1 in 7 Americans Live in Poverty

I always wonder what people consider poverty to be. Is it 5 people living in 2 rooms and sharing one bathroom with 3 other families? Is it 3 people having to sleep in one bed? Is it always renting and never being able to afford to buy? That's how I grew up. But...I never thought of myself as poor.

The reason might have been that both my mother and my grandfather worked every day (until he retired in his late 70's). Our little apartment was spic and span clean and we always had good meals on the table and clean clothes (washed by hand) to wear. We never went on Welfare, either.

I know this isn't the only face of poverty but it could be. Just because your income is low it doesn't mean you have to live like pigs. Cleanliness is pretty cheap, if you think about it.

We never owned a car back then so we walked or took a bus. This never hurt us, either. Do you suppose that we've all become a little spoiled with unrealistic expectations? Both my mother and my grandfather worked hard for very low wages but they set an example for me and my sister. We had pride that what little we had didn't come from accepting handouts like Welfare.

I see nothing shameful about being on Welfare for a short while if you're really down and out but it shouldn't become a lifestyle. It's unrealistic for healthy and capable people to do nothing their whole lives while being supported by their neighbors. My grandfather had no education, couldn't read or write, but he worked for the city until he was well past retirement age dragging a cart behind him and cleaning up garbage on the streets. That's the epitome of a "work ethic".

I guess we were what people today would consider living in poverty but it just didn't feel like it. I'll bet that many of those "1 in 7" poverty stricken Americans live much the same as I did and would be insulted to be classed as impoverished. People can live quite comfortably on low wages. They just need to forego some of the unnecessary luxuries that others think they can't live without.

You really can't describe a family living in a clean, healthy home as living in poverty, no matter how minimal their income happens to be.