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Yea, I actually am going to take the govts word for it. I have lived on less then $12K per year in CA without much issue for more than 2 years while I was younger (1990's) plus I paid child support from it and had A/C, cell phone, internet, 2 cars, etc. It wasn't easy, but it was done.
The retiree in my example enjoys greater consumption than the burger flipper, as well as greater net worth. Please explain how you take the government's word that the retiree is poor and the burger flipper is not poor.
How much housing did you have (e.g. a room, 1BR apt etc) and how much rent did you pay? Or was your housing free to you?
And $12K in the 1990s would be closer to $16K - $18K today, which is much more workable and definitely above poverty.
The POOR in the US have it bad? Do they not own cell phones, flat screen TV's, car(s), etc. here in the US? Are you claiming its my fault they live beyond their means and are in debt based on their own consumption? The deal I was pointing out was "quality of life" that was the claim made by Saritaschihuahua, who when shown to be incorrect changed fields and definitions. Now you attempt to whine about something you obviously failed in comprehending? Go back to being a spectator.
Your concept of poor is that of the poor in third world nations. You have no other concept of poor. If someone is not homeless and begging, you don't consider them poor. That's an inaccurate concept of poverty, yet it is your only concept of poverty - the typical right wing concept of what real poverty is or ought to be.
I don't define the poor to be the homeless, but I thnk my definition is better that the gov't definition, which was created in the 1960s and was based on food prices.
Heck, I think most Americans have a better definition than the gov't.
According to the gov't, a retiree living in a paid-off $500K house with no property taxes and living
on a small Social Security check is poor, while a childless single person making $12K and paying half his income on rent is not poor. Now you're going to take the govt's word for it?
Where do you get the information that the goverment views the retiree in your scenario as poor? How much is his SS check?
The retiree in my example enjoys greater consumption than the burger flipper, as well as greater net worth. Please explain how you take the government's word that the retiree is poor and the burger flipper is not poor.
How much housing did you have (e.g. a room, 1BR apt etc) and how much rent did you pay? Or was your housing free to you?
And $12K in the 1990s would be closer to $16K - $18K today, which is much more workable and definitely above poverty.
You are confusing wealth now with income.
1 bedroom apt, $400. It may be equal to $16K now, but once child support ($520) is taken its actually right back down.
So you are basing your example based only on either owning or renting. I would think the retiree would have much higher costs for healthcare, etc. Basing your example solely on housing is ridiculous.
Your concept of poor is that of the poor in third world nations. You have no other concept of poor. If someone is not homeless and begging, you don't consider them poor. That's an inaccurate concept of poverty, yet it is your only concept of poverty - the typical right wing concept of what real poverty is or ought to be.
NO, my concept of poor is living below the poverty line in the US. Your idea of poor is homeless, there is no other concept by you. You still haven't shown how the poor in the US have it worse then the poor in other nations.
NO, my concept of poor is living below the poverty line in the US. Your idea of poor is homeless, there is no other concept by you. You still haven't shown how the poor in the US have it worse then the poor in other nations.
Obviously not, since even such a thing as the presence of a phone in a poor person's life to you appears as a luxury which negates their status as someone poor. You're not making sense.
The Americans I know who have lived in Scandanavia for years chose to come back to the US.
I don't think most Americans would want to live in those countries for very long.
Great point. I had to chime in after reading this. I'm an American living in Belgium and I can tell you this..I have to re-adjust my perception of what being poor is because of my American standard. I feel poor..because the a-holes over here will not even let me clean their toilets!! I did that diligently on a 3 month contract and they just gave me the boot after the 3 months were up. In those 3 months, I saw some of the most blatent abuse by some of the Flemish locals that I was sickened. I showed up everyday and did my job without a single complaint. Was abused by these idiots in ways that might get you killed if that Sh%#&! went down in America. Meanwhile, some of the locals would miss work all the time...one of them got knocked up and further milked the system with another child on the way and were treated ohh so nicely by their superiors.
Now I am out of work. No opportunity. I live in a tiny flat with my wife in a racsist town full of farmers..and oldies. I don't even have a proper bedroom. And oh yeah...I should mention it's expensive as hell for this tiny POS. Complete gouge by the Belgium slumlord. So do I feel bad about knocking on the dole door? You bet your a$$ I don't. And time to get busy baby-making as well. At the very least, I'll have someone to love and raise while getting a check because they won't hire me! So don't complain my fellow yanks...you could be stuck in Belgium! No sun and no warmth..literally and figuratively.
Great point. I had to chime in after reading this. I'm an American living in Belgium and I can tell you this..I have to re-adjust my perception of what being poor is because of my American standard. I feel poor..because the a-holes over here will not even let me clean their toilets!! I did that diligently on a 3 month contract and they just gave me the boot after the 3 months were up. In those 3 months, I saw some of the most blatent abuse by some of the Flemish locals that I was sickened. I showed up everyday and did my job without a single complaint. Was abused by these idiots in ways that might get you killed if that Sh%#&! went down in America. Meanwhile, some of the locals would miss work all the time...one of them got knocked up and further milked the system with another child on the way and were treated ohh so nicely by their superiors.
Now I am out of work. No opportunity. I live in a tiny flat with my wife in a racsist town full of farmers..and oldies. I don't even have a proper bedroom. And oh yeah...I should mention it's expensive as hell for this tiny POS. Complete gouge by the Belgium slumlord. So do I feel bad about knocking on the dole door? You bet your a$$ I don't. And time to get busy baby-making as well. At the very least, I'll have someone to love and raise while getting a check because they won't hire me! So don't complain my fellow yanks...you could be stuck in Belgium! No sun and no warmth..literally and figuratively.
Wow, sorry to hear that. It's hard being in another country. I lived in Israel, Spain and a bit of time in France, but was able to blend in well, so it was good for me. It must be hell to be in that situation. What made you go to Belgium of all places?
Without getting into too much detail...let's just say at it's surface Belgium is dressed as very ex-pat friendly. But in reality, I don't know if any place really is. But for logistic reasons, we came here. It's funny, you really do learn allot more about yourself when you have allot of time with yourself. Something Belgium truly affords..lol So in that sense, my QOL is off the charts!!!
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Go back to being a spectator. 
You still haven't shown how the poor in the US have it worse then the poor in other nations.
