2 ms·
> poverty ... defined as the share of the population living on less than half the national median income This is not necessarily poverty, it is just a measure
by codedokode 8y ago
> poverty ... defined as the share of the population living on less than half the national median income
This is not necessarily poverty, it is just a measure of income inequality. If we read Wikipedia [1]:
> In Japan, relative poverty is defined as a state at which the income of a household is at or below half of the median household income ... According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the mean household net-adjusted disposable income for Japan is US$23,458.
Half of that is $11,700 and while living on that can be tough, I am not sure if that can be called poverty. Also, there is a minimal wage of 736 yen/hour (in the poorest regions) which is 117760 yen/month or $1063. So if a household has an income of $1000/month it means that one of two people is slacking off instead of working.
For comparison, in Estonia minimum monthly wage is 500 Euro (585 USD), in Russia it is $286 in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg and about $150 in other regions. Earning $1000 a month looks like a luxury for most people outside of two largest cities.
It is also important to remember that the climate is much warmer in Japan than in Russia so the the life should be cheaper, you don't have to pay for warm clothes and central heating.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Japan
- emodendroket 8y agoThe federal poverty line in the US for a single person is about $12k (or $15k in Alaska) and it's higher for families. I am quite sure that living in a country like Japan, where the cost of living is not cheap, on $11,000 pear year can be called poverty. Also, "slacking off"? Have you considered that perhaps one or more people cannot find a job or is unable to work? Or that the poor often do not have full-time jobs with steady hours? Come on. The cost of living in Estonia is much lower than Japan. You're not making an apples-to-apples comparison. The US comparison is more apt. Think about what your life would be like if you made the same amount of money as you do now but lived in Thailand (or if they did the same for the average Thai person) and you might understand why they choose to measure poverty this way.
- nl 8y agoIt depends on what's included in society, though. In Japan, you get healthcare and pay as low as 5% of the cost of care. That's a pretty significant difference.
- emodendroket 8y agoCertainly not having to worry about ruin from medical bills is one thing making life better for the poor, but that doesn't make being poor pleasant.
- nl 8y agoOf course not. Are you implying that a post-scarcity society will be pleasant for everyone? I don't think that.
- emodendroket 8y agoIf you have desperately poor people who struggle to afford life's basics I don't know in what meaningful sense it's a "post-scarcity" society.