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Compared to Western European nations and other advanced democracies, probably not. In comparison to the Third World, yes.
I live in Appalachia. I grew up working to middle class. We always had power and water. My aunt worked for the cable company, and we were part of a cable modem pilot program. I've had broadband since I was 13, in 1999. I haven't had the first dollar of any kind of government assistance.
Compared to a lot my schoolmates, I was fairly fortunate. A lot of people lived in trailers and going to food banks.
I didn't know anyone who was stereotypically homeless or such.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrGompers
Nice to hear from you again Charles Koch - its been a while.
"Quit whining, American poor people and refugees from the middle class. You’re actually part of the 1 percent.
That’s the laughably misleading claim in a new ad from right-wing multibillionaire Charles Koch. The $200,000 ad campaign, now running in Kansas, starts off like one of those breathless infomercials: “Are you in the 1 percent?” a male voiceover asks. “Well, if you earn over $34,000 a year, you are one of the wealthiest one percent”—he pauses slightly before the kicker—“in the world.”
A substantial number of “homeless” people suffer from significant mental illness. For them, their plight is less one of poverty than one of the dark and deluded vision of the life they live every day. Making comparisons of misery based on nationality would seem to be irrelevant.
If the author of this article really thinks people in other countries envy the poor in this country it just shows he has no idea what it means to be poor in this country. Many poor here are barely making it having to worry every day if they will have money to eat or pay rent. Many live in their cars or live on friends coaches are even homeless. Just because you have an air conditioner or TV does not mean you are not poor. Many air conditioners are already installed in houses or apartments and you can get TV's for cheap now.
Poverty is relative to ones surroundings... if your very poor but live just round the corner from luxurious penthouses it must feel worse to sharing poverty with a large area.. people dont know any better sad as it is.
My Dd grew up on a farm in Illinois in the 1930s and 1940s. They were comparatively poor, but so was everyone else he knew. He did not realize it was normal rather than an extreme luxury to have indoor plumbing and electricity until he went to college and discovered everyone had it.
If the author of this article really thinks people in other countries envy the poor in this country it just shows he has no idea what it means to be poor in this country.
Then why do the poor from other countries come to this country?
I’m a black man from Texas. My father was a postal worker and my mother was a social worker, we were poor. We were house poor, I wore the same outfits to school every other day, the fridge was empty more times than not, and for Christmas I’d be lucky to get some good luck under the tree. My father was very cheap because he didn’t have money after barely paying the bills. My mother would simply blow what little money she had and was the opposite. We lived paycheck to paycheck.
By the Europe’s standards, I was not poor. And I also had countless opportunities to get out of it, which I did by joining a well compensated Air Force which other countries don’t have the option.
Then why do the poor from other countries come to this country?
I’m a black man from Texas. My father was a postal worker and my mother was a social worker, we were poor. We were house poor, I wore the same outfits to school every other day, the fridge was empty more times than not, and for Christmas I’d be lucky to get some good luck under the tree. My father was very cheap because he didn’t have money after barely paying the bills. My mother would simply blow what little money she had and was the opposite. We lived paycheck to paycheck.
By the Europe’s standards, I was not poor. And I also had countless opportunities to get out of it, which I did by joining a well compensated Air Force which other countries don’t have the option.
The poor come from third world countries, not first world which is what the thread is about.
There are plenty of poor people in Europe. And I'm not talking Syrian refugees.
I didn’t say there weren’t, I said I doubted they envy our poor.
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