How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Misunderstands American Poverty

(From Mises)

It is correct to state that the U.S. has a higher poverty rate than other developed nations. However, the American poor have higher median incomes than in other countries, and the poverty income in the U.S. matches the median income in Spain, the U.K., and Japan. Plus, American living standards are higher for the poor than the impecunious residing in the U.K., New Zealand, France, and Japan.

Let’s look at what it’s really like to be poor in the Land of the Free:

• 80% have air conditioning.
• 94% have Internet access.
• 75% have an automobile – a third have two or more vehicles.
• Half of poor families have a video game system.
• 66% have cable television.

What about the basic essentials, like food and housing? That’s easy enough:

• 83% of poor households reported having enough to eat.
• 96% of underprivileged families reported their children were never hungry at any time.
• 42% of poor households own their homes.

Moreover, the average poor American has more living space than the average middle- or high-income person in the U.K., France, and Sweden. Also, consumption of vitamins and minerals is the same as the those in the wealthier brackets.

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