5 ms·

One common method is to work for free for a short time, until you gain the skills necessary to perform a new job. Luckily food, shelter & transport is free too

by Klinky 15y ago

One common method is to work for free for a short time, until you gain the skills necessary to perform a new job. Luckily food, shelter & transport is free too. Where I live, the GDP per capita is about 40x lower than the US. Where exactly do you live & what is the quality of life for those at the bottom?

yummyfajitas 15y ago
I live in India. The quality of life at the bottom here in India is terrible, but that's irrelevant. I'm comparing the US poor to India's top 10% (lets not even discuss India's middle class). The average poor household in the US has 2 rooms per person, a car or two, air conditioning, and all sorts of consumer goods. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf I recently visited a family in Bandra (one of the poshest suburbs of Mumbai). They had 0.75 rooms/person, no AC, an inconsistent and undrinkable water supply, no car and a single bathroom about half the size of any in the US (i.e., no separated shower stall). My understanding is that this is fairly typical for their strata. They are in the top 5% (roughly) of India. If Indians can save 20% of their income, so can Americans.
- Klinky 15y ago
  Your description of "poor" sounds more like "Working Class" or "Lower Middle Class" in the USA. Often these lifestyles are supplied due to easy credit. Sheltered poverty in the USA means studio apartment, no a/c, no car, no laundry facilities on site, dangerous neighborhood, little to no public transport. You also have dirt poor poverty which people commonly refer to as "trailer trash", where you have communities of poor people living in trailers wasting away their lives with poor choices & poverty. Then you have the destitute poor which are those that live on city streets, eat a charity kitchens & often have drug or mental health problems. I will say that the poor in the USA do have it better than the poor in India, but that's mainly due access to government assistance. Often the US poor don't have money to save because they bought an A/C, fixed their car, had to see a doctor or payback a loan they took out the week before to make ends meet. That or they live with subsidized housing & utilities and are given a tiny amount of welfare/food stamps which is lucky to last to the end of the month.
  - yummyfajitas 15y ago
    My definition of poor is the US government standard definition. My description is merely a factual description of people meeting the government's definition, according to the census. 75% of the poor do have a car (25% have two or more), 66% have 2 rooms per person, and just over half have AC. Go read the census article I linked to. If you wish to claim the government's definition of "poor" is overly broad and includes huge numbers of people who are actually middle class, I agree with you. But that simply means there are far fewer poor people in the US than we currently believe. I will say that the poor in the USA do have it better than the poor in India, but that's mainly due access to government assistance. No, it's due to wealth, plain and simple. Take away government assistance and virtually all Americans still have more than $1200/year to live on. a tiny amount of welfare/food stamps which is lucky to last to the end of the month. If that were true, poor Americans would not be fat.
    - Klinky 15y ago
      75% of the poor do have a car (25% have two or more), 66% have 2 rooms per person, and just over half have AC. Firstly AHS has a disclaimer that it overestimates poverty levels. This can inflate who falls into the "below poverty levels". Also the AHS is counting totals, yes someone may have A/C but that doesn't mean they have a car or 2 rooms per person. Someone could have two rooms & a car that breaks down often, but no A/C. Someone could have all 3 and someone else could have 0. Also the AHS mentions that 11% of those below poverty don't have safe drinking water & 20% live in a neighborhood with serious crime. Also rooms per person & A/C & a car may not illustrate quality of life. You could look at Brazil having a rooms per person ratio which is much better than India, but your life would still suck if you lived in the slums. Let's just say that being poor in the US poor isn't a picnic. But I don't think that India is a picnic either. The poor in each country faces a different set of problems. Just because the US poor have more money than the poor in India doesn't mean they don't still face serious problems. Like the saying goes "More money, more problems". No, it's due to wealth, plain and simple. Is the US just magically wealthy? Where is wealth derived from? How does a country like India become wealthy? Take away government assistance and virtually all Americans still have more than $1200/year to live on. ...and cost of living in the USA is exactly the same as in India?

by Klinky 15y ago

yummyfajitas 15y ago

I live in India. The quality of life at the bottom here in India is terrible, but that's irrelevant. I'm comparing the US poor to India's top 10% (lets not even discuss India's middle class). The average poor household in the US has 2 rooms per person, a car or two, air conditioning, and all sorts of consumer goods. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf I recently visited a family in Bandra (one of the poshest suburbs of Mumbai). They had 0.75 rooms/person, no AC, an inconsistent and undrinkable water supply, no car and a single bathroom about half the size of any in the US (i.e., no separated shower stall). My understanding is that this is fairly typical for their strata. They are in the top 5% (roughly) of India. If Indians can save 20% of their income, so can Americans.

Klinky 15y ago
Your description of "poor" sounds more like "Working Class" or "Lower Middle Class" in the USA. Often these lifestyles are supplied due to easy credit. Sheltered poverty in the USA means studio apartment, no a/c, no car, no laundry facilities on site, dangerous neighborhood, little to no public transport. You also have dirt poor poverty which people commonly refer to as "trailer trash", where you have communities of poor people living in trailers wasting away their lives with poor choices & poverty. Then you have the destitute poor which are those that live on city streets, eat a charity kitchens & often have drug or mental health problems. I will say that the poor in the USA do have it better than the poor in India, but that's mainly due access to government assistance. Often the US poor don't have money to save because they bought an A/C, fixed their car, had to see a doctor or payback a loan they took out the week before to make ends meet. That or they live with subsidized housing & utilities and are given a tiny amount of welfare/food stamps which is lucky to last to the end of the month.
- yummyfajitas 15y ago
  My definition of poor is the US government standard definition. My description is merely a factual description of people meeting the government's definition, according to the census. 75% of the poor do have a car (25% have two or more), 66% have 2 rooms per person, and just over half have AC. Go read the census article I linked to. If you wish to claim the government's definition of "poor" is overly broad and includes huge numbers of people who are actually middle class, I agree with you. But that simply means there are far fewer poor people in the US than we currently believe. I will say that the poor in the USA do have it better than the poor in India, but that's mainly due access to government assistance. No, it's due to wealth, plain and simple. Take away government assistance and virtually all Americans still have more than $1200/year to live on. a tiny amount of welfare/food stamps which is lucky to last to the end of the month. If that were true, poor Americans would not be fat.
  - Klinky 15y ago
    75% of the poor do have a car (25% have two or more), 66% have 2 rooms per person, and just over half have AC. Firstly AHS has a disclaimer that it overestimates poverty levels. This can inflate who falls into the "below poverty levels". Also the AHS is counting totals, yes someone may have A/C but that doesn't mean they have a car or 2 rooms per person. Someone could have two rooms & a car that breaks down often, but no A/C. Someone could have all 3 and someone else could have 0. Also the AHS mentions that 11% of those below poverty don't have safe drinking water & 20% live in a neighborhood with serious crime. Also rooms per person & A/C & a car may not illustrate quality of life. You could look at Brazil having a rooms per person ratio which is much better than India, but your life would still suck if you lived in the slums. Let's just say that being poor in the US poor isn't a picnic. But I don't think that India is a picnic either. The poor in each country faces a different set of problems. Just because the US poor have more money than the poor in India doesn't mean they don't still face serious problems. Like the saying goes "More money, more problems". No, it's due to wealth, plain and simple. Is the US just magically wealthy? Where is wealth derived from? How does a country like India become wealthy? Take away government assistance and virtually all Americans still have more than $1200/year to live on. ...and cost of living in the USA is exactly the same as in India?