"Thrive" is amazing must watch!

[native]

For me, part of the difficulty is that most of the poor we talk about are poor... in America.

For the majority of humanity, an American "poor" person is filthy rich. They have more than enough money available for good, healthy food, clothing, and shelter. Yet it gets squandered on television, alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, and processed junk foods. (Really? You get WIC coupons and purchase Coca-cola with them??)

Having seen first-hand what real poverty is like, I have a hard time feeling compassion for the majority of "poor" Americans. By "poor" I think we mean "ignorant" and so the solution should be information, and not money.

It certainly is a complex issue. I wouldn't call America's poor, rich. When you are in a place of no hope, you squander for pleasure in small doses.

There's no doubt that the third world faces different issues than the developed world, but we have to be careful not to induce separation. You're devaluing the conditions and stress placed on the minds of the poor in general, as if the 'developed' poor are "not poor enough".