Why do so many people live in poverty?

Answer 1

The prevalence of poverty in the world is partially due to the tremendous increase in global population over the past century or so, which tends to offset the opportunity that we would otherwise have had to solve social problems by means of our tremendously improved technology over the same time period. But there are many other factors. The world is a complicated place, filled with intense competition between individuals and other individuals as well as organizations, groups, ethnicities, and nations, competing with other organizations, groups, ethnicities and nations, and those who lose the competition are likely to be poor as a result. And some people have the kinds of personal problems such as mental illness, drug addiction, illiteracy, etc., which make it very difficult or impossible to become economically successful. War is also very economically disruptive. Environmental problems are economically disruptive. And then there have just been terrible mistakes, such as the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis, which are economically disruptive. And when economics are disrupted, some people are going to be poor as a result.

Answer 2

Don't work for the Money - Patty Hansen

The world is filled with the smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the Young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is, great talent is not enough.

I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5% of Americans earn more than $100,000 a year. A business consultant who specialized in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentist and chiropractors struggle financially. All this time, I thought that when they graduated, the dollars would pour in. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, "They are one skill away from great wealth." What this phrase means is that most people need only to learn and master one more skill and their income would jump exponentially. I have mentioned before that financial intelligence is a synergy of accounting, investing, marketing and law. Combine those four technical skills and making money with money is easier. When it comes to money, the only skill people know is to work hard.

When I graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1969, my educated dad was happy. Standard Oil of California had hired me for its oil -- tanker fleet. I had a great career ahead of me. Yet I resigned after six month with the company and joined the Marine Corps to learn how to fly. My educated dad was devastated. Rich dad congratulated me..

Job security meant everything to my educated dad. Learning meant everything to my rich dad. Educated dad thought I went to school to learn to be a ship's officer. Rich dad knew that I went to school to study international trade. So as a student, I made cargo runs, navigating large freighters, oil tankers and passenger ships to the Far East and the South Pacific . While most my classmates, including Mike, were partying at their fraternity houses, I was studying trade, people and cultures in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. I also was parting, but it was not in any frat house. I grew up rapidly.

There is an old cliche that goes, " Job is an acronym for Just over Broke." And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence, most workers "live within their means". They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to yound people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn, Look down the road at what skills they want to acquire before choosing a specific profession and before getting trapped in the "Rat Race". Once people are trapped in the lifelong process of bill paying, they become like those little hamsters running around in those little metal wheels. Their little furry legs are spinning furiously, the wheel is turning furiously, but become tomorrow morning, they'll still be in the same cage: great job.

When I asked the classes I teach, " How many of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald's makes more money than you?" The answer is obvious: McDonald's excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. All too often, they're poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not because of what they know but because of what they do not know. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.