by Alan Fernald

Created on: February 02, 2008   Last Updated: June 17, 2009

The US Census Bureau tells us that thirty-seven million people in the US live in "poverty". The census bureau is wrong. I have seen true poverty, and poverty in the US can not be compared to poverty in other parts of the world. Poverty in South America means children digging through mounds of rotting food and garbage to find food scraps to feed their family. Poverty in Africa means begging door-to-door for the equivalent of a copper penny. Poverty means living life with the spectre of death as a constant companion.

To most who are considered "poor" In the United States, poverty means having to suffer the degradation of living with a prepay cell phone and only basic channels on their cable TV.

Those whom the census bureau claims are living in poverty in the United States are eligible to have a government financed roof over their head, government subsidized food, completely free education for children (and in most cases adults), government paid medical care, and in many cases, basic utilities paid by the government as well. Where government does not provide, public and private charities assist by providing free/low-cost clothing, household goods and other various sundries to permit the poverty-stricken of America to maintain a relatively comfortable lifestyle.

There are 37 million people in the United States that live below the arbitrary line that our government dictates to be the poverty-level. Citizens who live below this arbitrary line are eligible for goverment assistance from state and federal levels as well as benefits from various government-funded charities. These government financed programs are effective in preventing poverty for everyone in the US including those who are in our country illegally.

If you are one of these 37 million people (as I myself was for the last five years), count yourself lucky to be living in the United States. Because you live in the United States, the government will provide all the basic needs for you and your family. The most difficult part of surviving poverty in the US is wading through the red-tape and paperwork that the government requires to "prove" that you really are not an independent millionaire trying to bilk them out of an extra thirty cents each month.

HOUSING:

All citizens and residents (both legal and illegal) who live below the poverty line are eligible for subsidized (section 8) housing. The only exception are those persons who have been convicted of any drug crime. The subsidized housing

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