarm Jacobite clans in the Scottish Highlands.
Disarming Act of 1716: Officially titled “An act for the more effectual securing the peace of the highlands in Scotland,” it outlawed specific weapons like broadswords, pistols, and guns in designated parts of Scotland.
Disarming Act of 1725: This act was passed to more effectively enforce the previous disarming efforts, with Major-General George Wade leading efforts to confiscate weapons.
Act of Proscription 1746: Passed after the 1745 Jacobite Rising, this act further strengthened the disarming efforts and also included the famous ban on Highland dress, such as kilts and tartans, as a way to suppress Highland culture.
In 1776, the Great Britain outlawed weapons in Massachusetts. That is why the Second Amendment exists. Technology changes, but people and despots do not. The founders were well aware of that.
When I graduated from high school, the school I graduated from was one of two in the entire county. Everyone from the east side went to one school, everyone from the west side of the county went to the other. We all attended the same classes, taught by the same teachers. I can’t see how there is any difference.
After high school, I joined the military and did six years there. When I got out, I was broke, but willing to work. I tried making it for a couple of years as a business owner, but we were soon technically homeless. My family and I lived in the storeroom of my business and we bathed in a 48 quart ice chest.
I took what little money we managed to scrape together and used it to rent a UHaul, then moved back to Florida. When I got there, I took a job in residential construction that paid $7.45 an hour. I spent 8 hours a day in the Florida summer heat, running electrical wire through roughed-out houses, taking home $950 a month to support a family of four. Our rent was $350 a month. The government told us that we wouldn’t qualify for public assistance as long as we were still married, so we got none.
Over the next 5 years, I moved jobs every time there was an opportunity to make more money: I worked at the airport repairing ground support equipment, at Disney repairing the electronic control systems on dancing chickens, at Sherwin Williams on paint manufacturing equipment, and at a stainless steel mill repairing stainless steel pipe manufacturing equipment. There were ups and downs. A few times, they hired me as a maintenance worker because they had a lot of broken equipment and then fired me as soon as I fixed everything that was broken. Still, I didn’t give up.
Each time I changed jobs, it was for more money. Over that 5 year period, I went from $7.50 an hour to $12 an hour, and finally to a salary of $30,000 a year. Then Bill Clinton signed a “most favored nation” treaty with China, flooding the market with cheap stainless steel, making it cheaper to import stainless steel products than it was to manufacture them, which put my employer out of business.
Finally tired of being laid off, and decided to take my volunteer firefighting occupation full time. I went to school, by working odd jobs during the day, and going to school at night. I graduated the fire academy and got hired. While I was in school, my wife and I got a divorce. Divorce is financially devastating, and the child support added up to about two thirds of my take home pay.
This was the poorest time in my life. I lost my car in the divorce, so I was running to work for a month before I could save enough for a bicycle. I lost 40 pounds that summer. After six more months of saving, I managed to buy a car at a buy here/pay here place. Now that I had a car, I was able to get a second job as a janitor, and then a third job as a lifeguard, to make ends meet.
I got a 4 year degree while I was at the fire department. I bought a house and got married for the second time. Then the mortgage failures of 2009 hit and I was soon filing bankruptcy.
Then my second wife filed for divorce. I left firefighting and became a teacher. Then I left teaching because it sucked and went back to a “bridge” program to leverage my paramedic skills into nursing. I got another Bachelor’s degree, and now I am about to finish a Masters.
But hey, none of that was due to hard work and perseverance. It was all luck and ‘white privilege’ that got me here.
