Originally Posted by smooth

Perhaps I did misunderstand you.
But your latest post didn't clarify anything for me.

You are arguing that the "welfare" state has kept these people poor and uneducated?
regardless of whether they actually receive welfare or were employed?

That doesn't make much sense to me.
Your statistics indicate a relatively small percentage of the population received government assistance, yet you want to blame the government assistance programs (of which a large number don't even utilize) for their poverty?

That's ridiculous argument from the way you've presented it.
Your self-sufficiency, from the data you provided, falls flat on its ass where it belongs.
You cite that roughly 10% of the families recieve cash welfare, and approx. 15% of them recieve subsidized housing.

Yet, nearly 30% aren't employed. That leaves 20% not utilizing welfare and 15% not utilizing public housing. The majority of the impoverished population, despite your claims to the contrary, are doing exactly what you claim they aren't doing--taking care of themselves.

If you really think that people are poor because they utilize government welfare programs, I don't know really what to tell you other than no person educated in this field that I know of holds the same view. The data you provided doesn't support your view. I think the way you came to your view is your dislike for government programs and predispositions to believe a certain way about welfare programs and who is on them.

More to the point, black citizens have lived in persistent poverty far longer than welfare was even conceived of. I think you need to rethink your position and come up with some factual basis for your assertions.