Problems with Measuring Poverty

The Economics Club had a few guests at the last meeting--a debate on the minimum wage--playing bongos, deploring the living conditions of America's poor, and calling for "progressive" distributions of wealth. The assertions of how destitute the lower classes truly are remained one of the most relevant but conflicted points of the day. But, what are the parameters of such conditions? How do we gauge poverty in New Orleans, where the standard of living is low, compared to that in New York, where it is markedly higher? Moreover, how do we make similar comparisons between poverty levels in the US and Tanzania? Let's look at some statistics. 46% of America's poor own their own home and 76% have air conditioning. Larger than 66% of America's poor have more than two rooms of living space per person. 97% of the people considered poor in the US own color television sets. Even 62% them have either cable or satellite television. Tanzanians, on the other hand, don't have energy or the property rights necessary for any of these amenities. Fire (!!!) is the chief energy resource in this truly impoverished country. Can you really picture the majority of America's "poor" lighting fires with sticks?
Furthermore, isn't malnourishment a prominent problem facing those in the lower classes? Apparently not in America, where the greatest problem confronting the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder is obesity. In Tanzania, however, food is scarce enough to make even Kate Moss look portly.
Maybe instead of focusing on giving poor Americans more handouts as is the practice in Tanzania (they receive TONS of foreign aid and all wealth earned is swiftly redistributed into welfare programs and Julius Nyerere's pockets), we ought to focus on enhancing the economic factors that make our poor so much better off in absolute terms of poverty. The only way to stimulate economic growth and socioeconomic mobility--something that hasn't occured in Tanzania--is by letting people get rich--something Tanzania hasn't allowed and America's expanding welfare policies diminish. We should strive to help our poor continue to make absolute gains instead of paying so much attention to relative levels of wealth. Cuba, Tanzania, the USSR, and Red China all embarked on legislation intended to equalize wealth across the population. Disaster and destitution followed. In contrast, the US has a history of private property rights and self-determination that preclude us from the hazards of socialism. If we want the problems confronting our poor to become more bearable, America ought to reject the coercive distributions of wealth advocated by bongo players throughout the world. Individual autonomy alone will help our lower classes climb the ladder of poverty and avoid a fate similar to that of Tanzania.