I also have a big problem with the reasoning of the quoted argument, at least from a United States point of view. Our poor do have modern conveniences, because

I also have a big problem with the reasoning of the quoted argument, at least from a United States point of view. Our poor do have modern conveniences, because that’s what the world does; it evolves with current technology. They have access to emergency healthcare, which will almost inevitably bankrupt them when they need treatment. “Generally safe food” is not good enough in what is supposed to be one of the top first world countries. Infrastructure? Sure. Depending on how poor you are you’ll have varying access to infrastructure. This hasn’t happened out of concern for our poor. The poor are getting society’s leftovers. I don’t particularly care if we’ve “thrown tons of money at schooling and healthcare and the like” when we spend exponentially more money on the US military. Teachers across our country are still underpaid, and our education system is still not taken seriously enough. The US is not in the top 10 most educated countries (K-12), despite being a top first world country. Admittedly, money wouldn’t fix all the problems with our education system, but it would make a big difference. It sounds like this was written by someone with a limited frame of reference.