snowflake:

But we are often a country with misplaced priorities tending to the welfare of the rich and powerful while allowing the relatively disenfranchised to languish in permanent, institutionalized poverty. 

Someone has said that the viability and justice of a society can be assessed by how that society looks after the welfare of its most defenseless citizens.  And on that score, considering that we are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, we come up very much short of the mark whether you're talking about single parent welfare moms or needy returning military vets.  We should be ASHAMED of ourselves!

Peace and love,

Flakey 

I couldn't disagree with you more.  Our poor are the most well off poor in the world.  Just look at the statistics.  The avg poor person lives in more space than the average person in Paris, London and Athens. They have A/C, televisions, and cars. 

I also highly disagree about your statement that we have misplaced priorities centered on the rich.  I believe our entire government is built upon the middle class at the expense of the rich.  The rich pay an exorbitantly high proportion of their income in the form of taxes with zero added benefit. 

In addition, this country has the best upward earning mobility in the world, by far.  It takes the average 'poor' american less than 10 years to raise the household up to a higher income category with nearly 25% rising to the highest quintile.  That is the sign of a country that places its priorities on entrepreneurship and hard work.