I Wonder What All The Poor People Are Doing Today?

<p>Many years ago, a friend won the free use of a boat for a day. She invited my family and her sister, a very poor single mom, to cruise the Illinois River with her. None of us was remotely used to such luxury. It was awesome.</p> <p>The sister, who took a day off from her grueling work as a nursing home CNA, settled back on a cushy seat and said the words that still crack me up today:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>&ldquo;I wonder what all the poor people are doing today?&rdquo;</em></p> </blockquote> <h2><strong>All Americans are rich, some people claim.</strong></h2> <p>Around the world, about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts#:~:text=Mostly%20through%20household%20surveys%2C%20they,population%2C%20lived%20in%20extreme%20poverty." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">719 million people live on less than $2.15 per day,&nbsp;</a>according to World Vision.</p> <p>You&rsquo;ve heard it said that Americans (and other Westerners) are all wealthy. Why would a single mom raising two kids on less than $20,000 per year complain? She&rsquo;s a bazillionaire compared to her sisters in the developing world!</p> <h2><strong>That&rsquo;s bullshit and I can prove it.</strong></h2> <p>No, the American poor are not rich. That&rsquo;s a GOP talking point.</p> <p>Traditionally, we considered food, clothing and shelter to be basic needs, but Americans today need what I will call &ldquo;soft necessities,&rdquo; without which they can&rsquo;t pay for the &ldquo;hard necessities&rdquo; of food, clothing and shelter.</p> <p>You need a job to pay rent, and you need decent grooming to get a job. So yeah, being able to pay for a basic haircut is necessary to avoid homelessness.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/minds-without-borders/i-wonder-what-all-the-poor-people-are-doing-today-d024a8e48e76"><strong>Visit Now</strong></a></p>
Tags: People Poor