Wants, Needs, and "Poor People"

I'd like to think that a number of my blog posts have defended the idea of helping "the poor."  However, in a recent conversation that I had with my family, I realized that I have never defined what I mean when I talk about "the poor."  Let's try to remedy that.

In some ways, we can probably all agree what it mean to be poor.  Being poor means that one is unable to supply the needs for the self or the family.  However, I'd say that many people that we consider poor are not.  The first instance of this are people in other countries that we consider poor because they do not have access to the same technology, amenities, and "stuff" that we have.  While sometimes this lack of access might come along with being poor, I do not think that being unable to access all the "stuff" of the western world is a prerequisite for being well-off.  I'm pretty sure that there are families that have basic needs met, are healthy and enjoy themselves without having extra things.  I do not consider any of these people poor, and, in fact, I think that they might perhaps be richer than many people in the US.

I also do not consider people "poor" if they have the resources to subsist but waste their resources.  This comes to the ideas of wants and needs.  I think that our country has these ideas very confused.  For example, people that we consider poor often have cable television, use air conditioning, and have expensive cell phone plans.  When it comes down to it, I can understand why even the wealthiest taxpayers might not want to pay for these luxuries for all people.

Then what does a person need to be lacking (and unable to attain) to be poor?  In my opinion, I think that ideally all people should have access to clean water, healthy food, shelter at a location from which they can get to work or subsist off of the land, clothing, some amount of health care, education (in our culture, that would include access to the Internet so that a person could stay up-to-date), the ability to save for rainy day/"retirement", and the ability to raise children in an appropriate manner (I'd like parents to have a chance to raise a family on one income).  Additionally, in our culture access to a phone line is also probably necessary, but it doesn't necessarily need to be a cell phone, and it certainly does not need to have texting/data plans.  That would mean a family should be able to afford a small apartment, but they might not be able to afford a house, and that's alright.  A family should be able to have enough clothes to maybe last a week, but they do not need a closet full of clothing.

I think that some families in the US make themselves poor by striving to have all of the comforts and conveniences that the middle and upper classes enjoy, and I honestly do not think that that is the fault of the middle and upper classes.  I don't think that the values of our society are helping these people out, but ultimately it is the responsibility of each of us to use our resources as wisely as possible to provide for our families and, ideally, to reach out to those with legitimate need.

That all being said, I do not want to sound like I think it's alright to pay the low wages that are paid for certain jobs while CEOs and others are raking in profits at the expense of their workers.  If nothing else, this is a matter of justice.  I am mostly making the point that I believe that we should think about what we want everybody to be able to access.  However, I don't know how well this will all work while our society is constantly shouting messages about how inferior a person is if he/she doesn't have the right "stuff."  Nothing is simple, but I think that it's worth thinking about these things!

Please leave a comment if you have more ideas about needs, wants, and what it means to be poor!  Also please let me know if I forgot any of the basic physical needs that people should have!