A Country Where Poor People Are Fat
19th July 2011
Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield issue a report on the state of the poor in America. The short answer is that the poor, by historical standards, are doing well, enjoying what were considered luxuries a few generations ago. President Obama, as usual, seeks to obscure these issues and to implement a new definition of poverty that assumes economic growth never helps the poor.
We keep forgetting that ‘poor’ is a relative term. The ‘poor’ in modern America eat better, sleep better, are healthier, and live in more comfort than any king prior to the First World War.
I am reminded of Dinesh D’Souza’s anecdote about a friend from India who told him that he was emigrating to America. When Dinesh asked why, his friend said, “I want to live in a country where the poor people are fat.”