Al Sharpton Denies Existence of Federal Programs to Aid the Poor
In other news, Al Sharpton rejected criticism that he makes his living as a race-baiting grievance-monger. Suffice it to say, uncomfortable truths do not sit well with this man.
Responding to Mitt Romney saying he's "not concerned about the very poor" because of the decades-old government safety net, Sharpton swung into action on his radio show with a claim that is delusional even by Sharpton's expansive standards (audio clip after page break) --
The statement by Mitt Romney today, he's trying to walk it back saying that he wasn't concerned with the poor, concerned with the middle class, that he's trying to clarify it but even in his clarity I think he exposes to many the misconceptions. He said, well, there are programs for the poor, I meant my focus.
What programs for the poor? They [Republicans] keep acting as if poor people have all of these things that are helping them.
This from a man with the ear of the president, which should be surprising but, sadly, isn't.
A person tossing out such a whopper is not just engaging in magical thinking more often seen in children. He is locked in the infantile philosophy known as liberalism.
For example, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a lefty think-tank cited so often on MSNBC that they're a member of the family, posted an article last April titled "Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?," that does a nifty job of demolishing Sharpton's claim --
Safety net programs: About 14 percent of the federal budget in 2010, or $496 billion, went to support programs that provide aid (other than health insurance or Social Security benefits) to individuals and families facing hardships.
These programs include: the refundable portion of the earned-income and child tax credits, which assist low- and moderate-income working families through the tax code; programs that provide cash payments to eligible individuals and households, including Supplemental Security income for the elderly or disabled poor and unemployment insurance; various forms of in-kind assistance for low-income families and individuals, including food stamps, school meals, low-income housing assistance, child-care assistance, and assistance in meeting home energy bills; and various other programs such as those that aid abused and neglected children.
According to FederalSafetyNet.com, federal spending to alleviate poverty has soared in the last 50 years, from $445 per person in 1960 to $7,741 per person in 2010 through a dozen federal programs. "Yet despite the increase in spending," the site points out, "the poverty level has remained fairly constant at between 12-15 percent of the population. While we have spent more and more money we have not lessened the number of people in poverty. Why? The reason is because our system is poorly designed. It doesn't have "conditions" attached to it, it "doesn't make work pay" and it lessens responsibility of participants."
An article from last May by the Heritage Foundation's Brian Riedl, "Myths of Tax Cuts for Rich, Spending Cuts for Poor," also demonstrates the lunacy of Sharpton's claim --
According to the White House's Office of Management and Budget, federal anti-poverty spending has soared from $190 billion in 1990 to $348 billion in 2000, and to a staggering $638 billion this year (all adjusted for inflation). The growth since 2000 has been particularly remarkable in the Children's Health Insurance Program (470 percent), food stamps (229 percent), energy assistance (163 percent), child care assistance (89 percent) and Medicaid (80 percent)
These expansions have been bipartisan: Mr. Bush -- unfairly derided as bad for poor people -- became the first president to spend more than 3 percent of the nation's income on anti-poverty programs. President Obama then pushed it above 4 percent. In fact, since 1990, anti-poverty spending as a share of national income has expanded as fast as Social Security, Medicare, defense and education -- combined.
In answer to Sharpton's question, "What programs for the poor?," a one-word answer comes to mind -- those. No matter. He'd rather you believe him than your lying eyes.
(h/t, Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer)
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Comments
Al Sharpton---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 7:38pm.
Harrumph !
Period.
MD
Sharp-this
Submitted by maddog98 on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 12:13pm.
I said - Give me a Harrumph!!!
Hey - he didn't give me a Harrumph...
Hey Al
Submitted by Marcus Porcius on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 7:42pm.
There are about 80 federal programs alone, not including state and local programs or "gasp" church-based and private charities that help the poor.
Look it up, lying jerk.
"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." G.K. Chesterton
www.theconservativereview.com
Sharpton ought to shut up until he has paid up . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 7:55pm.
. . . the $1.6 million he owes in unpaid Federal taxes. And the $800,000 his National Action Network owes the Social Security fund -- yeah, you know, the one Sharpton says the conservatives are undermining.
Al Sharpton put the "dumb" in dumba$$
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:00pm.
I looked it up a while back, and this country has spent approximately $16 trillion on programs for the poor over the years.
BTW - that just happens to be the amount the government is saying our national debt is approaching - sans unfunded liabilities and all the off-the-books shenanigans that have been going on.
When you factor all that in, the total amount we are on the hook for is, oh Hell, just never mind.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
this country has spent
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:53pm.
this country has spent approximately $16 trillion on programs for the poor over the years.
And with what result?
The War On Poverty can't be won. Because there will always be people designated, by one standard or another, as "poor."
I would like to see some stats
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:59pm.
on how many families went from assistance to independence, and how many families (generationally) stayed on assistance. I'd like to see it broken down also by race and immigration status. It's time to determine who gets off assistance and how the hell we can get others off.
",,,and how the hell we can get others off."
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 9:49pm.
By getting rid of the Dear Ruler and reversing his policies before it's too late.
Or, we can just kick back and keep doing what we are now, wait for the inevitable, and let the problem fix itself.
I'm betting on the latter.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
"And with what result?"
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 9:43pm.
The same percentage of the population living in poverty as when the "War on Poverty" began.
Only now, we are $16 trillion poorer as a nation.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Sorry Dave*
Submitted by cajun2 on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 10:37pm.
The "war on poverty" is actually "code" for "class warfare".. And the commie/progressives are winning
I thought....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:59pm.
"war on poverty" was code for "keep them on the Democrat plantation".
Rev. don't look good...
Submitted by Tidy Bowl Man on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:07pm.
Is it just me or does the Rev. Sharpton really don't look good?
Thin and not healthy.
yes
Submitted by dostrow57 on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:15pm.
his head is shrinking too
yes
Submitted by dostrow57 on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:15pm.
his head is shrinking too
I agree...
Submitted by KyWriter on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 10:26pm.
...I preferred him in a lime green leisure suit with gold chains and curls. That's the real Al. He's justs worn out from trying to look respectable, but it's a waste of time. When he opens his mouth he totally destroys the image.
Al Baby
Submitted by mmilesll on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 8:20pm.
Not only is he a poverty pimp but he also owes over $1 million in back taxes. It is amazing to me that anybody still believes a word this clown says.
I typically don't respond
Submitted by bobsmom on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 9:15pm.
to anything about Mr Resist We Much, but this time, the fruit was hanging too damned low. The existence of government programs for the "poor" are the reason this idiot is where he is. They want to talk racist "code words" and "dog whistles", well, then he needs to face the fact that he is a product of those "safety nets" and should get down on his knobby knees and thank whatever God he prays to that they exist, or he wouldn't. And, while he's at it, he should be thankful that when his mother was carrying him, abortion was not easily available (much less paid for by us), or he might not even be capable of showing up and pissing me off on a daily basis.
Now there's an argument
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 12:36am.
for pro choice if I ever heard...
Amen!
Submitted by IrateNate on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 11:03pm.
"Deny we much."
I deny the existence of Al
Submitted by mattm on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 11:44pm.
I deny the existence of Al Sharpton.
President who?
Submitted by Rousse on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:23am.
Next thing you know, Sharpton wil be denying the existence of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the "Great Society," to whom we can attributed at least three generations of productive Americans lost to welfare.
Al Sharpton:
Submitted by helomech on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 3:29am.
A race baiting mofo since day one
My husband is now questioning
Submitted by amyshulk on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 6:05am.
My husband is now questioning why he should bust his hump working. His father died and he went back for the funeral. His mom is on SS, and is living in a paid off house. Looking into it, he said she qualifies for food stamps, and tht qualifying for one benefit triggers the others.
His best bud {our sons god father} is disabled, s is his wife, and they don't work.
My husband feels like a chump for having a good work ethic and providing for his family. It's getting harder and harder to disagree.
When his pay was cut at the top of 2008 or was it 2009 {after no end of year bonus} I told him he was lucky - that his company was doing what it could to stay in business, so they'd be in position when the economy roared back. I forgot to figure in the protracted malaise induced by D policies, but if we do get an R in, then it will hold true.
I just hope it's not too late!!!
Ronald Reagan
yo al
Submitted by D'saredumbpeople on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 8:46am.
pay your fuc___taxes. you leach.
It's the "Story" that
Submitted by cristo on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 11:37am.
It's the "Story" that matters, remember. Bill Clinton had a great "story." Hillary Clinton had a great "story." Barrack Obama had a great "story." It's not about the truth, it's about what the spin masters can come up with. Remember Bill Clinton talking about growing up and seeing black churches burning? Remember Hillary Clinton talking about landing in the "war zone" with gun fire all around? Remember Barack Obama talking about the big bad insurance company did not pay for his mother's cancer treatment? All "stories" designed to make the candidate more acceptable, more sympathetic. Nothing to do with reality. Now we see Sharptin shaping the story. The truth doesn't matter. What matters is that the people believe the story. It's like saying the recession was "psychological," It's the government monthly publishing an "unemployment rate" that is fixed, as each month they adjust the available workforce and ignore the folks who have, in the government's phrase, "dropped out." David Axelrod and his boys are today working in Chicago making and modeling the next "story." Forget the truth, they won't even give you the information to make up your own mind. They control the media, they control the truth, they control reality.
No one ever said the "Rev Al"
Submitted by John21 on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 12:11pm.
No one ever said the "Rev Al" was smart, if he was that network would not of hired him. His propaganda is aimed at the liberals or stupid (I know but their are some smart liberals). His job is to play the "Race Card" and try and convince the (few) people that still watch that network that he or they has anything relevant to say.
With "Rev" Al if the DNC talking points said that White, Latino or Oriental being did not exist, he would announce that with his straight face dialog (a very practiced liar).
free cell phones too !
Submitted by rowdygirl on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 12:50pm.
Don't forget the free cell phones for people already on some sort of public assistance. I live in WV and they implemented the cell phone program this year. I was out of work for 6 weeks, (laid off and hired again within 3 weeks) and collected 5 weeks of unemployment insurance. I received 4, count 'em 4, applications by mail to sign up for my free phone. And this was after I had started working and was no longer collecting benefits. The state also placed 1/4 and 1/2 page ads in the local paper encouraging people to apply for the phones.
Do you see anyone anymore WITHOUT a cell phone? I'm sure there are a select few who could really use these, but their target audience usually has a nicer phone than most working people.
Tam
Here's another
Submitted by bobsmom on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:51pm.
one that'll frost your niblets. The company I've worked for for many years has always "sponsored or adopted" at least 3 families every year at Christmas, and yes our owners have conservative values, and we all open our wallets to a major degree. This year, as one, we were stunned at the kinds of things these families were asking for, not coats, shoes, a toy perhaps, oh no. They wanted i pods, TV's for the kids bedrooms, Michael Jordan Shoes, gift cards to specific expensive shops and on and on. Things my family can't even afford to buy for their own kids, and they all work. I hate to sound like a scrooge at all, but there are days I wish I was one of the "poor". I wouldn't have to work so hard.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:13pm.
Only in the American MSM could an utter nobody like Sharpton get a job.
Just a natural extension of LWG......
JUst deny.....
Submitted by Airforce_5_O on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:24pm.
Just deny it exist and BAM!! it doesn't. Yep thats the liberal way.
Folks, you're taking this the wrong way.
Submitted by UpNorth on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 1:57pm.
"Rev" Al, the hustler, doesn't do opinion, or news. His show is a comedy show. He's the standup comic and his network is Comcast's response to the Comedy Channel.
That's the only rational explanation for what goes on at M-BS-NBC.
Reverend Al....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 2:02pm.
..never one to pass up an opportunity to tell a lie when it would benefit him more to tell the truth (the definition of a pathological liar).