Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by vectorpush 5083 days ago
>Most impoverished Americans have TVs and microwaves.

What's your point? Ownership of an arbitrary appliance doesn't mean you're able to put food on the table or afford tuition for your children. You don't need to eat a TV every night to survive nor can you fill up your gas tank on microwaves. Besides, in the developed world, TVs and microwaves are a dime a dozen and are regularly discarded because their abundance makes them worth so little.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/zip?query=tv+&srchTyp...
3 comments
randomdata 5083 days ago
He asked a good question. To what level does the bar need to rise to eliminate poverty as something that holds someone back? Is easy access to food and education that level?

My gut feeling that wealth disparity is a bigger issue than absolute wealth. If the poor lived in mansions and drove Ferraris, but the rich owned entire islands and private rocket ships that travel to Mars, the poor people still wouldn't have access to what the wealthier people have, still setting them back from achieving their true potential.

link
vectorpush 5083 days ago
>If the poor lived in mansions and drove Ferraris, but the rich owned entire islands and private rocket ships that travel to Mars, the poor people still wouldn't have access to what the wealthier people have, still setting them back from achieving their true potential.

It's not about absolute material equity, it's about comfortably meeting one's needs such that second order concerns (like studying or tinkering with a mobile SDK) become viable pursuits. Living in a mansion means you can likely afford food, rent, transportation, insurance, healthcare, tuition, and all the other expenses that leave the poor with little room for "achieving true potential".

link
ShawnBird 5083 days ago
Anecdotal evidence: When I was the poorest I have ever been I had a TV and microwave.

My microwave came with my apartment and the TV was free because a neighbor had just got a new one. I still had to live off ramen.

link
yummyfajitas 5083 days ago
What's your point? Ownership of an arbitrary appliance doesn't mean you're able to put food on the table...

Most impoverished Americans overeat. The average poor American is borderline obese.

http://webarchives.cdlib.org/sw1vh5dg3r/http://ers.usda.gov/...

link
nitrogen 5083 days ago
It's still cheaper (or at least perceived as being cheaper due to clever marketing by food companies) to gorge oneself on junk calories than to half-starve on fresh, healthy food.
link