Is poverty a number or a behavior?

[Baruch Menachem]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

 

[Mr. H.]

Sometimes it's being thrown into a situation through no fault of your own.

And it can be having a small amount of cash while using it wisely.

Been there.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

While I find this a very thought-provoking analysis, and quite profound in its way, I am an opponent of redefinition of words (for the most part) and a big fan of word choice precision instead. What you describe is technically what used to be known as "a poverty of morals", back when morals were something desirable.

Something else I found interesting is the actual dictionary definition of the word "poverty":

a : the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions

So by this definition, when one looks only at the United States by itself, we DO have financial poverty here, since our "usual or socially acceptable amount" is very different from the rest of the world's.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Poverty is many things.
Temporary poverty can happen to anyone, and a measure of a nation is how they are helped by society.
Permanent poverty is most often a choice, or a result of numerous bad decisions. The difference is what someone does to get out of it, or choose to stay in poverty rather than work.

 

[Charles_Main]

Nothing is ever black and white. There are people who are poor because of circumstances. There are people who are poor because they are lazy, and there are all sorts of other reasons as well.

Why is it that so many people today seem to only be able to think in strict Black or white terms? The answer to a question like your thread asks is never going to be yes or no, or A or B. It is always going to be a multitude of answers that all are correct.

 

[rdean]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

Hey, I'm with you. Starve the fuckers. We don't want them in OUR country. If you feed them they'll breed.

Is that your message?

 

[Baruch Menachem]

All very true. Not everyone can dig their way out of being poor, even if they they live right if their educational level or basic intelligence is low. Or if they just have a miserable personality that prevents their getting hired.

But the basic rule of poverty hasn't changed since the days of Mr. Micawber, who knew the score, but couldn't keep it.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Hey, I'm with you. Starve the fuckers. We don't want them in OUR country. If you feed them they'll breed.

Is that your message?

We can't do a whole lot to ameliorate stupid. But we can't define the problem as a lack of cash when that seems not the issue.

We need to differentiate between compassion and enabling. Your kind of compassion seems to be along the lines of greasing the skids so they hit bottom faster.

 

[shintao]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If those resources would allow the person to overcome the barriers of society to become a productive member, then his dream would be fulfilled. Correct?

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

So how much cash does the person in poverty in our society have? Obviously, there are poor people without cash in every society, so there are poor people if that was the only criteria.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Yes, the mentally ill come to mind.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

If you don't have the cash, you can't misuse it. Correct?

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

If those items were criteria of poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty.

That is true.

Being poor sucks, but is often fate.

Yes indeed. The system doesn't play fair for everybody.

You can take charge and change it

Maybe you can, and maybe your can't. You already mentioned fate.

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

Only if it was a behavior problem that led to poverty.

 

[shintao]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

Hey, I'm with you. Starve the fuckers. We don't want them in OUR country. If you feed them they'll breed.

Is that your message?

When they start going naked and carrying spears your attitude might change. Maybe not!

 

[Charles_Main]

I do find It strange that many people called Poor in this country. Have Cable TV, High speed internet, and Cell phones. Priorities I guess.

 

[uscitizen]

Is poverty a number or a behavior?

Yes

 

[boedicca]

Poverty in the U.S. has been redefined as a Sacred Cow Caste that the rest of us are supposed to support by unquestioning compliance with an ever increasing tax burden.

 

[shintao]

Poverty in the U.S. has been redefined as a Sacred Cow Caste that the rest of us are supposed to support by unquestioning compliance with an ever increasing tax burden.

It beats having your house burglarized, you might enjoy the rape, your insurance rates going up, your deductible on lost goods, that abortion for a conceived child of the predator. Jus saying, you could have a choice. You do of course understand that people, even poor people, are going to eat and have basic needs like taking a crap on your lawn.

 

[rdean]

I do find It strange that many people called Poor in this country. Have Cable TV, High speed internet, and Cell phones. Priorities I guess.

I find it strange that you could believe such nonsense.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

Most who live in "poverty" live there due to their own choices in life with nobody else to blame but themselves.

 

[uscitizen]

Even the poorest Americans have access to resources that were undreamed of by kings 100 years ago, but they are still impoverished.

If you compare how folks live in the rest of the world (Check out Viikii.com for videos from all over to see how the rest of the world lives) you would see, in terms of cash anyway, no one in American is poor.

However, we do have people who are malnourished and always dependent on others for everything.

Poverty is not having a small amount of cash, it is using the cash badly.

Poverty is sexual incontinence, drug dependence, broken homes, lazyness, juggling debt. Under this formulation Lindsy Lohan and Paris Hilton live in poverty.

One can be poor, but not in poverty. Being poor sucks, but is often fate. You can take charge and change it

Poverty is where your behavior sucks, and karma bites you in the ass.

Most who live in "poverty" live there due to their own choices in life with nobody else to blame but themselves.

Children born into poverty too?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Most who live in "poverty" live there due to their own choices in life with nobody else to blame but themselves.

Children born into poverty too?

Yep. Just because you are born into it doesn't mean you have to live in it as an adult.

 

[uscitizen]

Most who live in "poverty" live there due to their own choices in life with nobody else to blame but themselves.

Children born into poverty too?

Yep. Just because you are born into it doesn't mean you have to live in it as an adult.

Just for the first 18 years for your life.
I am sure it does not color your view of the world or your sense of self worth one bit.

the children and elderly are the only ones that concern me.

 

[shintao]

I do find It strange that many people called Poor in this country. Have Cable TV, High speed internet, and Cell phones. Priorities I guess.

I find it strange that you could believe such nonsense.

Oh yeah, and they have it all in a $500. shopping cart with mag wheels.........LOL!