Benevolent Space Aliens Visit Earth — We're Saved!

Source: Decline of the Empire

This just in.

Today it was learned that benevolent space aliens from somewhere outside the Milky Way in the Virgo Supercluster landed in Beijing, China’s capital. The aliens announced to the surprised bureaucrats there that they had come to Earth’s capital city to teach our planet’s inhabitants the Seven Secrets of Success, lessons like “what you believe is what is true for you” and “quitters never win and winners never quit”.

The aliens were taken aback upon learning that Beijing is not the Earth’s capital, and were told that if there were one, it would be Washington D.C. in the nation called the United States, with another adjunct capital in the Manhattan borough of New York City (in that same nation). They were further chagrined upon learning that there are actually Ten Secrets of Success, not seven. The alien leader admitted that perhaps they had not done their homework, and Earth’s salvation might have to wait until they could ascertain all the facts…

Sorry! It’s a hoax. I just made that up. (Could you tell?)

You see, I have a problem. Today’s story is actually about the recent finding Census Finds Nearly Half Of Americans Are Poor Or Low-Income. The problem is that few Americans in the upper half of our society seem to care that the other half—146.4 million people, (48%) to be precise—are living within 200% of the poverty line. I thought the aliens might help get the word out.

WASHINGTON — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans – nearly 1 in 2 – have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

“Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too `rich’ to qualify,” said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

“The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal,” he said. “If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years”…

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That’s up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs. Doing that helped push the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level up from 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September.

The prospects of 146.4 million Americans are dismal according to Michigan professor Sheldon Danziger. Think about that. Benevolent space aliens did not mistakenly land in Beijing. No Deus ex Machina is going to save our bacon.

What about incomes?

Paychecks for low-income families are shrinking.

The inflation-adjusted average earnings for the bottom 20 percent of families have fallen from $16,788 in 1979 to just under $15,000, and earnings for the next 20 percent have remained flat at $37,000. In contrast, higher-income brackets had significant wage growth since 1979, with earnings for the top 5 percent of families climbing 64 percent to more than $313,000.

A survey of 29 cities conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors being released Thursday points to a gloomy outlook for those on the lower end of the income scale.

Many mayors cited the challenges of meeting increased demands for food assistance, expressing particular concern about possible cuts to federal programs such as food stamps and WIC, which assists low-income pregnant women and mothers. Unemployment led the list of causes of hunger in cities, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs.

There it is again—a gloomy outlook. Challenges! I love that word, which is a common euphemism for up shit creek without a paddle.

You can take the time to read more about the Census findings if you like. Maybe there’s no need for you to read further because you’re already well aware of the situation and realize just how screwed 146.4 million Americans truly are. Or maybe you’re not fully cognizant of the situation. In that case, perhaps you’ll want to get the details.

I understand of course that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. There won’t be any space aliens (or anything else) to magically bail us out of this dismal, gloomy situation. This pooch, as the saying goes, is already screwed.

Read more at Decline of the Empire