Americans Are Unhappy With Government Failure On Poverty

(Image is sculptor Geroge Segal's tribute to the Depression-era poor.)

It has become clear that the congressional Republicans don't care about the poor in this country. For years now, they have been cutting taxes for the rich and the corporations -- and paying for it by cutting services for the poor. They claim this is the way to a more prosperous America for all of its citizens. That is laughable.

What it has done is to fatten the bank accounts of the rich and corporations (the only Americans who need no help), while stagnating wages for workers and shrinking the middle class -- and perhaps most egregious, it has increased poverty (while cutting programs to help those in poverty).

That may make the teabaggers happy, but the rest of America is disgusted with this. And as the chart below shows, the more they cut, the less Americans are satisfied with what the government is doing to deal with poverty. Currently only 16% of the population believes the government is doing a good job in dealing with poverty.

This chart was made from information contained in a Gallup Poll (done between April 29th and May 2nd of a random national sample of 2,020 adults, with a 4 point margin of error).