Prometheus 6

Michael overstates the obvious:

Absolute Poverty & Black Empowerment

I want to assert something a bit provocative which has to do with the standards by which we judge black progress in this country. I just read the following over at Black Voices:

In 2005, it remains a fact that 25 to 33 percent of black Americans are still mired in poverty, yet roughly 60 percent are middle-class (with 10 percent in the elite). It’s questionable, however, if the black middle class, which has historically been the leadership class, can socially and economically reproduce itself without programs such as affirmative action and minority set-asides, which have aided them in procuring the wealth that they have so far.

I don't think I have a beef with those statistics, but I recognize that they probably define poverty in line with 'The Poverty Line' which is defined by the federal government. Without going into any ideological rants about the welfare state, I wonder how realistic it is in a global economy to talk about Americans who live below The Poverty Line as if they were truly impoverished. There is no question whether or not they relatively poor, but are they necessarily indigent? I say no. There is a difference between relative poverty, absolute poverty and indigence.