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americans tend to take things for granted and not be grateful just to have a roof over their heads. It's true the poor in this country have it quite well, especially women who can use men and the courts to basically never have to work and just be stay at home parasites, and best of all, use their powers of persuasion to get sympathy from everyone too boot. I'd like to see a lot of these programs that reward irresponsible and risky behavior eliminated myself.
Basically hard working middle class men shoulder the burden for the wealthy on the top and those on the bottom, the parasite classes. Not to say that everyone on the bottom just sits around collecting welfare.. wages in this country are on the decline as a whole.. the middle class is being squeezed out. Health care costs are spiraling out of control, and the whole system is just insolvent, being propped up by duct tape and super glue
at the moment.
No it is not easier to be poor here. Many Americans have a terrible attitude towards the poor as exhibited in this thread. Low income people don't have access to affordable health care here and education is expensive.
This is the last country in the first world that I'd want to be poor in...a country that considers being poor almost a crime.
Whose to say these "free things" are of good quality.
I learnt a few things during my community service as a homeless counselor...
Free or low-cost housing----little choice where to live or who to live by, slum lords
Free or low-cost internet service------dial up???? LOL
Free or low-cost cell phone service-----hmm havn't heard of this.
Free or low-cost home phone-----Isn't much lower than or better than basic service...in some places
Free food (food stamps/SNAP)----I never got why people call the stamp food free??? When you're below poverty and cannot afford the food otherwise it is a BENEFIT to help you saying free makes it sound like they begged for it when they didn't need it.
Help to pay your utilities-----Long lists, sometimes they don't get paid on time.
Free clothing-----Few clothing banks exist now days and few food banks offer it. Mostly banks that set people up for work. Choices are limited... clothes may be torn, tattered, carry bugs...
Free gifts at Christmas----------for children in need. Who the hell would deney a child X-Mas gifts?!
Medicaid---------------Medicaid is being cut very badly across the US. Many disabled people are committing suicide.
Free school lunches---------Again who would deny a child something*...
Free school supplies----------*
No school fee's*
Free fans in the summer--------Can they afford these otherwise?*
Free heaters in the winter*
Free money (SSI) Can a person with Down's Syndrome or in a wheelchair with MS work a full time job or numerous jobs to pay bills????!!!!
No taxes----Not always true.
Being below poverty level blows. Ask any (truthful)poor family!
I noticed the only word X'ed out in the above post was the name of Christ.
West Kentucky Star - Featured News (http://www.westkentuckystar.com/Featured-News/Paducah-Habitat-Home-First-with-Solar-Technology - broken link)
I can see both sides of this and I do agree with one of the comments. I wish I got my home for a really low price with solar power.
This country is odd. If you are wealthy, you get tons of things. If you are poor, you get tons of things handed to you. In the middle??? Screwed. If you are poor in this country, you can qualify for:
Free or low-cost housing
Free or low-cost internet service
Free or low-cost cell phone service
Free or low-cost home phone
Free food (food stamps/SNAP)
Help to pay your utilities
Free clothing
Free gifts at Christmas
Medicaid
Free school lunches
Free school supplies
No school fee's
Free fans in the summer
Free heaters in the winter
Free money (SSI)
No taxes
There's probably more that I can't think of off hand. In a lot of ways, it seems the poor in this country can thrive better than the middle-class.
A lot of that is only true if you are poor and disabled. Being disabled and poor, I don't think it's easier. JMO. You still have to sell your soul to the government to get all those handouts and I'd rather not.
I think a lot of the posts are getting off-topic. The OP was about whether the poor have it easier here compared to other countries, not compared to the middle class.
I don't think anybody could make a real argument that it's harder to be poor here than in a third world country: Aside from the fact that we have safety net programs (so the majority aren't reduced to scrounging around for scraps on the street), we also have a lot more opportunities to rise up into the middle class, for those who are willing to work for it.
As far as comparing the lifestyles of the poor vs. the middle class, that's what's debatable.
As far as that graph goes with comparing the different income percentiles worldwide, you have to consider that the cost of living in other parts of the world is generally lower than it is here. There's no denying that the US is one of the wealthiest nations in the world (if not the wealthiest), but COL does play a factor.
For instance, the price of food in those other countries is nowhere near the price of food in the US. I'm Peruvian and the Nuevo Sol is worth around 1/3 of an American dollar, and the prices for goods down there are about 1/3 the price they are here. The median income down there is obviously much less, but if it's say 1/10 of the median income of the US, that doesn't mean the average Peruvian is 10 times poorer than the average American.
No it is not easier to be poor here. Many Americans have a terrible attitude towards the poor as exhibited in this thread. Low income people don't have access to affordable health care here and education is expensive.
This is the last country in the first world that I'd want to be poor in...a country that considers being poor almost a crime.
To be fair, very few people, rich or poor, have access to affordable health insurance.
Additionally, education is often free for motivated poor people.
I think a lot of the posts are getting off-topic. The OP was about whether the poor have it easier here compared to other countries, not compared to the middle class. I don't think anybody could make a real argument that it's harder to be poor here than in a third world country:
As far as the benefits the poor get, there are many different variables to consider. There are "working poor", who earn very little, and get disqualified from a lot of social programs. I heard (And I'm too tired to check now) that in order to get food stamps, you have to make $10,000 per year or less, and there are a lot of people working long hours to make say, $20,000 or $25,000 and they are technically too poor to qualify for benefits like that, and yet they have to work and pay all of the expenses associated with it (such as getting to work in the first place)
Plus, I believe a lot of these programs have limits as to how long you can be on them (though I've heard mixed stories. If somebody can find an official government website for how long you can qualify for these benefits, it would definitely help the conversation if it was posted, because I'm too tired to look for it now)
Not to mention the fact that, at least in cities, the poor areas always have the highest crime rates. You may get free health care, but is it worth it when you have to listen to gunshots every night?
You want honesty you got it as ususal, like it or not, do not care.
I have known people in my past quite a few years ago, that were there own worse enemy. Living off of the system, also thinking myself gaming it. The food stamps, welfare, the whole 9 yards was what held them back, sorry, i lost all resepct. I cannot respect anyone, who honestly is ok with their life, when i know firsthand they are smarter then that.
The liked it, had no desire in the world to find a job, or help themselves. I can understand anyone needs help for a while, and deserves it. But oh my gosh, there really should be a limit on when the freebies stop.
I respect someone who has a low paying job, over someone who is getting welfare, but truly can work, i resepct anyone who works for a living, no matter what their pay is, at least they are not getting something for nothing.
Disable and terminally ill is a different story and those who truly truly need the help.
Being poor in America is terrible because we live in a society with such a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Because of this, poor people desire a much higher standard of living than much happier and poorer people in the third world. The poor people in America are bombarded with the same materialistic ideological brainwashing and corporate-conceived manufactured consumer desire as the middle and upper classes. However, unlike the middle and upper classes, the poor in America cannot truly afford the overpriced status symbols of nice name-brand clothes and nice cars. Kids in the ghetto from NYC to LA to DC see rich people flaunting their wealth staring at brand new Range Rovers, Rolls Royces and Lamborghinis. Kids in the projects in America will stop at nothing to dress just like their favorite rappers. But unlike the rappers they idolize, broke kids in the projects don't have millions of dollars from major record label contracts, international tours or itunes sales. As a result, broke kids in the ghetto not only sell drugs, rob and murder people not only to eat and put food on the table but also to wear the latest flavor-of-the-month $400 Nikes that cost $5 to make produced by slave labor in China. Poor people in this country are absolutely brainwashed to put so much value on items that have zero value in the real world that they will literally kill you for the cheap plastic Nikes on your feet.
So lets get this straight: if you don't have the latest $200-1000 Nikes as a kid in the ghetto, you will be looked at as a loser unworthy of basic respect. But if you are wearing them, you run an incredibly high risk of being robbed, beaten and or killed.
Although many people in third world countries are undoubtedly poorer than poor people in America, the inner city ghettos in America are just as violent as some of the most violent places on the planet. Detroit and New Orleans rank on a top ten most dangerous cities in the world list based on raw numbers.
Many places here in the U.S. are just as bad as the third world. Hunter's Point in San Francisco is home to some of the most substandard public housing in America. It is a place where lagoons of feces from broken plumbing pour out into common areas, inhabited apartments have boarded up windows and ceilings collapse. Hunter's Point has the highest infant mortality rate in California. Some years, Hunter's Point accounts for 50% of all of the homicides in SF despite only making up 5% of SF. In 2004, Hunter's Point had a murder rate higher than Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a city which has claimed the title of the murder capital of the world.
Staring at all these facts we can conclude that being poor in America isn't always a walk in the park.
Last edited by goldenchild08; 01-17-2012 at 01:20 AM..
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