Poverty

I recently watched a small chunk of the new CBS show, 2 Broke Girls. I turned it off because the brunette lead annoys me and both leads are, in my opinion, bad actors.

But what really bothered me was to see one of the girls pull out her iPhone and go online to check Facebook. I wondered: Has our culture become so greedy that you can own a $500 phone, pay for monthly internet service on it, and still be considered "broke"?

Now I realize that some people may be broke because they have frivolously spent money on things they didn't need (like iPhones), and now they have no money to pay for things they do need (like housing and shelter). And I find it hard to have pity on such people - they got themselves into that boat. And I also realize there are truly broke people in America. But they are not the people with iPhones.

I consider myself middle-class. Not lower, middle. But I had to negotiate $10 a month off our rent. And when my cell phone plan is up (which, by the way, doesn't include a data plan beyond text messaging - which is also not a necessity), I get whatever phone they are offering as a promo for $0-$20. I shop the Kohl's sales. My most expensive pair of shoes cost $25, and I got it with a gift card. I eat out once every month or two.

This is precisely why I consider myself middle-class. I can pay my $10 lower-than-normal rent each month. I have a cell phone. With a text messaging plan, to boot. I have ample clothes from my Kohl's sales. I have more than one pair of shoes. I eat out, ever.

In America, we consider people impoverished if they don't have a choice of what they'll eat for dinner. In the rest of the world, many people are thankful if they can eat dinner at all. In America, we complain about piles of laundry. In the rest of the world, people have one outfit to wear while they wash their only other outfit. If they're lucky.

We are so spoiled that we think smart phones are a necessity. We have no idea how lucky we have it.