Poverty

Poverty, in the technical sense, means different things in different places. But one thing is the same: poverty is when someone doesn’t have the financial resources to maintain what the rest of us say is a "minimum standard of living."

Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Yep, it’s that pyramid shaped thingie. Poverty will mean that something toward the bottom isn’t being met. Maybe food. Maybe shelter. Maybe clothes. If you’re wondering if everyone really "needs" clothes, well...you do if you want a job.

What about people in prison or a psych ward? The military and kids living on school campuses? They don’t count in the U.S. Census as people who could be in poverty. Oh yeah, and “child poverty” isn’t a thing according to the Census, since those under 15 years old aren’t counted. Don’t worry...other people totally count it.

The U.S. has yearly-updated poverty guidelines. These tell you how much money you’d have to be making less-than in order to be considered a person living in poverty, per person. If you’re on your own in 2019, you’re not considered in poverty if you’re making more than $12,490. As a couple, that goes up to $16,910. These guidelines are used for all kinds of things, like if someone’s qualified or not for certain benefits.

You know who doesn’t like poverty besides the people who are in it? Capitalists. And we’re not talking about crowding the sidewalks...we’re talking about the economy. Poorer countries with poverty present themselves as great investment opportunities, but high levels of poverty sometimes also lead to less stability, more government corruption...things not so great for investors.