Which nation has the world's richest "poor" people?

Question

The typical American defined as "poor" by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigera­tor, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a micro­wave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had suffi­cient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.

The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various gov­ernment reports:

Forty-three percent of all poor households actu­ally own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.



Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.



Only 6 percent of poor households are over­crowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.



The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)



Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.



Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.



Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.



Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.





As a group, America's poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consump­tion of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms.





http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg2064.cfm

Answer 1

It reminds me of the lyrics to the Elton John song, "The ****** is Back": "Times are changing, now the poor get fat..."

I am also reminded of a wry, old observation: America is the only country on earth where people drive to the Poor House... in a Cadillac!

Back during the Cold War days, the USSR sent camera crews to the U.S. in order to expose the terrible, squalid conditions of the exploited capitalist poor. However, when the Russians saw the footage, what caught their eye was how many clothes people hung out to dry. Russians didn't have that many clothes in their entire apartments. They also saw old cars, but heck.... they didn't have ANY cars in Russia.

Look at all those supposedly "poor victims" of Hurricane Katrina. These are exactly the people who would whine they can't afford health insurance. However, if you look closely, you will see most of the women have salon hairdos, costing big bucks every month, and elaborate nail jobs. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for someone who blows $40 on her nails. The guys were just as bad. All that gold around their necks, and expensive designer duds hardly qualifies you as poor.

People who bemoan the condition of America's "poor" have never travelled extensively. I've seen real poverty: in Mexico, in Brazil. I've seen people, entire villages, that are nothing more than cardboard and tin, with one pipe for drinking water.

I believe the richest "poor" live in Kuwait. They really have an astounding level of prosperity per person. The government has sponsored many social welfare, public works, and development plans financed with oil and investment revenues. Among the benefits for Kuwaiti citizens are retirement income, marriage bonuses, housing loans, virtually guaranteed employment, free medical services, and education at all levels.

By the way, two respondants are dead wrong. In Norway the overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 44.9 percent. As you can see, Norwegians are very, very heavily taxed.

Dubai certainly does not have the richest "poor" people! The country is heavily populated with poor immigrants (indeed, only 15% of the residents of Dubai are native to the country). These immigrants often work for extremely low wages. Just go to the Gold Sauk area, and enter a typical jewelry store. You will see guys standing practically shoulder to shoulder behind the counter. They only make money by selling something, and with so many salesmen, it is easy to not sell something in a whole day. If you want to preserve the illusion of widespread wealth, don't look too closely at all those Indians and Pakistanis building the glistening skyscrapers.

Answer 2

I hear you loud and clear! Yes, we have a lot of homeless people. I won't go into all the reasons why there are so many. I do believe we should take care of them if they are really in need. If they have problems we should address that issue. The only trouble is, I don't know a reliable solution. One thing that didn't help is when all the governments in closed down so many mental hospitals and forced many mentally handicapped people out on the street. What irritates me is that we have no problem helping out the rich with various tax breaks, bail outs, etc. Jesus said we will always have the poor with us, and He was correct. Nothing is 100% in this world. One day I had the honor of meeting Mother Teresa. I asked her about how we can help the poor people in other countries. She told me to take care of your own first!! That really surprised me. If anybody should help the disenfranchised it is us. Even if it is only a few dollars to your favorite charity. We give money every month to the Salvation Army. This new government of ours is beyond my comprehension. Its dispersion of its funds (our money) doesn't make sense to me. You have asked an outstanding question. One of the best I have seen on Y/A. But a complicated subject. So many books have been written about this problem and yet no realistic solutions. It is going to be interesting to see what type of answers you will receive from this question. Again, thank you for such a thought provoking issue. It didn't sound mean spirited either.

Answer 3

You're right.

The United States of America. Where else in the world do poor people own cars, cell phones, TV sets and computers???

Answer 4

America.

Answer 5

America does, but the Cost of Living balances it out. These "facts" are bogus.

Here's the actual results of the Census, the findings are a mixed bag- some good news, some not: http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf

Answer 6

all nations have rich and poor people. the key is the the large middle class. world needs large middle class

Answer 7

DM, you're apt to cause a kind of ideological limbo for some of these libs.

If America isn't to blame, what will the conversation center around?

They can only lie to one another about being vegans for so long.

Answer 8

I guess people in homeless shelters or living on the street don't qualify as "poor".

Answer 9

I know Americans like to congratulate each other on how great we all are, but I think Norway is the correct answer. Everyone is wealthy in Norway, I don't think there is poverty at all due to the wealth created from the oil in the Norh Sea.

And there are plenty of poor folks in my city without a car or aor conditioning. I guess they are poorer than the poor.

what a bogus study by the way. what does living space have to do with poverty? hey guess what, this poor family in a wide open rural space has a patio, but this wealthy banker in manhattan doesn't. so what? living space in europe is not comparable to american standards for many reasons as well.

Answer 10

We also have the fattest poor people on the planet. Of course, don't you dare ever mention that fact. No, that would be too mean.

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