The Poor

[Aquila]

I think poverty is relative. For example, you might have people who are in Brazil who live in shacks with dirt floors, who farm for their food, and own chickens. In this Brazilian home no one works because no jobs are available and they sustain themselves from their small crops and chickens. Then you have a family in an apartmen on the East Side of Dayton Ohio. They have a used car, the father has a job at a factory, and three kids. You see, should he be laid off or loose a job and not be able to get another his family will be wiped out entirely. They don't even have the priviledge of farming a piece of land adn sustaining themselves with their chickens. Living paycheck to paycheck they might find themselves in homeless shelters and loose everything if he lost his job. In a sense the American family will face greater destitution in relation to the American standard of living. While the Brazilian family appears poorer when compared to the American family, their conditions are not that different from the regional standards of living and they at least can sustain themselves.

It's relative to cultural standards of living in the society around you. A cheiftain in Africa might have a large shack with dirt floor, a beat up car, a piece of land they farm off of, checkens, a couple cows, and that's it... but be doing quite well compared to others in his tribe or region.