4 ms·

The definition of poverty in the US and India is a little different, in the USA it means a family income of less than $43,512 a year - in India it means dying

The definition of poverty in the US and India is a little different, in the USA it means a family income of less than $43,512 a year - in India it means dying of starvation. Not wishing to belittle the struggle of so many US families - but this isn't quite the same thing.

latch 14y ago
The poverty level in the us is $23 050 for a family of 4 (1). Not sure where you got your figure. Roughly 10% of americans were food-insecure at some point in a year (2) (1) http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml (2) http://webarchives.cdlib.org/sw1s17tt5t/http://ers.usda.gov/Publications/FANRR35/ http://webarchives.cdlib.org/sw1s17tt5t/http://ers.usda.gov/... Yes, in India ~50% of the population doesn't have regular access to clean water or a sewage system. Yes, I'd rather be poor in the US than poor in India. But I maintain that the state of poverty in the US (and other western countries) is a far bigger failure than the state of poverty in any developing country. Also, I can't help but link to this great post whenever talking about poverty: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/ the mac and cheese one makes me tear up every time I read it.
- WalterBright 14y ago
  Food insecurity at some point in a year is not at all the same thing as starvation.
- yummyfajitas 14y ago
  Food insecurity in the US is meaningless. The definition is so broad it encompasses all sorts of ridiculous situations. Consider a morbidly obese person who eats 6 cheeseburgers/day. At dinner time on the 30'th day of the month (payday is the 1'st of next month) they run out of money, and are only able to purchase 4 cheeseburgers that day. By the definition of the USDA, this person is food insecure. Comparing poverty in the US to poverty in India is a misnomer - poor people in the US are actually richer than the rich (top 5%) in India. I say this based on both personal experience and statistics: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/the-haves-and-the-have-nots/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/the-haves-and-t... The article by Scalzi you cite does not describe the poor in the US. I debunk it (with stats) here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1713461 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1713461
eli 14y ago
That does not sound like the correct number for the US poverty line. Where did you get it from?
- excuse-me 14y ago
  Sorry my mistake, it was from a lobbying group website and is 2x the "official" US poverty level income figure. Their point being that even at 200% of the official figure it's still pretty tough, which is certainly true. Their site was one of these "thinktanks" that appear to be an official government agency until you look very closely.

latch 14y ago

The poverty level in the us is $23 050 for a family of 4 (1). Not sure where you got your figure. Roughly 10% of americans were food-insecure at some point in a year (2) (1) http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml (2) http://webarchives.cdlib.org/sw1s17tt5t/http://ers.usda.gov/Publications/FANRR35/ http://webarchives.cdlib.org/sw1s17tt5t/http://ers.usda.gov/... Yes, in India ~50% of the population doesn't have regular access to clean water or a sewage system. Yes, I'd rather be poor in the US than poor in India. But I maintain that the state of poverty in the US (and other western countries) is a far bigger failure than the state of poverty in any developing country. Also, I can't help but link to this great post whenever talking about poverty: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/ the mac and cheese one makes me tear up every time I read it.

WalterBright 14y ago
Food insecurity at some point in a year is not at all the same thing as starvation.
yummyfajitas 14y ago
Food insecurity in the US is meaningless. The definition is so broad it encompasses all sorts of ridiculous situations. Consider a morbidly obese person who eats 6 cheeseburgers/day. At dinner time on the 30'th day of the month (payday is the 1'st of next month) they run out of money, and are only able to purchase 4 cheeseburgers that day. By the definition of the USDA, this person is food insecure. Comparing poverty in the US to poverty in India is a misnomer - poor people in the US are actually richer than the rich (top 5%) in India. I say this based on both personal experience and statistics: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/the-haves-and-the-have-nots/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/the-haves-and-t... The article by Scalzi you cite does not describe the poor in the US. I debunk it (with stats) here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1713461 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1713461

eli 14y ago

That does not sound like the correct number for the US poverty line. Where did you get it from?

excuse-me 14y ago
Sorry my mistake, it was from a lobbying group website and is 2x the "official" US poverty level income figure. Their point being that even at 200% of the official figure it's still pretty tough, which is certainly true. Their site was one of these "thinktanks" that appear to be an official government agency until you look very closely.