But they still feel good about the virtue of their intentions

Freedom-Hater politicians, and presidents in particular, love to obsess about poverty.  The current prez may be more preoccupied with it than any since Lyndon Johnson, whose War on Poverty was declared 50 years ago.

Aren't, then, the following stats exquisitely ironic?

Although the president often rails against income inequality in America, his policies have had little impact overall on poverty. A record 47 million Americans receive food stamps, about 13 million more than when he took office.

The poverty rate has stood at 15 percent for three consecutive years, the first time that has happened since the mid-1960s. The poverty rate in 1965 was 17.3 percent; it was 12.5 percent in 2007, before the Great Recession.

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About 50 million Americans live below the poverty line, which the federal government defined in 2012 as an annual income of $23,492 for a family of four.

As we always point out here at LITD, though, it's not accurate to call it failure. The MEC's real interest regarding poverty is how to make sure it continues to self-perpetuate.  Previous Freedom-Hater leaders such as LBJ may really have swallowed the do-gooder rationale.  Not so today's professional FHer.  Yes, their supporters generally still go in for that "fairness" hoo-ha, no matter how dismal the actual results, but the overlords see it as a vehicle to power.  The point of spouting the rhetoric is to keep the base on board by flattering them on how CAAAAAARING they are.