--- In [email protected], "authfriend" <jst...@...> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], tartbrain <no_reply@> wrote: > <snip> > > I am sure catcalls will follow this post -- but there is > > a value judgement in all of this that assumes that wealth > > is superior to poverty. I have learned some great things > > when I was flat broke over sustained periods as well as > > when I have been more financially secure. > > Not to mention that rich people can be psychologically > miserable (sometimes as a result of their wealth, other > times independently of it). You don't have to be > materially deprived to undergo great suffering. For that > matter, you don't have to be poor to undergo great > *physical* suffering.
Beyond a certain minimum, the correlation of wealth and happiness are weak. What that minimum is can vary from context to context.The Grameen Bank (founded by Nobel winner Yanus for his work in micro finance) uses the criteria in the list below. And GDP measures all wealth. Are constituents of an economy with 1000 units of GDP that produces mostly superficial and/or harmful things better off than a comparative one flourishing in education, art, scientific achievements, humanism and innovation? The Ten Points of the Grameen Bank Definition of Poverty 1.The bank member and her family live in a tin-roofed house or in a house worth at least 25,000 taka (roughly equivalent to $370 ). The family members sleep on cots or a bedstead rather than the floor. 2.The member and her family drink pure water from tube wells, boiled water, or arsenic-free water purified by the use of alum, purifying tablets, or pitcher filters. 3.All of the member's children who are physically and mentally fit and above the age of six either attend or have finished primary school. 4.The member's minimum weekly loan repayment installment is 200 taka (around $3). 5.The members use a hygienic and sanitary latrine. 6.All family members have sufficient clothing to meet daily needs, including winter clothes, blankets, and mosquito netting. 7.The family has additional sources of income, such as a vegetable garden or fruit-bearing trees, to fall back on in times of need. 8.The member maintains an average annual balance of 5,000 taka (around $75) in her savings account. 9.The member has the ability to feed her family three square meals a day throughout the year. 10.All family members are conscious about their health, can take immediate action for proper treatment, and can pay medical expenses in the event of illness.
