Mark Perry nudged me the other day. We hear so much how bad it is in America. That the middle class is “under attack” and only the Government can save them. Further, the health care debate has pointed out that America spends more on health care than any other nation in the world.
Data from a report by two Swedish researches illuminates some very interesting facts:
- The ratio of people living in poverty is shrinking
| 1959 | 1999 | |
| Whites | 18 | 10 |
| Blacks | 55 | 24 |
| Hispanics | 23(1972) | 23 |
| Total | 22 | 12 |
2. Being poor does not mean living without
| Home Ownership | 45.9 |
| Car | 72.8 |
| 2 or more cars | 30.2 |
| Air conditioning | 76.6 |
| Refrigerator | 96.9 |
| Washing machine | 64.7 |
| Drying cabinet/tumbler drier | 55.6 |
| Dishwasher | 33.9 |
| Garbage disposal | 29.7 |
| Microwave | 73.3 |
| Colour TV | 97.3 |
| 2 or more colour TV sets | 55.3 |
| Cable or satellite TV | 62.6 |
| Wide screen TV | 26.3 |
| Video or DV | 78 |
| 2 or more video and DVD players | 25.3 |
| Stereo | 58.6 |
| Telephone answering machine | 35.3 |
| Mobile phone | 26.6 |
| PC | 24.6 |
| Internet access | 18 |
Lastly
3. Being poor in America is better than being average in the EU
| People | Sq Feet | per person | |
| Europe, average | 2.5 | 976.5 | 395.7 |
| USA, poor 1993 | 2.8 | 1228 | 438.6 |
| USA, all 1993 | 2.6 | 1875 | 721.2 |
What does this tell us? It tells us that being poor in America means that you have a bigger house than the average European. It tells us that whatever we have been doing, we should do more of it. And that any modeling on Europe would be a mistake.