4 ms·

Today poverty comes with some extra baggage - lower access to the healthcare system and much worse healthcare results, increased crime rate, low social status ,

by hershel 12y ago

Today poverty comes with some extra baggage - lower access to the healthcare system and much worse healthcare results, increased crime rate, low social status , higher stress, etc. Not everything in life is about possessions.

jlarocco 12y ago
Actually, healthcare access has improved for everybody in the last 60 years, enough so that life expectancy has increased by 10 years. Homicide (and presumably other violent crime) is about the same as 1950. Further, "poor" people have always had lower social status and higher stress, so there's no change there. In 1950 it wasn't uncommon for people to still use outhouses and not have electricity. Life expectancy reference: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_indicators.htm http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_indicators.htm homicide rate reference: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873729.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873729.html
- hershel 12y ago
  The comparison is between being middle class in 1950 to being poor today.
fancyketchup 12y ago
But also vastly reduced pollution. Popular Mechanics had a few articles about the extent of the problem in Los Angeles (which you can read for free): http://books.google.com/books?id=SNkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=smog&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j76PU8PQI8_ZoASQjIHQDQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=smog&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=SNkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=sm... http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=smog&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j76PU8PQI8_ZoASQjIHQDQ&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=smog&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=smo... Now, it's true that pollution is still generally worse in poor areas compared to wealthier areas, but the pollution issue alone makes me prefer a "poor" lifestyle today over a "middle class" one from 50 or 60 years ago. We also have additional consumer protections for food and medicine compared to 60 years ago, which makes it hard to compare products across decades.

by hershel 12y ago

jlarocco 12y ago

Actually, healthcare access has improved for everybody in the last 60 years, enough so that life expectancy has increased by 10 years. Homicide (and presumably other violent crime) is about the same as 1950. Further, "poor" people have always had lower social status and higher stress, so there's no change there. In 1950 it wasn't uncommon for people to still use outhouses and not have electricity. Life expectancy reference: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_indicators.htm http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_indicators.htm homicide rate reference: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873729.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873729.html

hershel 12y ago
The comparison is between being middle class in 1950 to being poor today.

fancyketchup 12y ago

But also vastly reduced pollution. Popular Mechanics had a few articles about the extent of the problem in Los Angeles (which you can read for free): http://books.google.com/books?id=SNkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=smog&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j76PU8PQI8_ZoASQjIHQDQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=smog&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=SNkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA178&dq=sm... http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=smog&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j76PU8PQI8_ZoASQjIHQDQ&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=smog&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=xdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=smo... Now, it's true that pollution is still generally worse in poor areas compared to wealthier areas, but the pollution issue alone makes me prefer a "poor" lifestyle today over a "middle class" one from 50 or 60 years ago. We also have additional consumer protections for food and medicine compared to 60 years ago, which makes it hard to compare products across decades.