Why do most Americans think that someone with a place to live, a television, microwave, cell phone, and...?

Question

a car would classify as poor?


Every "poor" person I have ever met had all or most of these things, yet in Northern Pakistan(and many other nations) if you own any of these items you are well off.

Answer 1

You are correct. Being "poor" in America isn't being poor elsewhere.

Go to Haiti if you want to see some real poverty.

The United States' "middle-class" is unbelievably better off than many "rich" people in other parts of the world. Peggy Noonan wrote:

"Reagan always said what he really wanted to do with a Russian premier was get him in a helicopter, ride over Southern California, point down at the million little houses and million little pools, and say 'Mr. Gorbachev, that's how the proletariat lives in America.' "

Even the working class has pools and fenced in yards. America is a great country!

Answer 2

It is all a matter of perspective . We in america do not have any famines where 70,000 people die . Can you even think of a single person that has starved to death in The United States in the last 50 years or more . Yet in other countries around the world death from starving is common .
We have water and lots of it .Many places do not and there the kids bath in lakes and rivers and ponds and often get sick and die . Millions and millions of people around the world would gladly live in an american prison for the meals and showers and t.v . Our criminals have 20-40,000 a year spent to house each one and people say I would move to an american prison if I could . Explain to someone who is hungry 9 months a year who bathes once a month or less about a place where you do not freeze or die from the heat . A place that has food prepared three times a day running water for showers and sinks to wash clothes and now tell them you have to put up a fence and guard it or the people inside would leave . Thats right leave not try to break in but leave this place .
You might say it is all perspective and from those here who do not have a million dollar home or drive a new Cadillac or enjoy a two week vacation on the Mediterranean or have a yacht they anchor in the Bahamas or virgin Islands look and say boy am I poor .
Well wake up and smell the star bucks coffee brewing you got it alot better then most of the world .
Thats why you hate newcomers who have big eyes and succeed by struggling hard as a group to build something they all share in after a few years of hard work together . Ever notice that one day you look around and ten new dry cleaners have opened with the same name . And its all operated by the same family who all have nice homes cars and are a success . Thats cause they all pulled together . To raise money they may even of all gotten a credit card and advanced 2000 dollars on it times 10 family members to get the lease and open business two and three and four .And in 10 years they have ten shops all staffed by family and all pulling together .
We lost that sense of working with each other and have been told since we are little to get out and make something of yourself .
This is how we lost our independence and wealth creating ability . Good luck if you do not have the ability to work as a family these days .

Answer 3

There are a lot of people in the United States with no place to live, no television, and nothing but a bag of clothes. A lot of them are single mothers. There are also a lot of people here who waste money on things like a cell phone or clothes, that is why there is so much credit debt here. People spend beyond their means to have the items that will make them feel better about themselves and make them feel superior to others that don't -then they go and get government funding because they don't make enough to pay for all of the "things" they have which puts a strain on the other people trying to make ends meet. I'm house rich, but cash poor, meaning I have a house and a car, but my liabilities are higher than my assets and there is not much to spare on either side.

Answer 4

I've meet plenty of poor people with no car, no cell phone, and they are barely living in subsidized housing. If you think poor people all have these things, then you haven't really met any poor people.

Also, only 3 countries in Africa have a higher infant mortality rate then Detroit. This is because many poor people there can barely afford to feel their kids, and obviously can't afford medical attention.

Answer 5

America is so vastly wealthy that we now have a warped concept of what constitutes a luxury versus a necessity and poverty versus wealth. Most of our 'poor' people live in houses larger than the middle class standard in Japan. They also eat better than the truly poor in much of the rest of the world. As you've pointed out, many have a lot of items that are considered luxuries: cell phones, home computers, internet, large TVs (often more than one), cable/satellite. I don't begrudge anyone their luxuries or entertainment, but we need to put it in proper perspective when talking about what constitutes poverty.

Answer 6

It's called "relative poverty." You always feel poor next to someone who has significantly more than you do, and feel rich next to someone with signficantly less.
The standard of living in America is much higher than, for example, Northern Pakistan, so that's what counts as "well-off" there is considered "poor" here.

Answer 7

This isn't Pakistan. The items you reference are all relatively cheap, one time purchases. There are millions of people in this country who have trouble coming up with the rent or putting money away for their kids college, or saving anything at all. They may not have health insurance because they can't afford to be covered and have adequate food on the table.

Answer 8

A single-wide trailer,with a black and white TV a thrift store micro wave (5 bucks) a cell phone,13 dollars a month,and a 1971 Chevy station wagon out front,isn't necessarily my idea of Middle class America!! but perhaps new shoes on your borrowed donkey would make the classification.. in Pakistan...!

Answer 9

"People with all of these things have to pay bills, and if they're unable to pay their bills, they're poor. And the fact that they're unable to pay all their bills does NOT indicate that they're living outside their means."

Um....yes, it does! A television, mircowave and cell phone are *not* essentails and if you can't pay the bills, don't buy 'em.

But I agree - while we definitely have a proverty problem, our poor are a hell of a lot better off than a lot of other countries. We are shamelessly spoiled and demanding.

I think we should eliminate corporate welfare and use that money to provide health care.

Answer 10

The life style in America as compared to other places in the world is different. It doesn't mean there aren't "poor" people here. There's plenty of them, and many homeless. But our government is more concerned with spending OUR money in other nations to make their lives better. Those taxes are MINE and MY taxes should be spent right here in the U.S.A., for people who need it IN THE U.S.A. - NOT including ILLEGALS.