Poverty in the U.S. -vs- Poverty in other countries

Anymore it seems like you see people preaching to donate money to all these other country's because the people are homeless, starving, disease ridden. Yeah, I know it is terrible, but what about your own country? Why are other countries urged over your own? All over the place there are people who are homeless, starving, and catching all sorts of diseases. From the smallest towns, to huge areas in the cities. Why aren't they urging people to run off and make a donation to these people in their own country? Instead they let them starve and be homeless, which leads to the drugs, and gangs that are also not great today. Then people have the nerve to complain about the drugs and gangs, but that is what some people have to resort to to survive. Maybe if you sent some donations to help them it wouldnt be AS bad. Then after that send to the other countries also.

Yeah, might seem abit closed minded atm, but its the way I feel. Disscuss.

I think this is the wrong place to post this because there are quite a few people on here who aren't American, you're very likely to get misunderstood and I don't even understand you either.

I have spent that last week visiting my grandmother in her tiny village of approximately forty people in the middle of Thailand. I have spent the past week in levels of poverty you can't even imagine. America has pleanty of benefits for it's citizens like healthcare and an infostructure. America has homeless shelters, a concept completely unknown here. America has millions of dollars of donations, donations here only come in thousands and that's in the local currency. Yeah, America may still have a problem with poverty and the homeless but that's a wealth distribution problem, something which your country by all means already has the resources to be able to deal with it.

The reason loads of money goes overseas as well is because, not to tarnish that poverty reputation that America has, but over here it's one hundred times worse. People hardly even make a living here, I got my hair washed three times, dyed, cut, dried, and straightened for about just over one American dollar. And the hair dresser here is considered rich to the other villagers.

You want to see poverty here, you'll be living next to it. Lepers on the sidewalks, blind people (usually tone deaf too) signing for money, deaf people selling little toys for anyone who walks passed them, children display looks of hope that maybe you can give them that one coin which they could use for supper. I'm not exagerating one single bit.

My uncle is the principal at a school here, do you really want to know the conditions? The bathroom is a hole in the ground, the classrooms might as well be outside in the open, there are maybe fifty students to a teacher (which isn't actually bad), the school meals consist of rice or rice and the students eat in the cafeteria which is also the football pitch, the volleyball court, the auditorium, and where the students later brush their teeth and spit out on the field.

And economially, Thailand is more wealthy than Bangledesh and India and Ethiopia, and a hell of a lot of other countries.

Having lived in America for four years, and in New York during the tragic 9/11 attacks, I have seen Americans reach out to one another in their darkest hours with immense selflessness to help each other. I know already that Americans are very generous when they need to be and I also know that in America the poverty line restricts a much smaller amount of people than in third world countries and I know that because I went to America as a refugee from Indonesia. I went from living perfectly fine on a subtle amount of money to struggling to rub two pennies together. America being the land of opportunities, however, can help especially with the generous pay that many very simple jobs can offer. It's a lot more easy to earn money in America than in a third world country.

First of all as Anji said, lots of people here are not ameircan so it might not make as much sence, the topic should be "poverty in your country vs. poverty in poorer countrys" or something

anyways, I think that poverty is alot worse in many countrys, some countrys are so poor that the people can hardly support themselfs/there own familys, so helping others whould be almost impossible, and those places need help from rich countrys where more people can afford to help others. That doesn't mean we can't help the poor in our own country, it just means alots of other countrys need more help.

It doesn't even matter if its worse over there or not; we're to blame for their poverty.

Anyways, this is about America so I'll explain it from an American point of view. So we have state governments and the federal government. Now, the state government is held accountable for dealing with welfare programs that apply to the people in their state. The federal government is never really that involved, except for in times of extreme economic crisis.. like during the depression or something like that. We can deal with out own poverty. Problem being we choose to not distribute as much tax money as we could to those programs, but at any rate we're to blame for our own poverty. That isn't the case in Africa. Slave trade destoryed their economy long ago, thanks to us. We destroyed their land and just mutilated everything. Africa is in the state it is because of our behavior, and we need to own up to what we did and fix it. Honestly, we aren't doing as much as we could. Alot of the money going into Africa isn't even from our government, its private donations from organizations. People here have the option to seek help; that isn't the case in Africa. They don't get unemployment checks or medical aid like poverty stricken people here. They're just screwed basically, and they'll be sending us nice thank you cards for that.

Poverty in the US isn't even close to poverty in other countries. Once my religion class was collecting money for orphanies in Honduras. We went to our mall to sell food so we could get the money. No one was coming up to us, so we had to ask people when they walked by. So this guy walks by and we say,"Do you want to by cookies to help ophanies in Honduras?" And he answers, while walking away,"We need to help the people in this country first." I was thinking that that was bull shit. We don't have starving ophanies roaming in the streets looking for food and stealing stuff. Other counrties need us to help them. We are one of the riched counrty in the world and we don't have that many poor people here. It pissed me off.

Kurtni:

It doesn't even matter if its worse over there or not; we're to blame for their poverty.

Anyways, this is about America so I'll explain it from an American point of view. So we have state governments and the federal government. Now, the state government is held accountable for dealing with welfare programs that apply to the people in their state. The federal government is never really that involved, except for in times of extreme economic crisis.. like during the depression or something like that. We can deal with out own poverty. Problem being we choose to not distribute as much tax money as we could to those programs, but at any rate we're to blame for our own poverty. That isn't the case in Africa. Slave trade destoryed their economy long ago, thanks to us. We destroyed their land and just mutilated everything. Africa is in the state it is because of our behavior, and we need to own up to what we did and fix it. Honestly, we aren't doing as much as we could. Alot of the money going into Africa isn't even from our government, its private donations from organizations. People here have the option to seek help; that isn't the case in Africa. They don't get unemployment checks or medical aid like poverty stricken people here. They're just screwed basically, and they'll be sending us nice thank you cards for that.

You took the words right out of my mouth, dear.

There does tend to be a large amount of ignoring poverty in one's own country and instead devoting money to other countries. But the truth is, these countries need it more. In these countries, there isn't good housing there's isn't a clean water supply and so on. Couple this with the blistering heat and it creates a lot of problems.

In my opinion, people should still donate to people in poverty in other countires, but perhaps give a little of the money for charities helping those in poverty in their own country.

When you give a homeless person $10, does that make his life better? Not really. This is just me, but poverty is kinda by choice. I know no one chooses to be homeless, but its when they become homeless do new options show up. You can choose to be homeless and do drugs or you can try to get back on your feet. Its kinda like the movie Bruce Almighty. Bruce's life was crap and he thought only god could change his fortune. But in the end, Bruce figures out that you can make your life better, you can improve your self, you can be happy, you just got to want, then you got to try, and if you fall down, get back up. Giving money to the homeless doesnt really help. Might get them a burger but they still will on the streets. But I have to admit, the goverment should be doing to make less poverty, and the should be helping the poor and homeless. But they're to stingy to help, even if it doenst cost to much money.

BI Hoe:

When you give a homeless person $10, does that make his life better? Not really. This is just me, but poverty is kinda by choice. I know no one chooses to be homeless, but its when they become homeless do new options show up. You can choose to be homeless and do drugs or you can try to get back on your feet. Its kinda like the movie Bruce Almighty. Bruce's life was crap and he thought only god could change his fortune. But in the end, Bruce figures out that you can make your life better, you can improve your self, you can be happy, you just got to want, then you got to try, and if you fall down, get back up. Giving money to the homeless doesnt really help. Might get them a burger but they still will on the streets. But I have to admit, the goverment should be doing to make less poverty, and the should be helping the poor and homeless. But they're to stingy to help, even if it doenst cost to much money.

"Hey, I have $10 you, homeless dude! But I won't give them to you because that won't help you. Plus, you probably chose that shitty life."
If everybody thought like you, there would be even more poverty.
And sorry, I love Jim Carrey but life isn't a movie.

BI Hoe:

When you give a homeless person $10, does that make his life better? Not really. This is just me, but poverty is kinda by choice. I know no one chooses to be homeless, but its when they become homeless do new options show up. You can choose to be homeless and do drugs or you can try to get back on your feet. Its kinda like the movie Bruce Almighty. Bruce's life was crap and he thought only god could change his fortune. But in the end, Bruce figures out that you can make your life better, you can improve your self, you can be happy, you just got to want, then you got to try, and if you fall down, get back up. Giving money to the homeless doesnt really help. Might get them a burger but they still will on the streets. But I have to admit, the goverment should be doing to make less poverty, and the should be helping the poor and homeless. But they're to stingy to help, even if it doenst cost to much money.

I assume that you've A) never been homeless and B) never actually given a homeless person ten dollars. Ten dollars makes a huge difference. Ten dollars is like a week of food, even in America. There is a very big difference between walking on the streets hungry and walking on the streets full. Yes, they are still homeless but at least they aren't dead or starving. And at least there's a little more contributed towards them.

Any what's tis about choosing poverty. I know Ewan McGregor said 'choose a life' in the beginnning of Trainspotting but no one chooses poverty. They choose something that leads to poverty. Usually it's between life and death the problem is the life they must choose is a shitty one. There simply aren't enough resources for some people to not be in poverty, no one chooses it at all.

Exactly what Cecilia said, what are you going to tell a beggar child, that they are there because them or their parents choose that for them. Of course they didn't.

^ exactly, no one whould chose to be homeless, if that was a choice there would be no homeless people.

Really some people choosed to be homeless... They're even professors and other stuffs like that.

People do forget their own countries, there is alot of homeless people in Scotland and they can't get jobs, they don't have money and they don't have a roof over their head. But hey it isn't in Africa so it doesn't matter.

Yes I feel sorry for those people and I agree that people do need to do something, but i think alot of people need to look out their front door and look at their own problems before everyone elses.

schooldropout:

People do forget their own countries, there is alot of homeless people in Scotland and they can't get jobs, they don't have money and they don't have a roof over their head. But hey it isn't in Africa so it doesn't matter.

Yes I feel sorry for those people and I agree that people do need to do something, but i think alot of people need to look out their front door and look at their own problems before everyone elses.

It's not a question of your own problem versus somebody else's, otherwise countries like Africa would be getting absolutely no help at all. Like I said before developed coutries don't get poverty problems, they get wealth problems which can be solved by wealth distribution with taxes and etc. Scotland has the wealth and the resources to deal with it's problem and just because they choose not to doesn't mean that a country in Africa has to suffer for it. You think Africa gets a fat load of help? Why don't you visit Sudan or Ethiopia sometime and tell me if you still think so.

HysteriaCatherine:

Really some people choosed to be homeless... They're even professors and other stuffs like that.

Please explain what the hell you mean by that.

Anji:

schooldropout:

People do forget their own countries, there is alot of homeless people in Scotland and they can't get jobs, they don't have money and they don't have a roof over their head. But hey it isn't in Africa so it doesn't matter.

Yes I feel sorry for those people and I agree that people do need to do something, but i think alot of people need to look out their front door and look at their own problems before everyone elses.

It's not a question of your own problem versus somebody else's, otherwise countries like Africa would be getting absolutely no help at all. Like I said before developed coutries don't get poverty problems, they get wealth problems which can be solved by wealth distribution with taxes and etc. Scotland has the wealth and the resources to deal with it's problem and just because they choose not to doesn't mean that a country in Africa has to suffer for it. You think Africa gets a fat load of help? Why don't you visit Sudan or Ethiopia sometime and tell me if you still think so.

I just cheered and my mother looked at me funny. [/offtopic]

This is for opinions right, and I gave mine but because people don't like it. Its being treated like this years biggest scandal, I've respected your opinions so don't you think you should respect mine.

Ah. All countries have relative poverty. But it is countries/continents like Africa that have total poverty, where people don't have the essentials to survive.

Countries like Britain and America and any others with a hugely successful economy need to get their heads out their arses, realise how awful life is for some people. Who cares if we lose a few million in one year if it means all children can go to school and have access to clean water? We'll still survive. But they won't without our help.

K, I feel commited to this topic.

Last year, I was made homeless by my mother. Thankfully, I was able to get a hostel and I signed on to Income Support. I still buy The Big Issue regularly because I can see how bad it is.

But however, if I could afford it, I would give money to places like Africa because they go without so many things that even when I had nowhere, I was able to get. I mean, in those places they wouldn't have hostels to keep them or running water. Yes, homelessness in my own country is terrible but there are more places far more desperately in need of help than my own.

schooldropout:

This is for opinions right, and I gave mine but because people don't like it. Its being treated like this years biggest scandal, I've respected your opinions so don't you think you should respect mine.

they are respecting it but they are also choosing to argue your point. If their tone raised beyond reasonable i would have stopped them, but it's fine so far.