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Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo
the USA is not a socialist country, they don't provide a safety net for the poor. There are next to no social services. If you're on welfare, there are tons of doctors who won't see you. You can be very poor in the west. Food stamps do not cover the cost of your groceries. Housing subsidies don't pay for your rent, or electricity bill, and in most of the USA you can't live without electricity or gas (especially in winter) since you will freeze.
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People aren't supposed to live on welfare, that's what jobs are for.
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In the USA, a car is a necessity. You can't get along without one. You can't have a job, go to school or anything without a car.
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Doesn't America have buses?
Now that's just not true
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I had another friend who was also really poor (in the USA) she had 2 pairs of shoes, one for church, and one for school. Rest of the time she went barefoot. They had 5 kids in a trailor which had no electricity, an no running water. They actually used a modern outhouse. In winter, they had a generator, and once a week they went to their uncles house to take baths.
Don't tell me you can't be poor in the USA. The standard of living is different, but poor is poor. Having a car or a TV doesn't make you rich. Those things are dirt cheap here. Would you call someone in India with a motor scooter and a cricket bat rich? Of course not.
Just becuase someone doesn't live in a refugee camp doesn't mean that they aren't poor, and haven't experienced poverty.
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What you're talking about is relative poverty, not absolute poverty, there's a BIG difference. And if you choose to live in the sticks, obviously you will have to put up with pulling locusts out of your cornflakes (though it wasn't your choice as a child). You can be poor if you have a disability or cannot work, but other than that, people in the west can't really complain.
Look at how many immigrants come to this country with nothing and end up living comfortably.