People's expectations of wealth have changed a lot, too, in my lifetime.

You see all those little houses built in the 1940's and 50's that are still around? Those were considered big houses at the time.

My folks were solidly middle class. We had an 1100 sq. ft. house, one car, one little black-and-white TV, no air conditioning. By today's standards we were "poor", but we didn't know it because the whole middle class lived the same way.

People today expect to live like only very wealthy people lived 40-50 years ago - and they have possessions and toys those rich people never had or dreamed of.

Poor people in America are only "poor" compared to others in this place and time. Compared with other countries, or even our own country a few decades ago, they're real well off.

But as Liberty points out, that doesn't make a bit of difference. People want it all, even if they haven't worked hard enough and smart enough to earn it and they think the government ought to give it to them.