Poor Americans Better Off Than Average Europeans
 

While homelessness and hunger has increased in the United States by around 16 percent per year for the past 15 years, a new study says that poor really isn't that poor.
Forty-six percent of the "poor" in the United States have more living space than the average person in Paris, London or Vienna. In the U.S. 73 percent have their own car, 30 percent own two or more cars, and 76 percent have air conditioning.
Also, 65 percent have a washing machine, 97 percent have a color TV and 78 percent have a DVD player/VCR in the United States. The bottom line is that a very small percentage of the 35 million people considered "poor" actually suffer real hardships.


Source: www.shortnews.com

Well that image has no relivance to this thread or me @ all

Better luck next time though <3:Graucho

If you read the article the source is actually www.foxnews.com

:321GFY

Ok.

Did you really think this was news?

It really is common knowledge to people who have actually gone out and lived the places you are speaking of...

Is thinking considered unamerican activity? I've often wondered about that.

You've lived in all the places that snippet mentioned?

While you were there you conducted surveys about people living in poverty?

No I don't think it is. Is being nice considered un-European? :P

Nice try.

Yes -- I have lived in all of those places.

There is no need to survey any of the 'poor'... don't spend much time in Europe, do you?










Lies all perpetuated by Rush, right?

:winkwink:

I've been to London before, Blah

Dirty air, Drunk bums come running out of alley's screaming at those stupid red busses.... The red phone booths are covered in pornography adds.. It's like an in real life version of GFY

In the US there is wide difference in cost of living

A house in San Francisco could cost 1.8 million
but the same size house in Mobile, Alabama would only
be $75k

The problem with surveys like this is it includes countries like Portugal, where the standard of living is very low.

Poor Americans better off than your average Brit, German, French, Dutch, Danish person?

Give me a break please.

Always remember you can make a survey produce any result you want.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Burned!

That's because nobody wants to live in Mobile Alabama, while the majority of the population want to live in San Francisco - lord knows why...you have the the most bizarre weather patterns in the U.S. in San Francisco.

Haha average European? We have 3rd world countries in Europe.

Retard.

I'd bet that they have more living space than those living in major US cities too. But there's a bit of difference between an 500 sq. ft trailer and an 450 sq. ft apartment in Soho, London or Manhattan, New York.....

:sleep

I agree with milambur, the living costs for some areas of the UK are massive you are forgetting that we only have a limited amount of land here and a massive population in relation to this.

Plus an earlier post mentioned the fact that a survey can give any results it wants, you should believe everthing you read...my god what do mother in the US teach ya ;-)

I have been to about 20 countries and it never occured to me that anywhere in Europe was any worse that anywhere in the US. on the whole places are pretty much the same economically. rich areas, poor areas, nice areas, ugly areas etc. I prefer Europe to the US. At least there is interesting history and architecture and everywhere has its own unique flavor. in the US you can drive from state to state and feel like you are going in circles.

I've been to about 10, from Mexico to Switzerland. There's a lot to be said for being able to travel 3000 miles and speak the same language, use the same currency and the same bank and shops. And try getting off the main highways if you want something different. Small towns in america have their own flavor, just like everywhere else.

What a funny thread. Always amazes me that so many people are so proud of their ignorance they feel the need to shout it out :)

A bit boring don't you think?

I travel to get away from all that. I like to experience different cultures when I travel, not the one I was brought up in.

1. You can not compare a spacial trailer in Arkansas to the price of a even a flat in a city like London - doubt a good number middle class Americans could afford to own a home IN London. Also, European countries are smaller hence less space and what space there is becomes more valuable.

2. Well, who needs a car when you have a good public transport system and you live in a city. Those outside the cities need them but depending on the country they may add up to less than those in the cities that don't.

4. WHy should you invest in airconditioning when your country only gets hot enough to need it maybe one day a year. This past year was abnormal. Do it on how many people have heating - it would be different.

5. 'Europe' is made up of a lot of countries some of which are former soviet states, etc. Count Mexico and Central America in the statistics for the 'average' American and then maybe it is fair.

sarah, very well said.

Costs of living in Paris and London is just silly. All places are highly overpriced without any real reason. There is a reason why many of the big companies that had offices inside London for decades are leaving the city for the suburbs. Its just not worth it, london is overpriced in everything. Paris is similar.

Thus this is a really stupid comparision.

Also, those percentages are very funny :)

Like Sarah said:
1) cars: I am first of all actually quite sure that 70% or so in germany for example have their own car. But to be honest, who in their right minds would want a CAR in friggin London or Paris? How stupid would you have to be to get one? Using public transport will get you around twice as fast in most big cities in europe. Most people in europe live in bigger cities where a car is most often not so needed. The US is VERY stretched out, you simply do not have that in europe.

2) air conditioning? Since when is air conditioning in any way connected to quality of life? Air conditioning produces overly dry air, its expensive to operate, and if you actually build good houses with good isolation you do not even NEED it unless you live in a place that has 100 or so HOT days a year.

3) washing machine: Very true, probably less people OWN a washing machine in for example germany than in the US. But this only goes for people living in apartments. Because the apartment buildings generally have plenty of free washing machines in the basement. So why buy your own? I have yet to find anybody in germany that has their own house and no washing machine.

4) Color TV/DVD/VCR: I am very sure the percentage is very similar in comparable european countries.

The *only* difference is the price that an idiot will pay for that same amount of square footage simply because of where it is.

500sq ft is 500sq ft.

Ever heard of capital gains?

Well, if that is the case I can rent you 500 sq. ft in one of my warehouses for $200 a month.

OMG!.... :eek7

Everyone has a colour tv , most have a car, or two... we even have the internet ! We may be one of the less developed country in the EU , but it's not enough to change the results of the survey.... get real. :321GFY

lol..portugal wouldn't have been one of the ones I wouldn't have picked to throw off the results either.

hey, don't worry we aren't crying that you aren't coming back.

Yea - but on Sundays they get up from the caves and get a little sun and food. They get by. :Graucho

europeans dont like tv
- Seth

:thumbsup

BTW, we have the Euro 2004 in the Summer, so we built a lot of new stadiums. The result is we now have three "5 star stadiums" , and there's around 20 of those in Europe. Not bad for a 3rd world country. Yeah, we're not that rich, but we love football :winkwink:

I have a sinking suspicion that they never even polled the truly poor..you know, the people that live on the streets and have nothing but the clothes on thier back. Useless polls:1orglaugh

Why would they do that ! As far as they are concerned, America consist of only the United State, and that's why they call themselves Americans:winkwink:

Gee, you mean just like how the people in Mexico call themselves Mexicans and the people in Canada call themselves Canadians?

It's all the "Americas"... try rounding out your bullshit bashing by including everyone in your elitist rant. The Americans(USA) aren't the only ones doing it.

Thank god we don´t have luxury living areas like trailer parks.

And where are Mexico and Canada located?

But think of all that space a big trailer's got! Far more than your £250k london flat! You're obviously missing out! :winkwink:

Portugal is a great nation and its far from being a
third-world country. Though it does require work on its economy, but I am sure that will be no problem. (mainly education needs reform)

A few weeks ago I read that because of the american economy growing much faster over the last 10 years or so, the average dutchman is now just as rich (or poor?) as the average "African American"..
That is how low "we" sunk..

Can you eleborate?
It is a well known fact that GDP per capita of EU citizens is quite a bit lower than US citizens, the main cause is lower productivity by our labor force.

Well, I guess they measured the income of these people.

Actually the GDP per capita is not that much lower. For countries like Holland or Germany it is like 80-85% of the States

A wise man once said: "I only believe the statistics that I've falsified myself".

If you take the dollar fall into account the GDP per capita is about the same level in most of Western Europe compared to the US.

Example:
2002 - Exchange rate 1.06 Euros per dollar
USA $36300
Germany $26200
France $26000
UK $25500
Belgium $29200
Netherlands $27200
Norway $33000
Italy $25100

Adjusted for todays exchange rate (0.79 Euros per dollar)
USA $36300
Germany $35100
France $34800
UK $34200
Belgium $39100
Netherlands $36400
Norway $44200
Italy $33600

Bullshit. If there's anything I've learned from GFY's economic experts it's that Bush has turned the US into a third world dictatorship.

Yah, there's a calculator on the net somewhere to see how "rich" you are compared to the rest of the world. Most Americans fit nicely into the top 5%, even the ones we consider "poor".