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> I'm not sure which US you're referring to but it's not one I recognise. I'm from an African country and with that perspective I stand by this phrase: > Ther

by tertius 11y ago

> I'm not sure which US you're referring to but it's not one I recognise. I'm from an African country and with that perspective I stand by this phrase: > There is extreme lack of poverty in the U.S. There is no reason for anyone to go without food. Name one area in the U.S. where a homeless person cannot get a meal. My claim is simple. The U.S. is the most prosperous place on the planet, the inequality doesn't touch at least a hundred other countries. Again, inequality isn't necessarily an indicator of poverty.

grumblestumble 11y ago
I'm gonna go with "what is a white South African?" for $200 on this one, Alex.
- tertius 11y ago
  Takes one to know one.
  - grumblestumble 11y ago
    you got me :)
gradstudent 11y ago
> My claim is simple. The U.S. is the most prosperous place on the planet, the inequality doesn't touch at least a hundred other countries. Again, inequality isn't necessarily an indicator of poverty. The comparisons you make are on absolute terms but the reality is more nuanced. There are almost 47 million people living in poverty in the US [1] and something like 38% of the population live paycheque-to-paycheque (up from 31% in the late 90s) [2]. Even if most of those people are food-secure (something like 90% of Americans in poverty are) those numbers should still be pretty alarming. Just because the average American has it much better than the average African doesn't mean their situation is necessarily very good. [1] http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.... [2] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-americans-live-paycheck-to-...
- tertius 11y ago
  > There are almost 47 million people living in poverty in the US Look at the definition of poverty and you'll agree it's certainly a form of poverty, but again compared to the majority of the planet doesn't really cut it. Living paycheck to paycheck is generally an unfortunate choice or lack of education, but the point remains that there's a paycheck. And I can certainly agree that the culture of credit/debt isn't the best. > Just because the average American has it much better than the average African doesn't mean their situation is necessarily very good. I completely agree, it's not good at all. I think this underlies my point at the beginning that we need to give even if we don't have $45B. Our ability to generate the paycheck or our ownership of assets on average outstretches the vast majority of the planet.
  - ethanbond 11y ago
    Americans are the most charitable people on earth. So you don't really have a point.
    - tertius 11y ago
      If you read up you'll see the attitude I was responding to was contrary to that of charity.
      - ethanbond 11y ago
        So are you commentating on attitude, or on people's actual real world efforts towards charitable giving?
        tertius 11y ago
        Saying that "He's rich he can give a lot. I'll give when I get rich." When in fact the OP is already in a position to give, he just needs some perspective.
  - gradstudent 11y ago
    > Look at the definition of poverty and you'll agree it's certainly a form of poverty, but again compared to the majority of the planet doesn't really cut it. Poverty is defined along a spectrum, not relative to some kind of global nadir. > Living paycheck to paycheck is generally an unfortunate choice or lack of education, but the point remains that there's a paycheck. You're misrepresenting the situation by arguing it's a lifestyle choice. When you're poor it's very hard to save much of anything. Housing, transportation and food can quickly eat up most of a weekly paycheque. > Our ability to generate the paycheck or our ownership of assets on average outstretches the vast majority of the planet. Nobody is arguing the US the is place to be if you have money. The point I'm trying to spell out for you is that the averages you discuss are massively skewed by huge inequality. America's middle class are no longer the world's richest and they are shrinking in number. More, America is increasingly opting for a a system of governance that is leaving more and more people behind, especially its most vulnerable.

by tertius 11y ago

grumblestumble 11y ago

I'm gonna go with "what is a white South African?" for $200 on this one, Alex.

tertius 11y ago
Takes one to know one.
- grumblestumble 11y ago
  you got me :)

gradstudent 11y ago

> My claim is simple. The U.S. is the most prosperous place on the planet, the inequality doesn't touch at least a hundred other countries. Again, inequality isn't necessarily an indicator of poverty. The comparisons you make are on absolute terms but the reality is more nuanced. There are almost 47 million people living in poverty in the US [1] and something like 38% of the population live paycheque-to-paycheque (up from 31% in the late 90s) [2]. Even if most of those people are food-secure (something like 90% of Americans in poverty are) those numbers should still be pretty alarming. Just because the average American has it much better than the average African doesn't mean their situation is necessarily very good. [1] http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.... [2] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-americans-live-paycheck-to-...

tertius 11y ago
> There are almost 47 million people living in poverty in the US Look at the definition of poverty and you'll agree it's certainly a form of poverty, but again compared to the majority of the planet doesn't really cut it. Living paycheck to paycheck is generally an unfortunate choice or lack of education, but the point remains that there's a paycheck. And I can certainly agree that the culture of credit/debt isn't the best. > Just because the average American has it much better than the average African doesn't mean their situation is necessarily very good. I completely agree, it's not good at all. I think this underlies my point at the beginning that we need to give even if we don't have $45B. Our ability to generate the paycheck or our ownership of assets on average outstretches the vast majority of the planet.
- ethanbond 11y ago
  Americans are the most charitable people on earth. So you don't really have a point.
  - tertius 11y ago
    If you read up you'll see the attitude I was responding to was contrary to that of charity.
    - ethanbond 11y ago
      So are you commentating on attitude, or on people's actual real world efforts towards charitable giving?
      - tertius 11y ago
        Saying that "He's rich he can give a lot. I'll give when I get rich." When in fact the OP is already in a position to give, he just needs some perspective.
- gradstudent 11y ago
  > Look at the definition of poverty and you'll agree it's certainly a form of poverty, but again compared to the majority of the planet doesn't really cut it. Poverty is defined along a spectrum, not relative to some kind of global nadir. > Living paycheck to paycheck is generally an unfortunate choice or lack of education, but the point remains that there's a paycheck. You're misrepresenting the situation by arguing it's a lifestyle choice. When you're poor it's very hard to save much of anything. Housing, transportation and food can quickly eat up most of a weekly paycheque. > Our ability to generate the paycheck or our ownership of assets on average outstretches the vast majority of the planet. Nobody is arguing the US the is place to be if you have money. The point I'm trying to spell out for you is that the averages you discuss are massively skewed by huge inequality. America's middle class are no longer the world's richest and they are shrinking in number. More, America is increasingly opting for a a system of governance that is leaving more and more people behind, especially its most vulnerable.