Is Poverty in America Real Poverty?

Meh, americans still have it easy.
Not mentioning africa, millions of people in my country are extremely poor, to the point of just having proper 3 times of meal everyday is God's blessing.

Please explain how what I said is a completely different topic. I'm sure it will be rather humorous. You say that you mention nothing else about Africa, yet you consistently cite "less developed countries" in your post. Did I miss something or are the impoverished nations of Africa no longer part of "less developed countries"? I know semantics are tricky, but perhaps my language skills are not as superb as yours and I am missing something here. Also, keep in mind that I never suggested you help anyone; I was merely supporting my point. Then again, you seem to be much more apt than me at both reading and discussion, please feel free to correct me.

There is nothing wrong with making a comparison to make a point clearer. It doesn't mean that you give a damn about the thing you are comparing or contrasting yourself to, it just means that it was something that people could easily imagine. Comparing one country to another is natural; this type of problem is typical only to humans; if an animal is poor it means he's dead, and he doesn't have a government to help him through it.

I made a topic about whether the poverty in America could be compared to the poverty in other places, and yes, I used Africa as an example.

You then bitched about people saying they cared about the problems in Africa when they really didn't. You said that if people really cared, they would join the Peace Corp or donate to charity. You then compared me to Helen Lovejoy from The Simpsons and referenced her oft-said line, "Won't somebody please think of the children?"

Now, how are those two things the same?

I didn't make this topic to discuss the problems in Africa, nor to examine what the poor in Africa face. It's like tazpup says:



That there are starving people in Africa is something that everyone can imagine and accept, so I used it as an example of extreme poverty. Nothing more. How you got "We need to help the children in Africa!" from "Poverty in Africa means starving to death," I honestly do not know.

To quote wikipedia,



So yes poverty in America is real poverty, but not necessarily absolute poverty. The poverty in America is relative poverty.

You're asserting that I care about Africa. Let me correct you, I could give less of a shit. I was simply pointing out that I dislike a certain argument. And unless you're entirely oblivious, I was was exaggerating and being sarcastic. No where did I say: Hey guys, let's help Africa! You have got to read more carefully, rather than always be so defensive

Just because conditions of poverty are improving doesn't make living below what is modernly considered the poverty line any better.

Sure, it may be worse in third world countries, but I've been to a handful of those too, and trust me, lots of them have basic amenities as well. It's just they lack in other ways.

[font=verdana][color=green]Let me correct you, it's "I couldn't give less of a shit".

Anyway, OT. As has already been said before, yes, poverty in America is still poverty - it is a lack of material goods - but it's minute poverty. It's not absolute poverty. It's not a case where other countries would need to chip in to help America's poorest through tough times; every Western country has the same situation - England much more so than many other countries with the immigration being heavy, but that's a rant for another day. However, if I were to find out that my country were to supply America with money - despite them already owing us billions - I would plainly be insulted and disgusted.