"America's Poor are the Envy of the World" Says US's RICHEST CONGRESSMAN - Polidicks

I come from the third world (in peace) Can mostly confirm.

I am probably late in realising this but isn't it just amazing how he's talking like they're a tourist attraction. And over here we have our poor people, you can't get higher grade poor people than this!

Hah. I doubt they're envying people like me who've had to spend most of their formative years bodging together whatever junk they can scrounge up into useful things. Only now at 25 am I able to actually buy [i]things[/i].

[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;47688122]Devils advocate: He isn't wrong. His comment is fucking retarded beyond all belief, but he isn't exactly wrong. Tons of people make by with less than one USD per day, and live in conditions which some people would find outright deplorable. Even though the conditions in this country towards the poor are still bad, for the most part they are still reasonable. You still can keep a roof over your head, you have clean water, easily accessible food that has to pass health inspections, and with certain amounting resources you still have a public education system in which the children of families are still given a chance to get somewhere and possibly get more money for their families. That's a lot more then can be said for probably two maybe three billion of humans on Earth.[/QUOTE] america's poor make more money than bumfuckistan's poor yeah but a dollar goes way further in bumfuckistan than it does in america. There are some countries where $10 a week is comfortable, but here living on $10 a week means you'll be supplementing your diet by eating clay and dumpster diving.

[QUOTE=nox;47688432]Well, we're not eating fried beetles and squatting over toilet holes in the floor so I guess we're not too bad.[/QUOTE] Hey, fried beetles can be pretty good. Or terrible. Depends on the beetle.

What a trashy comment from some disconnected rich douche.

[QUOTE=General J;47688232]it's alright on average but not the best on the planet lol the truth is America is pretty damn alright but once we accept that we're not the best we can try to attempt to get there. But why change when you're already on top though?[/QUOTE] Improving requires the rich to give up some wealth to improve various support 'systems' intended for helping to poor get out of their rut. Also his comment also doesn't positively motivate poor people to aspire for something bigger, it basically lulls them into believing their current situation is OK.

[QUOTE=Snickerdoodle;47688333]That would be like Putin justifying his actions with "well at least I'm not Hitler".[/QUOTE] Russia's political prisoners are envy to the world. I mean, they don't even execute them. How considerate of them.

A poor family uses their government support to buy a bunch of frozen pizzas. They could buy produce, meat and such, except at current prices they would exhaust their funds on a single nights meal, where as they can buy enough frozen pizza to eat for a week. Despite the fact that they will eat for a week, they are considered "abusing" their support because they used it on technical "junk" food. I know that there are people much worse off in the world, but it is really screwed up that that happens. And apparently they have no choice but to smile and accept it because "they have it so good".

[QUOTE=Forumaster;47687949][url]http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/news/economy/issa-poor/index.html?iid=HP_LN[/url][/QUOTE] Hey Mr congressmen: FUCK YOU TOO!

[QUOTE=Abrown516;47688004]Not to say any poverty is okay at all, but there's gotta be some European countries with better poverty conditions than American poverty.[/QUOTE] In my country everyone gets free education (up until uni but there are special free programs for that as well) and can get food and a roof over their heads regardless if they are here illegally or not at one of our shelters. If you are here legally and you are short on money (by Swedish standards) you are eligible for a lot of free different programs for getting you a job, and you are paid while you take part in one of these programs even if you choose to not do anything. If you are a Swedish citizen in Sweden you even get paid while you are getting your education. It does suck to be poor in all countries, but being poor in Sweden (or America for that matter) sucks a lot less than being poor in some shit country in Africa. There is a lot of truth to what the congressman is saying, even though he sounds like a douche.

If you want to say you're the best, you don't do that by comparing yourself to the worst.

The comparison to somewhere with greater inequality is probably not a bad one, shows how far you've come and why you have always got to strive to improve. Don't really see why everyone's throwing a shit fit, I mean he even said that he felt personally responsible for improving inequality and that they absolutely have to improve it - doesn't sound as bad as everyone's making it out to be.

[QUOTE=butt2089;47689588]The comparison to somewhere with greater inequality is probably not a bad one, shows how far you've come and why you have always got to strive to improve. Don't really see why everyone's throwing a shit fit, I mean he even said that he felt personally responsible for improving inequality and that they absolutely have to improve it - doesn't sound as bad as everyone's making it out to be.[/QUOTE] I'm poor and suffering is suffering. If it came from some one who wasnt in the Us that was living on fifty cents a month, I be a bit miffed but couldn't complain. However this is coming from some one who is rich and its an insult.

[QUOTE=butt2089;47689588]The comparison to somewhere with greater inequality is probably not a bad one, shows how far you've come and why you have always got to strive to improve. Don't really see why everyone's throwing a shit fit, I mean he even said that he felt personally responsible for improving inequality and that they absolutely have to improve it - doesn't sound as bad as everyone's making it out to be.[/QUOTE] Better than most places is still bad. It just screams an attempt to downplay how horrible it is to be poor.

It really fucking boggles my mind how some people fail to realise that "pulling up your socks" is not an option for a lot of people stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. I recently had a friend tell me that he thinks that welfare should be abolished and instead loans should be given to poor people so that they can kickstart their lives. It's such an insane idea that I didn't even know where to start calling him dumb.

Its like what Trevor Noah said "Be grateful for what you have, because there is are fat kids starving in America."

[QUOTE=SteakStyles;47689301]A poor family uses their government support to buy a bunch of frozen pizzas. They could buy produce, meat and such, except at current prices they would exhaust their funds on a single nights meal, where as they can buy enough frozen pizza to eat for a week. Despite the fact that they will eat for a week, they are considered "abusing" their support because they used it on technical "junk" food. I know that there are people much worse off in the world, but it is really screwed up that that happens. And apparently they have no choice but to smile and accept it because "they have it so good".[/QUOTE] Notice how the people saying "they have it so good' are the ones who wear suits worth entire years of income to those same families. Just a thought.

as a counterpoint americas richest are also better off than the third world's richest people, so they shouldn't complain about taxes or a so called attack on wealth by that logic

[QUOTE=awcmon;47688384]if you think america's poor has it bad, you are clueless of what it's like for the majority of the world for instance, in america, no matter how poor you are, you are still guaranteed help from the police and hospitals even if you're landed in millions of dollars in debt. sometimes the police or medical services might not arrive in time, but they try in vietnam, and many, many parts of asia, the first thing you get asked by emergency services is how much money you have they don't come at all if you don't have enough money. i know of a lot of people who were left to die because they simply could not afford medical treatment if you ever wonder why people in third-world countries have so many fucking kids, its not because they can't afford condoms or something. many times, it's because there's such a high risk of death from ages 0-18 that they have no other choice. if they went and had two kids only, they would be easily left with no predecessors. in america, no matter how poor you are, the risk of a child dying is far, far lower and in america, there's all these services to help out the poor. it might not feel like much, but in many countries, you can be left with LITERALLY NOTHING.[/QUOTE] "Better" != "Good/Okay". [editline]9th May 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=butt2089;47689588]The comparison to somewhere with greater inequality is probably not a bad one, shows how far you've come and why you have always got to strive to improve. Don't really see why everyone's throwing a shit fit, I mean he even said that he felt personally responsible for improving inequality and that they absolutely have to improve it - doesn't sound as bad as everyone's making it out to be.[/QUOTE] "Improving inequality" makes me think of a scene from a show I saw ages ago. "I put the fires out!" "You made them WORSE!" "Worse, or BETTER?"

Yes because America is well-known for its generous welfare system.

This is a thing I see a lot of conservatives spout whenever America is criticized. "America is way better than *insert developing country here*." They then have the gall to claim that they're "patriotic" for comparing America to the world's worst shitholes to excuse its failings.

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;47690390]It really fucking boggles my mind how some people fail to realise that "pulling up your socks" is not an option for a lot of people stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. I recently had a friend tell me that he thinks that welfare should be abolished and instead loans should be given to poor people so that they can kickstart their lives. It's such an insane idea that I didn't even know where to start calling him dumb.[/QUOTE] Yeah its called payday loans and title loans - and look what it does to people. Your friend is an idiot.

[QUOTE=MR-X;47694161]Yeah its called payday loans and title loans - and look what it does to people. Your friend is an idiot.[/QUOTE] Well actually free access to financial help like planners and advisors pro-bono or state supplemented might actually help a lot of people because part of the problem with those groups is they do not have experience with the financial system and some aspects of financing that are very important to securing the right kind of loan the right interest, the right savings, ect ect. But of course that would keep people from buying junk loans, balloon loans, and payday loans so it'd loose a lot of people money even though its the right thing to do [editline]10th May 2015[/editline] I still have a hard time understanding why people want to abolish food stamps and welfair though, would you rather 100 million Americans starve or die in squallor because that's the alternative

[QUOTE=itisjuly;47688083]I don't know, from what I hear America's poor people got it really bad. Working 2+ jobs while still barely affording the basic stuff and all that.[/QUOTE] Those working multiple jobs aren't even the poorest group. Going by debt, he's actually right. The poorest people in America live really kushy lives, working as failed video game developers and living at their parents', squandering their Womens' Studies degrees. Truly we can learn from their examples.

[QUOTE=Sableye;47694287] I still have a hard time understanding why people want to abolish food stamps and welfair though, would you rather 100 million Americans starve or die in squallor because that's the alternative[/QUOTE] The thinking is the government isn't a bottomless feeding trough and it pays to keep spending low.

[QUOTE=CrossTownNews;47695161]The thinking is the government isn't a bottomless feeding trough and it pays to keep spending low.[/QUOTE] Then why aren't the obvious money hoarders chipping in? are they really THAT self-centered?

[QUOTE=CrossTownNews;47695161]The thinking is the government isn't a bottomless feeding trough and it pays to keep spending low.[/QUOTE] Why aren't we cutting things that use up a larger chunk of the federal budget instead, like military spending? Capitalism requires that there will be a population of folks in poverty, wouldn't it be the more moral thing to do to help these people rather than cut spending in programs people desperately need. ESPECIALLY since the US doesn't have things like universal healthcare.

[QUOTE=CrossTownNews;47695161]The thinking is the government isn't a bottomless feeding trough and it pays to keep spending low.[/QUOTE] Keep spending low by defunding retarded shit, not at the fucking expense of human well-being.

[QUOTE=Levithan;47695212]Capitalism requires that there will be a population of folks in poverty[/QUOTE] Lol? No it doesn't. Do you know how the market economy operates at all or? Because it's possible for economic systems in which poverty has been eliminated. Not to mention that the greatest reductions in poverty in human history have been over the past 30 years.