Could You Live on $7 a Day?

[Jcrowley]

Could You Live on $7 a Day?

by Tula Connell, Nov 30, 2006

Seven dollars a day. That’s not the income of impoverished residents of a lesser-developed nation. That’s the average income of the poorest 60 million of Americans.

That shocking statistic was buried deep inside a New York Times article Tuesday that detailed our nosediving national incomes.

Seven dollars a day. Why isn’t that stunning revelation screaming from newspaper headlines, the top story on the national network and cable TV and in the e-mail of every news outlet’s breaking alerts? 

The United States spends $2.5 million a day on the war in Iraq while 48 million adults and some 12 million dependent children each live on $7 a day, according to an analysis by the Times. It’s not just that Bush has the worst job growth record of any president in the past 40 years. (Just today the U.S. Department of Labor reported 357,000 newly laid-off workers filed jobless claims, a rise of 34,000 from the previous week.) It’s also that the jobs being created do not pay family-supporting wages nor do they provide the type of health and pension support that has sustained our traditionally vibrant middle class.

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/11/30/could-you-live-on-7-a-day

[Warpy]

1. I lived on $4.33 a day for the last three years

that is after the mortgage and utilities. I also paid for my own doctor visits and saved for my car insurance out of that.

I know how to be poor. Learning how was involuntary and humiliating.

Poverty is the most vicious WMD out there, killing millions more than the worst dictator has ever done in a similar period.

The cause of poverty is wealth concentration. Period.

[Mojambo]

2. Absolutely obscene. n/t

[Ksec]

3. Thats just f-ed up

You wanna know whats wrong with America? Read this and then learn how much we spend on military. Thats what. It pisses me off to no end.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. Excluding only property taxes and insurance

I have lived on about $8 a day for at least the past two years or so. That includes housing, utilities, food, clothing, transporation, recreation, entertainment and other expenses. It is possible to live cheap if one choses to do so - or has to do so. That said, I am a well educated long-term unemployed person. Assuming I am able to eventually return to the workforce I intend to continue my miserly consumption habits. Why should I enable corporate Amerika to profit at the expense of my own best interest? F 'em.

[hfojvt]

8. those are big exclusions

My house is paid for, so if you take away propoerty taxes and insurance I would have no housing expenses. But utilities alone probably cost me more than $1000. Heck, it's $400 for water and garbage alone, and those are about the minimum charges. What are you, in the country and heating with wood?

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Routine and necessary maintenance

is a housing expense. I do as much work myself as I can - including all my own yardwork. I live simply and try to conserve. Last month my electric bill for an 1800 square foot house was about $36. Combined expenses for electric, natural gas, water, sewer, trash, and phone service were about $120. Even in the heat of summer and the cold of winter those costs rarely exceed $200. Although my home is older all of the windows and doors have been replaced with newer more energy efficient materials. A few years back I added over 60 bales of insulation to the attic. Nonetheless, you will find my home a bit warm in summer and a bit cool in winter. I could burn wood in my fireplace but I don't.

My property taxes, homeowners insurance and auto insurance run about $4500 annually. I live in a metropolitan area in the central U.S.

My home is my largest expense. I dress for comfort rather than fashion and have minimal clothing expenses. I rarely dine out or rent or attend movies or other entertainment functions. I drive less than 50 miles per week - I probably spend less than $300 annually for gasoline. I garden and raise many of my own vegetables and herbs. I eat a semi-vegetarian diet and try to avoid processed and refined foods including colas. It is not uncommon for me to make my own mixes or to prepare and freeze foods for later use. My grocery purchases are mostly limited to staples. Grocery items have afforded the single biggest opportunity to reduce expenses. I use the neighborhood park for recreation and exercise. And I use the library. I rarely purchase a book, magazine or newspaper. My indulgences are chocolate, and the occasional CD or bottle of wine.

Although my home is my largest expense I find I am limited in finding ways to minimize those expenses. I found I was able to minimize other expenses fairly easily by making lifestyle changes.

[DiverDave]

5. I've been wondering,

What the hell is the gain if you lose the middle class?

Are the neo-cons so fucking myopic that they cant see that they are killing the golden goose?
A vibrant middle class makes EVERYONE rich, not just a few.
What happens when we cant afford the new widget?
Because we lost our job to some dude in India?

Do they really think a worker in Bangalore is going to replace the buying power of a well paid, well educated American?

Stupid,Greedy, Shortsighted FOOLS!

[neoblues]

6. Cost of War in IRAQ: $195 Million per day...

I just read that: The Real Cost of the Iraq War to American Taxpayers

It's gotta be in the many tens of millions per day...

And another estimate of $255 million per day.

[hfojvt]

7. gotta love the AFL-CIO

but that number is deceptive.

First, because it only includes income. Any family with income that low would also be getting assistance, from food stamps, to boxes from food banks, to an EIC, to medicaid, to LIHEAP, to SSI, and FICA payments, etc. - none of which are reported as income. Then there's cash income that does not get reported. I knew a guy who survived just on HUD, food banks and working maybe one day a week (on average) laying carpets. Of course, he would not even be part of those statistics because he was too poor to even file taxes. Near as I can tell, child support and alimony payments are not considered income either, except for the person paying them.

[Jcrowley]

9. The poor

"The poor tells us who we are,
 The prophets tell us who we could be,
 So we hide the poor,
 And kill the prophets" - Phil Berrigan

"If you think you're too small to be effective,
you've never been in bed with a mosquito."
                -- War Resisters' League

[dysfunctional press]

10. my disability payment comes to about $37.50/day

it doesn't go very far. i don't know how i'd shave off that extra $30/day...luckily- we own our home free and clear.

[Wiley50]

11. Gee, I'm Rich! 603/mo=20.10/day

except that the poverty level for me is $27/day

The official poverty line in 2004 was $27 a day for a single adult below retirement age and $42 a day for a household with one child. The I.R.S. data does not include the value of government benefits like food stamps, the earned-income tax credit for working families and subsidized medical care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/business/28tax.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

I don't even try to get food stamps
Not worth the hassle for $20/mo
that's all they pay now I have SSI

I live on a boat currently being rebuilt on Friends farm free rent and utilities
Once it's in the water, at the cheapest marina $200/mo
Guess I better keep moving

[Hardrada]

13. It wouldn't even cover postage for my business correspondence

and shipping.