The Poor Will Always Be Among Us?

Well, maybe not.  I ran across this gem on the U.S. Census Bureau's website.

Headline:  "Census Bureau Survey Shows Poverty is Primarily a Temporary Condition"

According to the Census Bureau, "While 29 percent of the nation's population was in poverty for at least two months between the start of 2004 and the end of 2006, only 3 percent were poor during the entire period."

When we talk about making policies to help the "poor" or harm "the rich", we assume static categories, where the same people and households occupy these strata year after year.  In fact, there is a lot of churn in these categories, as people move in and out of jobs and family situations.  We should take a more dynamic look at the populations we are trying to impact when making public policy.