Excessive Poverty
Excessive Poverty
As American citizens, we should be the first to attest to the fact that we are very privileged in many aspects of life. For the most part, regardless of social class, each of us see at least one or two meals on a daily basis; even some of the less fortunate people in our country can attest to the fact they have some type of shelter to rely on at night. Unfortunately, however, often times we don’t look at our lives from this perspective. We’ve become accustomed to the “American mentality” of the continuous pursuit for the accumulation of wealth. Our society has taught us to be so much more materialistic than we should be. If we’d just take some time out to look at various third world countries around the world, we would begin to understand how privileged we actually are. Many of the people in our country who are considered to be “living in poverty” would actually be some of the most affluent people in those third world countries. The level of poverty around the world is beyond belief.
One prime example of excessive poverty, is taking place right in our backyard. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. According to recent statistics, about 80% of the population live on an average of $2 a day. Approximately 60% live on $1 a day. At first these statistics may sound unreal, but when you actually see the impoverished lifestyles these people are forced to live, it all begins to make sense. The average Haitian citizen eats one meal a day; a basic meal most likely consisting of a little rice, a piece of bread and a piece of meat or fish if they’re lucky. According to the Global Issues article, Haiti is considered “the third hungriest country in the world after Somalia and Afghanistan“. They have an average life expectancy of 53 years for males and 55 years for females; approximately 25 years less than the average life expectancy of people here in the United States. Most of the population is
As American citizens, we should be the first to attest to the fact that we are very privileged in many aspects of life. For the most part, regardless of social class, each of us see at least one or two meals on a daily basis; even some of the less fortunate people in our country can attest to the fact they have some type of shelter to rely on at night. Unfortunately, however, often times we don’t look at our lives from this perspective. We’ve become accustomed to the “American mentality” of the continuous pursuit for the accumulation of wealth. Our society has taught us to be so much more materialistic than we should be. If we’d just take some time out to look at various third world countries around the world, we would begin to understand how privileged we actually are. Many of the people in our country who are considered to be “living in poverty” would actually be some of the most affluent people in those third world countries. The level of poverty around the world is beyond belief.
One prime example of excessive poverty, is taking place right in our backyard. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. According to recent statistics, about 80% of the population live on an average of $2 a day. Approximately 60% live on $1 a day. At first these statistics may sound unreal, but when you actually see the impoverished lifestyles these people are forced to live, it all begins to make sense. The average Haitian citizen eats one meal a day; a basic meal most likely consisting of a little rice, a piece of bread and a piece of meat or fish if they’re lucky. According to the Global Issues article, Haiti is considered “the third hungriest country in the world after Somalia and Afghanistan“. They have an average life expectancy of 53 years for males and 55 years for females; approximately 25 years less than the average life expectancy of people here in the United States. Most of the population is