August 29, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward

	Featured video Robert Rector explains the realities and causes of poverty in America and says the facts are distorted. More videos »

Liberal myths about poverty debunked

This week, the Census Bureau released figures on poverty and health insurance in America. The Left is sure to use these statistics to call for ever more lavish spending programs—but their arguments are misleading.

A new MyHeritage.org Myth Buster on poverty gives you the facts to refute these liberal distortions. Read the full debunking of liberal myths about poverty.

Data show that while hardship clearly exists, it’s not as widespread and severe as liberals would have you believe. For example,

• Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.

• Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.

• Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.

• Forty-three percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.

• Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970 only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.

• Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.

• The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)

Read the entire Myth Buster to get all the facts

Another myth challenged

The Left is also likely to point at figures showing that the number of Americans without health insurance has increased—and once again their solution will be more spending on ever-larger government programs.

But Heritage experts have examined the numbers and reached a few important conclusions:

• Government policy is part of the problem: it fuels the uninsurance problem

• Most of the uninsured are not chronically uninsured but in and out of coverage

• The Census Bureau data on the number of uninsured is misleading

Read the entire Myth Buster to get all the facts

How big government undermined American communities

Local institutions and groups serve an important role in society, Heritage scholar Ryan Messmore writes in a new paper. “They foster trust and social connections that have been linked with improved child welfare, higher educational performance, lower crime rates, and better physical and mental health.”
 
But big-government liberalism undermines all this.

“The trend toward enhancing the significance of people’s relationship to the national government along with weakening other forms of personal connection is corroding social well-being and freedom,” he explains. “Moreover, the existence of a diversity of authoritative local institutions is an indispensable safeguard against government tyranny.”

Liberals often make the case for big government through rhetoric about “a ‘national family’ or ‘national community,’” Messmore argues. “But this can place unhealthy expectations on government to fulfill longings for status and belonging that are best met by other forms of association.”

How did it come to this? The Founders deliberately limited the powers of the federal government, Messmore writes, and kept society focused on the local level. “However, in the 20th century, political leaders began to reverse the balance created by the Founders” by advancing a liberal ideology that increased the size of the state.

In other news

• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned earlier this week. Solicitor General Paul Clement is acting in his stead until a replacement can be appointed.
• After recent revelations that Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) pleaded guilty to lewd behavior in an airport men’s room, Senate Republican leaders are calling for an investigation of the incident.
• A recent New York Times article, argues Heritage’s Tom Finnegan, “gives the impression that only the rich have benefited from the economic expansion under President Bush. Nothing could be further from the truth. Total compensation has risen for the middle class, and employment has grown every month since August 2003.”
• “In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission,” Newsweek reports.
• Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are the latest countries to consider implementing a flat tax. While American liberals continue to press for higher taxes, even left-wing European governments are getting behind this common-sense idea.

Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.

• On Wednesday, September 5 at 11:00 a.m., Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and author William Murray of the Religious Freedom Coalition discuss the Founders’ intentions for the role of religion in America.
• On Thursday, September 6 at 11:00 a.m., former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton will speak on whether the U.N. advances or impedes the cause of freedom internationally.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.

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