
40M Americans Living in Poverty? False - troubador55
http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/40-million-americans-are-living-poverty-false
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mancerayder
The article attempts to refute/shed doubt on the poverty statistic by listing
a string of stats that show that most poor people in America have DVD players,
air conditioning and so forth, and something like 40 pct own their homes.

How convenient to cherry pick away from the biggest of the worst: health care,
completely unmentioned.

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anoncoward111
Disclaimer: I'm an insurance broker. I currently have really terrible coverage
through my employer ($5,000 deductible, nearest in-network hospital over 1.5
hrs away)

Ironically, for the truly poor (sub 16,000 in income per year), you can get
health insurance in many states for $40 a month with expanded Medicaid
coverage. The copays may be high, but it will protect you from catastrophic
expenses. If you qualify for Medicare as a senior, then for $200 a month you
can get 100% expenses covered.

It is the people making 35k - 60k per year, like myself, who either have to
pay in full for terrible medical coverage, or get a job in a high cost of
living area. This is why I was saving more money living rurally on low income
than I was living suburbanly on moderate income-- the rent and lack of federal
subsidies leave me with very little takehome pay.

Now, to say that a poor person isn't poor just because they have a DVD player
is disgustingly absurd. And these days, a phone is incredibly useful and
realistically only costs about $120 upfront and maybe $20 a month ongoing for
prepaid service.

The biggest expense will always be rent or a mortgage. It is disgusting how
much these things cost for how little quality they are.

For this we can only blame the town governments that restrict building supply,
and the financing companies that force people into over leveraging themselves
to buy a house of questionable value.

~~~
Gibbon1
> Now, to say that a poor person isn't poor just because they have a DVD
> player is disgustingly absurd. And these days, a phone is incredibly useful
> and realistically only costs about $120 upfront and maybe $20 a month
> ongoing for prepaid service.

The key thing is you need services and tools like cars and cell phones in a
developed country.

I have some personal experience with healthcare due to having a chronic
condition. There has never been any way for me to get private coverage. And
while the drug I need to stay healthy very cheap out side the US, inside the
US it costs $500/month. This due to the US's patent and relicensing system. In
my case the patent on my medication expired in 2010. And in 2009 the company
changed the dose and repatented it for another 20 years. There was a
competitor that was going to introduce a generic but the drug company offered
them a cross licensing agreement. Which they accepted.

~~~
anoncoward111
So do you get the drug for a rational price through your insurance company, or
do you import it from abroad?

You are falling victim to corporate cronyism. I truly feel sorry for you :(

