Wow

[oex]

What does it say about the richest country on earth that 1/6th of their population is living in poverty

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14903732

[MichaelW]

"Official data has shown" that 1/6th of their population is living in poverty != 1/6th of their population is living in poverty.

[Bill Cravener]

We are the land where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We are the land where 50 million of its 300 million citizens have no health insurance because of the extraordinary cost of health care coverage. We are the land where if you have no health insurance and get seriously sick the cost of health care will end up costing you your home, your car and all your belongings to the point of destitution!

[oex]

"Official data has shown" that 1/6th of their population is living in poverty != 1/6th of their population is living in poverty.

No this suggests that 1/6th of their population is honestly living in poverty :lol.... Anything below this figure questons the integrity of the citizens of the United States....

[clive]

What does it say about the richest country on earth that 1/6th of their population is living in poverty

For one thing it says that unskilled workers are cheaper in Mexico, India and China, and if you want to avoid getting poorer you'd better stay in school and focus on getting some real skills rather than play football/basketball/etc and knock up your 16 year old girlfriend. If you're not academic, pick a trade that is hard to export.

Let's hope the bill that gets past focuses on getting more equality in education funding, investing in better outcomes, and scholarships so people can chase the dream rather than getting crushed with debt.

Not much hope for the health care, those costs are projected to go up another 20% next year, that 50 million is likely to double.

[oex]

Sorry guys.... I'm not being anti-US I'm being anti-THEM :lol

[MichaelW]

No this suggests that 1/6th of their population is honestly living in poverty :lol....

A significant portion of our population is living in poverty, but it's unlikely to actually be anywhere near what the census data indicates because income derived illegally is unlikely to be reported, and there is a lot of such income here, for example from the illegal drug trade.

[hutch--]

In this world you tend to have rich and poor, no matter what the system is. Western countries are supposed to be rich but that does not help you survive a winter in Scotland if you are poor. There are folks that live in dumpsters in New York so they don't die of the cold in winter, aboriginal folks in OZ that live in shanties that are 3rd world so it is not a valid assumption to bundle all of a population in a "rich" country together.

Be it a person in Bangladesh, Kenya or any of the world's poverty hot spots, it may be the aspiration of someone with an empty stomach to resent rich western lifestyles but the ugly facts are if you are poor and hungry in a western country, you are STILL poor and hungry no matter what the rich in the same country do. It is also a fact that in very poor countries there are massively rich people who see no problem with exploiing their own people to increase their own wealth so the problem is not a simple geographical one.

Schemes to redistribute wealth have a very poor track record, communism failed as it was in practice nothing more than another method of stratering wealth, you just had to belong to the "Party" to get paid well and live comfortably.

There are some good cases where rich countries exploit poor ones for their land so they can grow food for their own populations, oil rich countries are currently buying up land in Africa to feed their own populations while the locals starve to death. The Irish potato famine is not just an act of history, the same thing is being done in many other countries today and for exactly the same reason, someone prefers to make money out of the land that is taken by force from its original owners.

[lingo]

"communism failed as..."
It is wrong! Example: China  :wink
So should be Soviet type of communism failed...

[hutch--]

Good point but then China is hardly communist since the end of Chairman Mao. Its a weird mix of capitalist and centralised control.

[Bill Cravener]

Here in the US of A many Republicans would rather let you die if uninsured rather then have the taxpayer foot the bill. There is something really sick about the way we deal with the health and well-being of our citizens. As I've stated in another thread here in the US if you have no health insurance and get very ill you most beg for help from churches and place a beggars cup along side as many cash registers as businesses will allow in the hopes that the incredible expense of your health care may be covered. Yes, this happens on a daily bases here in America!!

As one commenter posted "Indeed, 2 to 4 said "Yeah", with more laughing, but how many said, "No"? It seems that the audience silently agreed that he should die."

Death without health insurance is a laughing matter at tea party debate

[Farabi]

That is why there is tax. Some people know how to be rich and willing happily share their way, but most people did not like the way they did, it is not really our fault if the world like this. I reapeat, that is why there is tax, the rich pay to support the poor.

[xanatose]

And people wonder why revolutions start.

Many say that society does not own anything to the individual.

However, this people forget to say that if society does not work for the individual, then the individual have no moral reason at all to follow society rules.

It has to be an equal exchange. I live in society and follow its rules, and in exchange society does this for me. If what society and its rules only harms me, then I am not a good citizen, I am just a sucker.

The interesting thing is that (since we all live on a capitalistic society) things will only get worse over time. New technologies means fewer jobs. Less jobs means more people without a way to earn its living legally. So their changes are to either do it illegally or die.