[lbo-talk] a nation of haves & have-nots? Americans equally divided...

[Miles Jackson]

J. Tyler wrote:
> Doug Henwood quoted:
>
> Of equal importance, the number of Americans who see themselves among
> the "have-nots" of society has doubled over the past two decades,
> from 17% in 1988 to 34% today. In 1988, far more Americans said that,
> if they had to choose, they probably were among the "haves" (59%)
> than the "have-nots" (17%). Today, this gap is far narrower (45%
> "haves" vs. 34% "have-nots").
>
> ----------------------
>
> 24% of people in 1988 who *had* to choose believed they neither had nor had 
> not while 21% of people in 2007 believe they neither have nor have not.  A 
> paradox worthy of Zeno.  Is it progress that 3% less people in 2007 than in 
> 1988 place themselves firmly in logical impossibilities?  More evidence in 
> support of the Flynn effect?
>
> Discuss amongst yourselves. 
>
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>   
I get the joke, but identifying as neither "have" nor "have not" is an 
understandable response, given the sloppy terminology used in the poll.  
(The verbal gymnastics people use to avoid talking about class in the U. 
S. never cease to amaze me!)  These are not literal terms (the "have 
nots" in fact have some stuff ), so the people who do not identify as 
"haves" or "have nots" are demonstrating quite effective reasoning skills.

In response to Doug's reply, the Flynn effect is the steady and 
substantial increase in average IQ performance from the 1920s to the 
present.  Flynn has calculated an increase of about 4-5 points per 
decade.  That may not sound like much, but if you took a person who 
scored 100 on a IQ test today and sent them back in time to take the 
1920 IQ test, they would score about 135 (near genius level). 

Miles