But another form of progress has led to what some economists call the “Walmart effect”: falling prices for a huge array of manufactured goods.

Since the 1980s, for instance, the real price of a midrange color television has plummeted about tenfold, and televisions today are crisper, bigger, lighter and often Internet-connected. Similarly, the effective price of clothing, bicycles, small appliances, processed foods — virtually anything produced in a factory — has followed a downward trajectory. The result is that Americans can buy much more stuff at bargain prices.

Many crucial services, though, remain out of reach for poor families. The costs of a college education and health care have soared. Ms. Hagen-Noey, for instance, does not treat her hepatitis and other medical problems, as she does not qualify for Medicaid and cannot pay for her own insurance or care.

Child care also remains only a small sliver of the consumption of poor families because it is simply too expensive. In many cases, it depresses the earnings of women who have no choice but to give up hours working to stay at home.

House Republicans, led by Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, have convened a series of hearings on poverty, including one on Wednesday, in some cases arguing that hundreds of billions of dollars of government spending a year may have made poverty easier or more comfortable but has done little to significantly limit its reach.
...
“The question isn’t whether the federal government should help; the question is how,” Mr. Ryan said at the hearing on Wednesday. “How do we make sure that every single taxpayer dollar we spend to reduce poverty is actually working?”
...
As a result, the differences in what poor and middle-class families consume on a day-to-day basis are much smaller than the differences in what they earn.

“There’s just a whole lot more assistance per low-income person than there ever has been,” said Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “That is propping up the living standards to a considerable degree,” he said, citing a number of statistics on housing, nutrition and other categories.

CalvinBall wrote:White Privilege is not a thing

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/134388- ... privilege/

pacino wrote:He doesn't even understand what it even means.

td11 wrote:

CalvinBall wrote:White Privilege is not a thing

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/134388- ... privilege/

i'm curious, were you posting this sarcastically or earnestly? not trying to beef, jw

Monkeyboy wrote:So what's with Scalia? He's been very vocal about some controversial subjects over the past year and then his huge mistake this week misrepresenting a past decision that he actually wrote. Maybe he's losing it, going senile.

I would suggest making a law to limit the age of SC justices, but those old bastards would probably just rule it unconstitutional.

CalvinBall wrote:

td11 wrote:

CalvinBall wrote:White Privilege is not a thing

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/134388- ... privilege/

i'm curious, were you posting this sarcastically or earnestly? not trying to beef, jw

oh god no. sarcastically. it is awful awful.

saw it on facebook. someone posted it seriously.

dajafi wrote:holy fuck is that TNC piece great. Thanks td for posting. Wish the Princeton kid would read it.

td11 wrote:love u cal

i'm gonna cross-post this in the NBA thread but it belongs here: This Town Needs a Better Class of Racist