Quote:

poverty could happen to you in America and it aint purty; though you would be well off in Africa...



An excellent point John. Poverty is relative to the wealth of the society in which one lives, and the distribution of that wealth.

In most industrialized nations (including ours) that wealth is much more evenly divided than it is in the third world. Or many (if not all) monarchies.

So when an agency that deals in raw statistics, like the census bureau, draws a poverty line; it can show some pretty bizarre assumptions.
Then these assumptions are used by groups or individuals to further their own agendas and the real problem gets lost.
Anyone who believes that there are no destitute people who have no home, and not enough food in the U.S.A. please go to your nearest major city (and many rural areas too), find a social service group and tell them. I'm sure they'll be able to change your mind.


Here's an example of how citing averages can be misleading (the numbers are hypothetical)

The average income of a person in Kuwait is $150,000 per year.

The median income is $5,000 per year.

You see? Averages do not reflect reality.

Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también