But these numbers must be false! Or Bush-spun lies! Haven't you heard that the "Most Important Bush Domestic Policies have FAILED"? The Bush Truth is out there!

The best news I received in 2007 was a new job -- meaning a nice big $27,000 per year raise and cheaper health insurance, allowing my family to live at a level of affluence higher than ever before. I'm now over the median household income not only for the US as a whole but even for Maryland (the highest per capita income in the nation, higher than former #1 New Jersey).

So you know what? These statistics ring far more true than anything that any deranged doomsayer has to spout about.

The Poverty rate did dip by a very small amount in 2006. However Average Annual Wages after inflation for both male and female workers DROPPED for the third year in a row in 2006. Median Family income after inflation is BELOW the 1999 level. Thus the average American worker has LESS to spend after inflation today then when Bush took office. ONLY the wealthy have seen a REAL After Inflation improvement in their income.

Leave it to gene to tell everyone how bad they are.  I guess now we don't have enough to spend on those 2/3 color tv's, cable, internet, 2 cars, and all the other things the poor people have to to deal with.

LOL, and someone criticized the "doom and gloom" comment done on another article? Leave it to Col to simply mention the good side (one which he bitched about a lot before) only to trash it with a down side. I guess Col gene and his "we are the Borg" mentality will not be happy till he assimilates the entire US into his collective and adds their "biological and technological distinctiveness" to his own in order to achieve perfection.

BTW, I too had a promotion recently and am making more money now. But hey, if you don't mind Island Dog, let me link to my most recent article so that Col can see what this extra money he wants people to have, like poor people, goes to.

This is for you Mr. Col gene, explain this one to me:

And we wonder about the poor

Since the "poverty" rate of America is a sham, and its real name is the "poor" rate, and since that is judged on a Bell curve, it is almost impossible for it to drop since the cut off keeps getting redefined upwards.  But dont tell that to the brainless ones.  They only know how to bleat "4 legs good, 2 legs better" as their master tells them to.

They may as well put the Census people at the entrance of every BestBuy, Circuit City and Brandsmart in the country (and any other electronic store). They may get much better and more accurate numbers since this is where most of the poor people be at.

Our local rag actually ran this headline above the fold today: "Arizona poverty down, income up". I first saw it at a distance and about dropped my jaw - this rag virtually never prints good news, let alone gives it the lead. But, of course, once I saw the subhead I knew nothing had really changed: "But more in state lack health insurance". They just couldn't bring themselves to report unvarnished good news without homage to the media party line that things really aren't as good as they are and we're all just living in some fantasy world about to explode/implode from all its horrible defects.

I'm so fed up with the media's pap of doom, gloom, fear and demagoguery (not to mention Gene's). Can't ever give good news its due. Every time they get anywhere near good news they instintively cover their ears & start shouting, "La, la, la, la, la..."

Not so long ago we had the "the surge is working but" line, now we have "poverty is down, but" line. It seems the Democrats are always the "Butt" of the jokes.