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That's per capita and has rather little to do with the overall size of the UK's economy. The US is very rich and even its poorest states are doing pretty well.
by gjm11 12y ago
That's per capita and has rather little to do with the overall size of the UK's economy. The US is very rich and even its poorest states are doing pretty well.
The UK's GDP is substantially bigger than that of any state of the US. (UK: about $2.5T; California: about $1.9T.)
- VLM 12y agoTrue. The bad news is the article specified Britain not the UK as a whole and the population of Britain is twice CA. The innumerable articles on the topic seem to miss the point that its not necessarily a poverty thing as a quality of living thing. Poverty in the USA means poor health and very high crime and awful living conditions. And there's a cultural correlation with trash blowing around in the streets and run down buildings. I've spent some time in Ireland (I don't like on the US coasts so I can afford international travel) and poverty in Ireland merely means they can't afford luxuries. I never really found a slum in my wanderings of Galway and Dublin but all US cities have slums. I have also spent time in Huntsville Alabama, mostly in the neighboring military base, decades ago. I can hear the coasties snickering already, but its really quite nice other than the humidity. So Britain being as poor as the deep south really isn't all that bad.