What Is "Poor" In America? Hint: Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox

The quality of life in this country is so high that those we say are in poverty lead a better life than kings, pharaohs and emperors of old. By our energy usage, we have about 700 equivalent laborers working for us constantly, and yet we take them for granted. Some examples:

From The Heritage Foundation: Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?

Abstract: For decades, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty,” but the bureau’s definition of poverty differs widely from that held by most Americans. In fact, other government surveys show that most of the persons whom the government defines as “in poverty” are not poor in any ordinary sense of the term. The overwhelming majority of the poor have air conditioning, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities. They are well housed, have an adequate and reasonably steady supply of food, and have met their other basic needs, including medical care. Some poor Americans do experience significant hardships, including temporary food shortages or inadequate housing, but these individuals are a minority within the overall poverty population. Poverty remains an issue of serious social concern, but accurate information about that problem is essential in crafting wise public policy. Exaggeration and misinformation about poverty obscure the nature, extent, and causes of real material deprivation, thereby hampering the development of well-targeted, effective programs to reduce the problem.

That's the abstract. Read the whole thing (it's good). Plus, via Instapundit:

WHY HORROR IS GETTING MORE HORRIBLE: “One theory . . . is that life has actually grown too comfortable in our country, up and down the social ladder. Challenges are few, and people have a lot of time on their hands. They seek increasing levels of horror, violence, profanity, obscenity, and other kinds of extremism in entertainment in order to feel alive.”

More from Power Line and American Thinker

UPDATE: From the AP via The Macomb Daily: Funding freezes while poor melt: States cut programs to help needy cool their homes. The implication is that a/c, and invention only decades old, is some kind of human right now. Also, I didn't know that poor people could "melt." Thanks for that tidbit, AP.