On Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 3:42 PM, Dans, Peter E. (MC1957) wrote:
Hi John:
Father Sirico of the Acton Institute is one of the most sensible Catholic voices about the concept of subsidiarity and the virtues you mention. Another thing that is never discussed is that the definition of poverty has changed drastically since I grew up on the Lower East Side in a cold water flat until age 11 with only a woodstove in the kitchen and an icebox. Stats now show that some states consider poverty level to be upwards of $50,000 for some benefits. A recent study shows that most “poor” have multiple TVS ( we didn’t get one for many years), refrigerators, cellphones and many other gadgets. I’ll forward the study if I can find it. And No we didn’t consider ourselves “poor” and my family refused to go on “relief” as it was called. We worked and educated our way out.
Best.
Peter E. Dans ’57
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[JR: Careful, you'll ruin my reputation as the "fat old white guy injineer" by outing my erudite places. :-) And, yes, the politicians and bureaucrats depend on us allowing them to confuse definitions. Starving folks in Africa, or in the USA, are "poor"; some of the "poor" in the USA are just being held back by the Gooferment and their own thinking. (I'd have paradigms and memes but that would have really given my act away.) ]
[JR: In those days, you weren't "poor". You had"enough". You knew it was "enough" cause your parents old you: "you've had enough". LOL! Now it's funny; then it wasn't.]
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