Russian Poverty Compared to the US

EIN News says, "Russians Living in Poverty 'Up by 2 Million Since 2010' The number of people in Russia living below the poverty line has grown by about two million in the first six months of 2011, new figures released by the state statistics service said. (france24.com)".

I thought we might take a look at how Russian poverty compares with US poverty.

With the 2 million increase in Russia, the stated poverty level is 15%. The poverty level in the United States is also 15%. These levels are based on poverty levels, which are different in the two countries.

For a family of four in each of the two countries, the Russian poverty level is $9800 per year, while the US poverty level is $22,100 per year.

We don't have much detail on what goes into the Russian poverty level calculation, but in the US, public housing, Medicaid, employee healthcare, and food stamps are not considered in the poverty level. In other words, the American family of four may still have a real income above $22,100 and be considered below the poverty level.

A quick attempt to equalize the percentage poverty level for the two countries gives the stated level of 15% for the US. The calculated value for Russia on the same basis would be about 34%.

Americans seem to be pretty well-off economically compared to Russians. Consider also that 80% of four-member families in Bangladesh live below the international poverty level of $2700 per year.

Does that pull your heartstrings? It shouldn't. Those people have developed their own civilization, which likely is not based on monetary considerations, and they seem happy with it. It is not up to us to judge their degree of unhappiness based upon figures such as above. I am personally unhappy with the fact that 15% of Americans receive public housing, Medicaid, employee healthcare and food stamps, when they have an opportunity to supply for themselves in this great land.