The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

The Rich get Richer, And The Poor get Poorer: No End in Sight.

Updated Feb 2023

It states that the underclass (undeserving poor) makes up 10% of the US population. Full Story This is shocking, considering that the US is supposed to be a first-world country. If so many people are hurting, why are we fighting wars we cannot afford, policing the world and donating money to nations who do not deserve it?

The following data suggests that the situation is only going to get worse. This is by no means a comprehensive list.

The unemployment rate is 9.9%, but everyone knows this figure is pure crap. The actual rate is probably in the 18%-20% range. Some parts of the country have rates of more than 25%

The foreclosure factor; home sales might be improving, but most of the improvements directly result from the 8,000 credit the government offered first-time home buyers. In 2009 roughly 3 million homes were foreclosed, and www.Realtytrac.com states that the number could increase by as much as 3.5 million in 2010. If we add in strategic foreclosures, the outlook is probably worse.

Why you should not be worried about A stock Market Crash might be an article that you might find interesting too.

Number of Americans on Food Stamps Soaring

According to Reuters, roughly 40 million Americans are on food stamps, further highlighting that the divide between the wealthy and poor grows, and there seems to be no end. Full Story

The Dept of Agriculture states that 1 in 8 Americans cannot eat without government assistance. Let this figure sink in; we are not talking about some third-world country; we are talking about the US. Unemployment is a clear sign that things are much worse than they are being made to look.

Let’s also consider the fact that some jobs are never coming back. We covered this recently in the following article High unemployment levels here to stay.

Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and other large warehouse clubs are all booming, a sign that times are getting tough. Again, another confirmation that the divide between the wealthy and the poor grows.

According to the most recent census, about 35 million Americans live in poverty.

Catherine Rampell provides some great info on this topic

More evidence that the divide between the wealthy and the poor grows. In December 2008, 22.9 per cent of the unemployed had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. A year later, that portion rose to 39.8 per cent. That translates to having about 4 per cent of the total civilian workforce categorised as long-term unemployed.

Average Number Of Weeks Individuals are Unemployed

The average person who was unemployed in December had been out of work for 29.1 weeks. By contrast, when the recession began two years earlier, the average unemployed person had been out of work for 16.5 weeks. Full Story

Hunger is still an issue in 20223

Hunger is still a significant issue even in 2023, further supporting the claim that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. According to the most recent U.S. census data, hunger around America is improving compared to a month ago. But food insecurity has a long way to go before returning to pre-pandemic levels. Self-reported food insecurity for the week ending Aug. 2 was at its lowest levels since the start of the coronavirus pandemic for households with children, according to the census data.

That dovetails with substantial job numbers, more robust economic growth and other bright spots in the economic recovery. But food stamps enrollment is still way up, 2 million more than last year and 6 million more than in 2019. And food banks are still seeing more need than during pre-pandemic times dramatically. Washington Post

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, as of the latest data released on September 3, 2021, the total number of Americans receiving food stamps is 42.3 million¹ ².

In August 2021, the average benefits for people in the SNAP program rose more than 25% above pre-pandemic levels³. However, according to CNN, millions of Americans will lose $3 billion in food stamp benefits due to the end of pandemic emergency allotments⁴. Cnn

Conclusion

The divide between rich and poor grows, and the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Nothing is changing despite decades of effort. The underclass or the undeserving poor are growing as a class, and many of those being pushed into this group formerly belonged to the middle class. Given that unemployment will remain high for a while, it appears that this trend will continue for some time. In many cases, this could have been avoided if these individuals had lived 1-2 standards below their means and put the money they saved into safe investments. For example, high dividend-yielding stocks or investing money in bullion, high-quality technology, commodities-based stocks, etc. Instead, many of these individuals chose to live a lifestyle several levels above what they could afford, and now sadly, they are paying the price for their lack of foresight. However, it would be wrong to lump everyone into this category.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer