The Shocking Reality of America

To date it is rare to see a news report, movie, radio show, or even people talking about poverty or the poor in the US. Even if they speak about poor people it is spoken in comparison with poorer countries like India. Several months ago I read an article about an individual who went to Bangalore to get an heart bypass surgery done, because he couldn't afford it in the US. The writer of the article had given such a twist that it showed India as a nation without any healthcare facilities for poor people.

Anyway coming back to this instance of blogging I was reading about Lawrie Covey, who lost her job two years ago and has been living on unemployment benefits. She is 58 and she is struggling to make ends meet. She is selling her blood plasma twice a week for a paltry $50. This is the reality of the poor in the US... not much different from the poor in India on the surface. But there is a difference... a huge difference, created by the government.

This woman owns a car (old and beat up), lives in a proper home (rented), enjoys central heating, cooling, and has internet access. This is the difference that the Indian government could make in the lives of its people, provide the infrastructure facilities such as clean running water, electricity, internet, roads, and most importantly quality education for all.

Poverty has been, is now and will continue to be an integral part of any country's population. There simply cannot be a country, society, or region of the world without disparity in financial strength of its people. And when people get desperate for money, be it in India or in the US they will be willing to sell anything... including their own blood to make ends meet....

That is the irony of life.