The Drunken Poor: A Conservative Lie

[dajoki]

The Drunken Poor: A Conservative Lie
by Charlotte Hill March 17, 2010 06:10 AM (PT)
http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/the_drunken_poor_a_conservative_lie

It's amazing how statistics can fly in the face of conventional -- and often conservative -- wisdom. Fellow blogger Megan Greenwell wrote this week of how poverty and obesity are integrally related; even though the concept seems "slightly strange," it's a fact that poor people have limited access to healthy food, therefore struggling disproportionately with obesity.

The latest statistical shocker? Rich Americans drink substantially more alcohol than their poor counterparts.

According to a recent survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, over 72 percent of adults whose family incomes are at least four times the federal poverty level drink alcohol. The figure for adults whose families make less than the poverty threshold? 45.2 percent.

Similarly, about 74 percent of adults with graduate degrees drink. The rate for high school "dropouts" -- adults without high school diplomas -- is just 45 percent.

These surprising figures counter the prevalent misconception that poor people drink too much, forfeiting well-paying jobs in exchange for lazy afternoons in front of the TV, beer bottle in hand. Rush Limbaugh's suggestion that Americans on food stamps "buy Twinkies, Milk Duds, potato chips, six-packs of Bud, then head home to watch the NFL on one of two color TVs" is more than factually incorrect (food stamps can't be used to purchase alcohol anywhere in the country); it's another disturbing example of conservative propaganda that blames poverty on the poor. The sole function of this dangerous rhetoric is to dissuade middle- and upper-class Americans from examining the flawed social structures and policies that both cause and perpetuate poverty across the nation.

At Change.org, we like to take a more nuanced approach in our blogs than Limbaugh does on his radio show. For starters, we don't promote racist songs like "Barack the Magic Negro" on our posts or sell albums with incendiary titles like We Hate the USA. Then again, perhaps because of our more subtle use of language, we don't attract such a wide audience through which to promote our ideas. As the results of the National Center for Health Statistics survey suggest, however, we progressive advocates do have something powerful on our side that Limbaugh and other conservative personalities lack: facts.

[Warpy]

1. Since liquor stores together will billboards advertising alcohol

are generally crammed into the poorer neighborhoods, Joe Dumbass Conservative naturally thinks that's where all the drunkards are.

Most poor folks can't afford to get drunk and stay drunk, they're too busy working a patchwork of jobs trying to keep a roof over their heads and food in their children's bellies.

[dajoki]

7. Sadly...

there are way too many people who don't even have a roof over their heads.

[kestrel91316]

2. I have a fifth of rum I hope will last out the year by careful rationing,

and I buy myself a bottle of $2 Chuck at TJ's every 2 or 3 months. And those rare occasions that I have a restaurant meal I don't have alcohol. I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can enjoy just a LITTLE more often, lol. But for now the food budget has to go for actual FOOD.

Actually I lied. I had a beer with my lunch on Sunday. I think it was my first beer in over a year.

[anigbrowl]

3. Just to correct a statistical misinterpretation...

'more Americans of group X drink alcohol than group Y' does not mean 'Americans of group X who drink consume more alcohol than members of group Y who drink'.

That statistic in the article tells you nothing about the average alcohol consumption of individuals. I drink about one beer every day on average (some days I don't drink at all, some days I drink two beers). My wife also drinks alcohol, but probably only about a quarter as much as I do.

Now compare us with another (hypothetical) couple. Say the husband doesn't drink at all but the wife is an alcoholic and drinks heavily. Only 50% of that couple 'drinks' (compared to 100% in my household) but it's quite possible that the alcoholic person consumes more than me and my wife put together.

So change.org means well, but in this case they've drawn an incorrect conclusion from the statistics.

[dajoki]

5. That still doesn't mean...

that all poor people who drink are alcoholics.

[anigbrowl]

8. I am not claiming it does

I'm just using a hypothetical example to point out that the conclusion they draw does not follow from the data they cite.

[hfojvt]

9. I don't think they meant it that way

When they wrote "Rich Americans drink substantially more alcohol than their poor counterparts."

What they meant by that was what they showed in the statistics. That a substantially higher percentage of rich people are drinkers compared to poor people. Although with a survey, I wounder how they know that respondents are being honest. Not that poor people are more likely to lie, but it's possible that a poor person might be made to feel more shame about their drinking and thus be less ready to admit it. Whereas the rich are more shameless.

Other things are time and consequences. Who drinks more at all economic levels - twenty year olds or 40 year olds? If you are poor, the cost of a DUI is much higher. If you are rich, you might be able to get out of it, either because you get a fancy lawyer or because your dad golfs with the DA. So the poor person learns that he/she cannot afford to drink. Richer people can avoid other consequences. That DUI on your record does not matter if your dad or your mom owns to the company.

[anigbrowl]

15. Perhaps not, but that's how it comes across

Your interpretation is 100% correct, but I don't think they understood it as well as you do.

I don't really buy into your speculation on wealth/poverty as a factor in things like getting out of DUIs. Not that some wealthy people don't try to abuse their position like that, but that my drinking habits have never been governed by issues like whether I can afford a DUI or not. I don't DUI for the simple reason that I don't want to get killed or kill someone else. It's a lot simpler to just crash on somebody's sofa or walk if I anticipate or end up drinking more than a certain amount.

I'm very wary of reading too much into these statistics, same way I never gave much credence to right-wing tropes about the lifestyle habits of the poor to begin with.

[kctim]

4. Really not a winning argument

People do not care if 74% spend their own money on alcohol, but they do care if they give their money to somebody for food and it is spent on alcohol.

She also misses the obvious in that $20 worth of stamps is worth $10 of booze and, from personal experience, is a common practice.

Fighting for better access to healthy food is a winner. Spinning so-called "facts" to one up a conservative gas bag is pointless.

[dajoki]

6. You aren't getting the point...

its always blame the victim, in this case the poor person just trying to get a meal. People automaticaly assume he/she is a drunk. What about the exec. who has a couple martinis for lunch and a few more after work and he/she is considered an upstanding citizen.

[bobbolink]

10. I am so fed up with the blaming the poor stuff... all the time, there we are, defending

ourselves!

Geeeee, aren't we sooooo glad "progressives" understand and care about us.

:sarcasm:

K&R

[Desertrose]

12. Again...much easier to blame those who don't have a voice, isn't it?

So hard to get rid of our stupid stereotypes too.

*sigh*

[maryf]

13. And even when those without a voice speak out...

those damned stereotypes keep muffling the ears of those who might listen...

[bobbolink]

16. Akin to taunting a man in a wheelchair who has Parkinson's....

:nuke:

[Stevenmarc]

11. I bet the Tea Party has it's fair share of drunks too

[Mopar151]

24. Oh, yeah - the kind that brood

They watch Beck, or Faux Noise, and sit there and stew in Natty Lite and their own bile.

[applegrove]

14. I don't understand why the GOP has so many policies to increase the number of poor people

when they hate them so much.

[maryf]

17. What a great post!!

Can I steal it?

[dajoki]

18. Be my guest!!

:rofl:

[applegrove]

27. Of course you can. No need to even ask. And thanks.

:blush:

[dajoki]

29. I'm so embarrased...

I didn't look close enough, I thought she was posting to the OP. Sorry!! And it is a wonderful post!!:hi:

[Mopar151]

19. Ask any garbageman

I used to help my friends who ran a 1-truck residential service. You would be amazed at who was good for 2-3 half-gallons a week!
They're not that fussy, either - they'll keep refilling that "Johnny Walker" bottle from the "R&R Scotch" jug. And who do you think drinks all that generic vodka?
The serious drunks aren't the unemployed - it's the self-employed who need a half-pint in the morning coffee to get through the day. Purely anecdotal evidence suggests concrete workers are the worst (What does it take - a 30-pak to get you guys out of the truck?), with carpet layers close behind.

[dajoki]

20. A long time ago...

I layed carpet as a second job, just trying to earn a little extra. Its sad to say that my friend, and the owner, was an extremely heavy drinker, sometimes if I didn't get to see him on payday the money all went for booze. God rest his soul.

[bobbolink]

25. Surely you are talking only about HOMELESS self-employed people, right?

The lies are abundant, repetitive, and very destructive.

Yet, people wonder why we homeless people get angry.

:nuke:

Thank you for this info.... can you find a link to this by any chance?

[Mopar151]

28. We're talkin' pillars of the community here - sort of...

Like I said before, my evidence is purely anecdotal. And I know the difference between self-medicating - for anxiety, depression, "voices", Mania... If the people living under bridges or sleeping in cars are drinkin', it's to endure the indignities of society, and maybe a little nip to chase the cold.
And then there's fucking drunks. The "All American Drinking Team", as Smokey Yunick described the management of automotive companies in the 50's and 60's. Some drunks may be technically homeless - bouncing from couch to couch, living in a camper... But a lot of them work for other drunks or marginal employers - pavers, landscapers, construction subs, etc. - or work a regular job, and binge every weekend. 7-8 DUI's lifetime, Sunday mornings spent looking for Dad's car, or trashed at the country club bar - or the lovely old couple who put away a bottle a day apeice. A fatal heart attack in their 40's, or "sudden" liver failure are pretty reliable markers.

[Zoeisright]

21. "Conservative lie" is redundant.

Since all they do is lie. Well, they also like to be violent and throw temper tantrums when they don't get their way.

[dajoki]

22. That's exactly what they do when they don't get their own way n/t

[Scurrilous]

23. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Dappleganger]

26. They're also hooked on prescription drugs...

and driving their kids to activities and school in their big SUV's.