In article <bg6p3q$lghjo$1@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de>, 
kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com says...
> Pat Winstanley wrote:
> > In article <bg6ncq$lbl7d$1@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> > kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com says...
> >> Subject: Re: Americans aren't so lazy after all
> >> From: "Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com>
> >> Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan, soc.culture.canada,
> >> soc.culture.europe, alt.space.monkey.invaders, alt.abortion,
> >> alt.nuke.europe, alt.spacebastards, az.general, alt.nuke.the.usa
> >>
> >> Pat Winstanley wrote:
> >>> In article <bg6lc6$kjsj7$1@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> >>> kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com says...
> >>>>> And the level of poverty of the US population in real terms over
> >>>>> that time has done what exactly?
> >>>>
> >>>> Gone up.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> When?
> >>>
> >>> Do you have statistics to point out what proportions of people are
> >>> now
> >>> at various percentiles and were then at various percentiles?
> >>>
> >>> Or are you just guessing and hoping?
> >>
> >> I used your handy dandy link to the census bureau as my source
> >>
> >
> > Use any source you like. I didn't notice whether the percentiles were
> > on
> > that site.
> 
> I see. You posted a link without reading it. Why?
> 
> > I was just looking at relative value of the dollar on that
> > link and noticed that it was fairly static for a long time then leapt
> > into devaluation just around the end of WWI. Then gradually lost more
> > and more of its value.
> >
> > You see, I suspect (like you said)
> 
> I didn't say that.
> 
> > at there are more (relatively)
> > poor
> > now than there were in the US over the past half decade or so... I
> 
> Actually, as a percentage of the population, there are less. See the chart
> linked below.
> 
> > just
> > don't know when that became the case (poverty rising rather than
> > falling).
> 
> Here are numbers from 1975-2001.
> http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104525.html

So no really clear trends (all much of a muchness).

Thank you.
> 
> > What made the poverty rise?
> >
> > What was hapopening in the US at (or a bit before) the time the
> > poverty
> > trend started rising?
> 
> Poor people doing what makes them poor.

Like being *unable* to get any work, or better paid work (for whatever 
reason)?

> That is the cause of poverty.

Mmmm... do you think that is fair?

If so, why?