Poverty is an act of war

Or a terrorist act.

 

Neither.
I'd imagine it is an economic circumstance.

 

And perhaps even personal choice?

 

I knew this would come up, of course. It's so masturbatory. The inevitability argument is only marginally better.

 

If this is you chat up technique...I'd get some help.

 

We've created poverty. I'd say that poverty is more of an act of war; the war against ourselves, a war against freedoms, rights to be human.

We alienated ourselves from people who do not have any wealth and children are born into poverty, as if they had no choice for hope or opportunity to live a healthy and happy life. It's a war. The gap between the rich and poor is widening.

 

Thank you. :cheers2:

 

Yes, it is caused through a form of economic warfare.

 

Haiti has the most poverty in the Western Hemisphere. Is it terrorism? War?
No...
Corruption and greed are a much more likely.
Dominican Republic, which shares an Island with Haiti is much more industrialised.
I don't think Haitian poverty is either a result of war or terrorism.

 

*steams*

Dominican republic is dominated by corruption and greed just the same as Haiti.

Do USA Free Zones and sweat shops count as being more "industrialized" in your mind? Because if so, that doesn't say much for the push for industrialization.

Just sayin'. Not trying to be rude.

 

Earthmother, poverty is forced. Those of us who have thrown off many of the bonds of Babylon by not relying on small, green, dull pieces of paper are richer by far.


PS- I'm about to become one of your neighbors.

 

Haha. You obviously haven't checked the news. Haiti has more foreign armies in its territory than any country on Earth (including Iraq).

 

Poverty is forced
but by ignorance and corruption

Look at the corruption index ( http://www.transparency.org/content/download/27256/410704/file/GCB_2007_report_en_02-12-2007.pdf ) and you can see that the poorest are almost always the most corrupt

all this talk about Africa being poor because of Western Imperialism is totally missing the point. Yes, Imperialism was terrible , but poverty in African (and other places) is almost always the result of stupid decision the government makes or due to war. Look at Liberia- it was never a colony , but it's a complete mess. Botswana is the opposite, though it was a colony , it is a very successful modern African country. The reason - good government.
There are thousands other examples, tons of former colonies in South East Asia being very succesful due to good government policies- Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc.. etc...
China is the perfect example. As long as it insisted on silly centralized economy it was very poor. The moment Deng Xiaoping announced "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" (=free market economy) ,China immediately started becoming very rich.

 

Yeah, but poverty breeds corruption. It's convenient to think the cause and effect relationship is a one-way street.

Also, the parameters for corruption are not universal. The U.S. financial system alone manages infinitely more corrupt dollars than any African country.

The portfolio of a Lehman Brothers is equivalent to the combined GDP of many African countries. So, in that sense at least, the U.S. is the most corrupt nation.

 

I agree they are both subject to corruption. I have been to Dominican many times. Venezeula, Jamaica and Mexico as well. All are corrupt to varrying degrees. But why is Haiti the poorer of the two and does it have anything to do with war or terrorism? I don't think so. Imperialism, Slavery...yes but not war or terrorism.

And I don't think "industrialized" is a bad word. It breeds modernisation and economic development. In needent be used as a slight on the west. Industrialization is on it's own not a bad thing.

 

Noting that poverty can be terrible is easy, deciding on how to tackle it is very much harder.

As can be seem in this thread some see assistance as the way and other exploitation.

 

Many (not all) of the people I see here living in poverty bring it on themselves. They'll spend what money they get on drugs, booze and other unneeded things. I feel bad for the children (if they have any).
So no I don't believe it's an act of war.

 

While a survey provides insight into the views of people, it does not reflect the actual documented traces of formal and informal corruption.

What is the margin of error? How many people are willingly going to say on a survey that they've paid bribes or have experience with bribing someone?

There are more blue collar crimes committed in Western countries like corruption, embezzlement, racketeering, money laundering, etc than in poorer nations.

 

i think it's a form of survival of the fittest that we are honor-bound to combat as humane creatures.

 

OK pay attention this time. People who "bring it on themselves" are not living in poverty. They are living a lifestyle they have chosen. If you can stand up and change it, you're not impoverished. If you live in a country where the common citizenry is oppressed and kept to the lowest standard without actually being outright murdered by their oppressors, they are living in poverty.

There are very few impoverished people in the US. Right now, anyway...