This is the great sin of our day. If the wealth of America which amounted in 2019 to 92.4 trillion dollars - if this money was equally distributed to all Americans it would be $343,000 per person.
But the reality is that the top 20% own 77% of the wealth. And in that group the top 1% on 29% of the total wealth. Think about those numbers and then look at these statistics
9.2% of the world or $689 million people live on $1.90 or less a day.
In 2020 the covid pandemic added $120 million people to the numbers living in poverty
Who are the poor? Four out of five of them live in rural areas. Half our children. Women represent a majority. 70% of the global poor aged 15 and over have no schooling or only some basic education
Half of the global poor live in sub-Saharan Africa in nigeria, the drc, tanzania, Ethiopia and madagascar.
40% of the poor live in economies affected by fragility, conflict and violence. That number is expected to rise to 67% in the next decade.
132 million people live in areas with high flood risk
Poverty in the United States in 2020 was 9.2%. By group, flights have 6.6% poverty rate, blocks have 15.2% in Hispanics 13.8%
If you look at the poverty guidelines in the United States in 2021 by size of household those numbers are:
One person $12,880
Two persons $17,420
Three persons $21,960
Four-person household $26,500
Five person $31,040
This means that a person earning that amount of money or less is considered poor. But the reality of that means that if your household income is $12,880 and you were working full-time you would have earned $6.19 per hour. Likewise the two person would be earning $8.37, the three person is earning $10.29, four person is earning $12.77, and for the family of five that person is earning $15 an hour.
These are the rates at which you qualify for help. These are also the rates or the incomes that come with no benefits too much of the time.
Say you have a mother and a father with three children making $31,000. If only one of those parents were working then that person would be earning approximately $15 per hour but if both parents in that family are working the reality is they are only earning and average of seven dollars and 50 cents per hour.
Income inequality is the Hot topic right now and you can see why. It reflects a spiritual deficiency because huge amounts of wealth do not bring happiness. But alternatively poverty is a great cause of sorrow, anxiety and depression.
There is a middle ground where basic needs are met and the daily worry over bills is gone. That is where the human spirit is free to grow, to create, to enjoy life. Everyone deserves that.
EACH EVERY ALL
'As we strive to lift those around us it is helpful to see each individual as a child of god. The word humanity is at the root of the word humanitarian. This means that as humanitarians, we work to see each individual as a child of god. Every person deserves a chance to have a happy and productive life.
Weather globally or in our backyard, we recognize a person's humanity when we
One. See individuals as God sees them
Two. Seek to understand their experiences
Part of having humanitarian eyes is seeing that the place that all humanity lives on hyphen our earth - is also taken care of. We are agents to act in valuing all of God's creation. "Facebook post on Latter-Day Saint charities May 15th 2021
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