Quote:
Originally Posted by Aryan_
I see it and I've heard it before. And in response to what you said, people who claim absolute and relative poverty are similar, are the ones who've never experienced absolute poverty. At least there are opportunities and ways to get out of the cycle in America, and a legal system to protect you. In third world countries it's a completely different mindset...and that's why you get dozens of Africans packed onto a small leaky vessel trying to get into Europe.
Measure poverty in relative terms and you'll end up in a situation where poverty will always exist, as you're continually seeking to redefine it.
And televisions are a luxury item. Just because they're cheap, doesn't mean it isn't a luxury. I consider chocolate biscuits a luxury too.
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How do you define absolute poverty then? Maybe in Brittian there is a system for the poor to pull themselves up, but there really isn't in America. You see one or two isolated examples of people getting ahead, but they are few and far between, and often involve aquiring tremendous amounts of debt. Education is considered the best way to "get ahead" but if you are really poor, even with scholarships and everything, you could end up taking out $50,000 in student loans just for your B.S. degree. That means that unless you get an incredibly well paying job you really won't be that much better off than a very industrious construction worker with no student loans. In the USA we have this attitude of blame the poor. If someone had kids out of wedlock, they deserve to suffer, and so do their kids. It's a vicious cycle. The USA has a really feudalistic 3rd world mindset when it comes to social welfare.
Just look at the kinds of immigrants that come to the USA: mostly educated white colar type people, unless they are illegal. Many illegal immigrants are transient. They come to the USA to work in low paying jobs, live in squalor to save money, and plan to leave the USA after a few years. We don't get many refugees compared to Europe, because we don't have good system to help them get on their feet. I was watching a show about Somali refugees, their lives suck in the USA. The refugee guy was saying that sure, in the USA you have some more luxuries, but it's not worth the stress. He said that if it wasn't for the danger, he would go back to Somalia where life was easier, even though they don't have so many things. I know plenty of Mexican farmworkers who feel the same way. You can't compare the USA to Europe or Brittain.