>A third of the population in the richest nation on earth lives in poverty. It's not 1/3, and poverty is a relative term, but really the fraction doesn't matte

>A third of the population in the richest nation on earth lives in poverty. It's not 1/3, and poverty is a relative term, but really the fraction doesn't matter. "The Census Bureau today released data indicating that the overall poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5 percent – a decrease from 15.0 percent in 2012. This change was the first decrease since 2006." http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/14/PovertyAndIncomeEst/ib_poverty2014.pdf http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/14/PovertyAndIncomeEst/ib_poverty201... The US poverty rate does not include the price of non-cash government benefits. The average cost per Medicaid enrollee, which all people at the poverty line qualify for by income, in all states, is $5,563. It doesn't include food assistance. It doesn't include housing subsidies. These vary, but are widely received. >What kind of callous person could look around at all the suffering and think this system's working great? What kind of callous person could think helping a person with more money in a country that provides them numerous benefits is better than helping a person with less money? "Or do you not look around at all, holed up in a tacky mansion of your own?" I have traveled the world many times over the past 20 years. The positive change I have seen world-wide is perhaps invisible to you because you choose to focus on actions which cause others to consider you to be helpful, instead of actions which are actually helpful. My house may be slightly tacky.