Originally Posted by
Adam Allen
On one hand, when I consider the insane percentage of humanity that does not have access to clean water in 2017, then yeah, I'd agree about global versus American poor. As a country, we have a great deal of wealth and resources. But, if you are homeless in the US, then you also do not have reliable access to running water, electricity and all the conveniences (like heat and the ability to cook food) that it provides, or protection from the elements ... basically, I think that saying a person who has not eaten in a day and does not have a safe place to sleep or really anything besides the possible charity of strangers to guarantee them continued life and health, "has more money and resources" than the poor in another country ... I dunno, well-intended I think, but little more than that.
Likewise, because not having even protection from the elements is such a horrible prospect, I don't think we should act like people in the US who must spend most of their time and resources keeping a roof over their heads are so very much better off, either. For instance, you talk about being able to move to a place with better economic prospects, as if abject poverty somehow allows you to do that. It totally doesn't. Moving to a new place costs money. And, what kind of economic prospects will there be anyway, for someone with a poor work history? What if you can't afford even nice clothes for an interview? What if you talk like a person who is from a poor economic background? You can say that should not matter, but you know it does. If you have been dirt poor all of your life, the sad truth is that a good deal of what we call economic opportunity will be closed off to you, because you will lack the education and cultural signifiers that would let someone give you a chance.
Investing, too. If your very real concerns are a roof over your head and just food to eat, you really don't have money to invest. The "wasting resources" part probably gets me the worst though, because for many of us, it seems reasonable to say, well, these people scrabbling just to keep a home and food on the table, how can they then "waste money" on a nice tv or whatever for entertainment. Well, it's because if they had to wait until they were not poor, before they could ever try to enjoy anything, then they would never enjoy anything. At all, ever in their lives, because self-denial is not a magic trick that will make them not poor if they can just hold out long enough. You know, if only it were that simple.