{"id":25019,"date":"2007-03-20T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T05:45:35","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T05:45:35","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T05:45:35","slug":"absence_of_capitalism_causes_poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2007\/03\/20\/absence_of_capitalism_causes_poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"Absence of Capitalism Causes Poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: Did you see this story out of Washington? It is an AP story<\/a>: ‘About one-third of the people living in the nation\u2019s capital are functionally illiterate compared with about one-fifth nationally. Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps, and filling out job applications.\u2019 The question I have is: How many of these illiterates in Washington, DC work for the federal government? That\u2019s what I would like to know! ‘The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the US Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by the mayor, Anthony Williams, in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.\u2019 Now, I know of about a thousand literacy charities out there, adult literacy charities. They\u2019re all over the place, and they\u2019re big in New York — and I want to know: What is actually being done beyond the parties that these people have to raise money? <\/p>\n

<\/a>Beyond that, what does this say about the public education system? You couple this with the dropout rate. One-third in Washington, DC and one-fifth nationally are functionally illiterate — and what is this about using a bus schedule or a map? How about giving them ‘See Dick and Jane run after Spot,\u2019 and whatever and see if they can understand that. Functional illiterate. If you can\u2019t comprehend a bus schedule, read a map or fill out a job application, then you are functionally illiterate. Let\u2019s see. <\/p>\n

‘The world\u2019s estimated four billion people who live under the poverty line represent an untapped global market worth $5 trillion in local purchasing power, according to a new report.\u2019 Now, does anybody… Upon hearing that, are you struck by a coincidence or some irony, let\u2019s say? Let me read this again<\/a>: ‘The world\u2019s estimated four billion people who live under the poverty line represent an untapped global market worth $5 trillion in local purchasing power.\u2019 How are they an untapped market, these four billion people below the poverty line? What, are they rich? On what basis do they represent an untapped global market worth $5 trillion in local purchasing power? Who\u2019s going to give \u2019em the money to get \u2019em out of poverty? Because you know why there\u2019s poverty in the world, don\u2019t you? Mass poverty on a mass scale? Poverty in the US is not poverty, by the way, compared to poverty around the world. I\u2019ve seen it. Don\u2019t argue with me about it. You can try to make hay, but you won\u2019t succeed. Poverty here? People here can\u2019t relate to poverty. I don\u2019t care who they are. <\/p>\n

The reason there\u2019s poverty is because there\u2019s a lack of distribution of capitalism. Now, I\u2019m going to have to recreate this from memory, and I\u2019m going to get the numbers wrong because I don\u2019t remember them precisely, but I\u2019m going to make the point to you. I had a conversation with a friend of mine two weeks ago who said that he had been to a fund-raiser, function or something with somebody who works with one of the major investment houses. I want to say Merrill Lynch, but I\u2019m not sure if it was Merrill Lynch. This guy was an expert in the energy sector. He said — and this story backs it up — of the world\u2019s six and a half billion people — and this is going to stun you. This is what I mean about poverty. In the case of the world\u2019s six and a half billion people, four and a half to five billion do not have electricity, do not have running water in their homes, do not have automobiles and all this sort of thing. One and a half billion people of the world\u2019s six and a half billion are using all of the energy right now — and of all the people in China right now — what\u2019s the Chinese population, a billion, something like that? Yeah, they\u2019ve reached it, right? In China, the number of people who have automobiles and electricity regularly (in their homes, not where they work, but in their homes), is less than 500,000, but it\u2019s growing rapidly. His point was, ‘If we were ever able to reverse this statistic, this number of people in the world that do not have electricity — and that\u2019s why the places where these people live are an absolute environmental disaster and mess. They don\u2019t have the means to clean up the messes they\u2019re making, and yet that\u2019s what the wackos tell us we should be aiming at is that kind of ‘native lifestyle,\u2019 a pristine lifestyle. <\/p>\n

Anyway, imagine if we did get capitalism equally distributed around the world, and the four and a half billion people without electricity, running water, automobiles, all of a sudden got it. Think of the demands on energy around the world! When I heard this, when I heard this story, do you know what my first reaction was? I didn\u2019t articulate it, but my first gut reaction was, ‘My gosh, I\u2019m just going to become the biggest fan of socialism and dictatorship for four and a half billion people because…\u2019 (laughing) I\u2019m kidding! I\u2019m kidding, but stop and think: if this were ever reversed, think of the pressures that there would be on energy development, usage, and this sort of thing. It would lead to more production, there\u2019s no question. Demand would cause there to be more production. There\u2019s no question that would happen, and we\u2019d get all kinds of things changed, where we can drill for oil, and that\u2019s where real ingenuity and entrepreneurship and alternative sources of fuel and alternative fuels would begin. But it wouldn\u2019t happen overnight. If somebody were able to throw a switch — and this story reminded me of it. ‘The world\u2019s estimated four billion people who live under the poverty line represent an untapped global market worth five trillion in local purchasing power.\u2019 Well, fine and dandy, but don\u2019t they have to be given the five trillion before they can spend it? Where\u2019s this going to come from? They don\u2019t have it by definition. They live in poverty. But the point is, if it were somehow just with a snap of the fingers done overnight, there would be all kinds of pressure brought to bear on a number of the areas — especially the energy sector — in this country. <\/p>\n

You\u2019d be stunned at the number of people in this world who live over 500 miles from the nearest hospital. You would be stunned! Even in our own hemisphere. That\u2019s why when I hear people talk about poverty in America, I catch myself, because poverty<\/emphasize> is a relative thing. Relative to our gross domestic product and our per capita income, yeah, we have poverty, but it\u2019s not like poverty around the world. Now, ‘There\u2019s a wealthier, mid-tier group with per capita incomes between $3,000 and $20,000 that represents a global markets worth 12 and a half trillion dollars but they\u2019re better off in general living mainly in cities and are better served.\u2019 So that\u2019s the next group above those who are in abject and dire poverty.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Jason in Springfield, Missouri. Nice to have you with us, sir. Hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hello, Rush. Greetings from the entire Macy family, especially my little brother, Chris Macy. He was sergeant in the Army when you went to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, we have eminent respect for all of you and your families, as you well know.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Thank you, sir. I wanted to go back to your comments about the functioning illiterate, you know, liberals\u2019 perspective a functioning illiterate is somebody whose illiterate based on their inability to read a map or navigate through a bus schedule, but how did they determine the positive side, the functioning part?<\/p>\n

RUSH: I should have thrown that in. A functional illiterate is someone who knows how to go to the welfare office and get a check.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (Laughing.) I was curious how they were determining that.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah, functional illiterate is somebody who knows how to use every government program to its max.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Oh, well, thank you, sir.<\/p>\n

RUSH: It\u2019s a serious question. Sort of like, what\u2019s a functional alcoholic? You know, a lot of alcoholics go to work every day. A functional illiterate can get around; can get a driver\u2019s license; can drive a car; can cross the street. A functional illiterate can probably speak. But when it comes time to put the signatures on something, well, even functional illiterates get away with an X if they can find a cosigner and say yes, X is functional illiterate, you know, whatever. Bobby Joe Gene. <\/line><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Did you see this story out of Washington? It is an AP story: ‘About one-third of the people living in the nation\u2019s capital are functionally illiterate compared with about one-fifth nationally. 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