Defining poverty: Measure by measure | The Economist

Measure by measure

The world’s richest country tries to count its poor

Defining poverty

Jan 20th 2011 | CHICAGO | from PRINT EDITION

MOST people have an inherent sense of what it means to be poor. But choosing a definition is much trickier. Is poverty an absolute or relative condition? What is a decent standard of living? Such questions have dogged America’s social scientists for decades. This month the Census Bureau published a preliminary estimate of poverty, using a new definition. It was 16 years in the making. But it is not quite finished yet.

Poverty means different things in different countries. In Europe, the poor are those whose income falls below 60% of the median. Britain uses three measures: one relative, one absolute and a broader indicator of material deprivation, such as whether a child can celebrate his birthday. The concept of poverty becomes even more slippery when attempting international comparisons. The United Nations’ “human- development index” assesses countries across a range of indicators, such as schooling and life expectancy.

via www.economist.com

 

A friend suggested this article, and while I found the article interesting, I couldn't help but be transfixed on the photo. Why? Because the living conditions depicted in the photo are not anomalous. And understand one thing in particular; while the nation may have experienced a recession, there are some states, cities, and communities that are grappling with depression like conditions. 

Let me preface what is to follow by stating the obvious. There are many reasons for African Americans to be unabashedly proud of our POTUS. After all, he steered the country from what was sure to be a economic depression; moved us closer to universal healthcare than any other POTUS previously; successfully massaged the nation’s consciousness time and time again when confronted with incidents that could have easily inflamed tensions domestically and abroad (the taking of hostages by Somali pirates, the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, North Korea… just to name a few); and the list could go on and on.

 

Trust, any U.S. citizen with an ounce of commonsense is very, very glad that Team Obama won as opposed to Team Geriatric Fruitcakes.

 

However, there is a flipside. Obama's presidency has absolutely suffocated socio-political activism within Black America at a time when it is so in need. Certainly, Black America was apathetic before President Barack Obama, as many of our communities have been becoming increasingly more efficient at producing prison fodder than the future leaders of tomorrow. It is what it is.

 

Still, things have gotten even worse. It's gone from apathetic to pathetic. It's as if African Americans forgot that the ability to drive escalades, live in condos, and congregate for the purposes of self-aggrandizement didn’t come at a price. I’m being sarcastic, but not really.

 

What too many of us fail to understand is that the freedoms and privileges we enjoy today are a direct result of those who were willing to spill their blood and sweat equity into our future. As I reflected upon the photo above, the sentiments poet and activist, Sonia Sanchez, shared during one of Tavis Smiley’s Black Agenda round table discussions echoed clear as day. Sanchez opined about how we have become a people who accomplished so much with so little, to a people who accomplish so little with so much.

 

Our ancestors were do something people. We are the heirs of their do something legacy. They understood that freedom is not static, nor guaranteed, but rather is the result of continual progression, growth, and unrequited striving. It is our destiny to either advance this legacy, or selfishly squander this inheritance, sewing the seeds of our children’s sufferings, and worse yet their justifiable resentments   

 

The challenges and pitiable conditions that color too many lives didn't disappear with the transcendence of Obama. Matter of fact they have become exacerbated. The economic death drop that occurred could accurately be characterized as an economic Katrina for the supermajority of African American communities.

 

People, this euphoric love affair with our POTUS is dangerous. Dangerous like record numbers of African American men being imprisoned during Clinton's presidency than any previous presidency. Yet, consider the love affair many had with President Bill Clinton because he was comfortable attending chicken dinners with impotent (I mean important leaders), clapping in black congregations, and exhibited some cultural proclivities that many could identify with.

 

 

JuJuan Buford