Why You Are A Rich Person In The World

[W31rd0]

If you are reading this, then you should know that you are one of the richest people in the world.

1. Clean Running Water

You probably have clean running water, and clean running water is easy to get. It's so easy that you just have to press a button in any public location and drink all the water you want! You don't have to walk a mile to the nearest pond and pray that you don't catch waterborne illnesses. But even with FREE clean water, you probably know a few individuals who prefer to buy soft drinks, fruit juices, coffee, tea, and other tasty beverages over inexpensive drinkable water.

2. Sewage

Everybody needs to eat and drink, and afterwards, everybody needs to poop. Where do all the poop and pee go? To the toilet! With a functional sewage system, you are confident that the drinking water at water fountains is clean and drinkable.

3. Electricity

If you are reading this right now, then you probably have a computer at home or use a public computer at the public library, supplied by a constant stream of electricity. You probably use many things that require electricity - refrigerator, stove, car, telephone/cell phone/mobile device, toys, watch, etc. Your very existence depends on electricity. Instead of foraging for food, you exchange your labor for symbols and use these symbols to survive in this electricity-powered world.

4. Meat

If you have the ability to grow your own meat or can afford to buy the meat from somebody else who does the job of cultivating animals for meat, then you probably are a very rich person, because it is very costly to produce meat than it is to produce domesticated plants, fungi, and algae. Even the poor in your society can afford to eat meat in the form of a McDonalds hamburger or McDonalds beef tallow-laden French fries!

5. Comfortable House

Your house is luxurious enough to have a gas or electric stove (often with an air vent), a refrigerator, a sink, a countertop, bathtub/shower connected to the water heater, toilet, mirror, maybe some soft carpeting, a roof, and some insulation. This is the good life. Many people in the world don't have the luxury of a warm bubble bath, indoor plumbing, constant temperature control for food to maintain freshness, and a clean stove that doesn't damage the lungs. If you have these luxuries, then you should consider yourself one of the richest people of the world.

The Disadvantages of Being Rich

Although everybody aspires to be rich and have a comfortable life, the life of the rich has its own disadvantages by the very same characteristics. Good hygiene? Well, the hygiene hypothesis suggests that the rich have very clean lives - perhaps, too clean - that the super-cleanliness is suppressing the natural development of the immune system and causing immune-related disorders and allergies. High consumption of cattle, swine, birds, and fish is draining the Earth's resources; and a disproportionate amount of grain-fed meat and dairy in the diet is far too unbalanced to be healthy. Being rich may have its own pitfalls, but if we are mindful about what we do, we can live richly without the negative aspects of too much wealth.

[oddwaffle]

A guy live in a huge house, feasting on vegetables and a bunch of servant, ranch, horses and plenty of forest would be called rich even though he has no electricity, running water, education, health care, a phone, an address, car or anything 'rich'.

A guy living in a tiny room enough space for a bed, a few cheap clothes, dine on instant noodles (with clean water and a microwave) and work from paycheck to paycheck. He still has 50k to go on his college debt. He works for $10 an hour. He's not rich even with a cell phone.

There is relative poverty and absolute poverty. I probably don't need a cell phone in a poor country, I probably don't need to pay any taxes, rent or anything other than food. As I move up in the world, things start to get expensive. 1st would be the rent since I'm not in the middle of nowhere and the land has value. Then I will have to pay for clothes since no clothes can get me arrested. Then electricity because I apparently need too see stuff at night and I can't just chop down trees to cook. Then the gas for my car so I can go to work. Then the cell phone because people need to call me. Next comes the internet bill, my college class debt, my credit cards and such.

[W31rd0]

The guy in the second paragraph should give up the cell phone and instead use e-mail as the main point of contact. It is possible to get an e-mail address for free, and Internet access is freely provided at a public library (well, if you live in the USA). The guy should also consider living on the streets in a car, as that is cheaper than renting. With $10 an hour, you can spend just $1 on a lighter (that's the price for a lighter in my area) and buy a candle at the Dollar Tree store. Then, you may use the little flame to cook your food one at a time.

[oddwaffle]

Apparently you need an address to do stuff or get a driver licensed and receive mails securely. You also need a phone number so people can call you. Trust me, I worked with someone without a working phone before. I let him go later because I can't call the guy in for work.

If you think that using email and public computers, public address or sleepying in your car will work as a 'life' then you should try it. It is insanely hard to do so without losing something.

[W31rd0]

I'd rather run away from society and live by myself in the wilderness. Though, I may not last long, because I don't have the right survival skills to find edible plants and animals to eat. That said, I would rather starve than put up with society's demands.

[oddwaffle]

Yeah, a lot of people do that. None of them know what it means to be truly poor. The moment you throw away whatever that is left of your conscience and your life, that's when you realize what it means to be hungry.

[W31rd0]

Alternatively, you can adopt a squirrel mentality. Put food and safety first. You don't need anything else; you just need to know how to defend yourself and obtain food using whatever means, even if that means digging through trash bins and dumpsters.

[oddwaffle]

Don't sleep, sleep on top of your stuff, shut near by, don't take baths? Yeah, a very quick way to die of disease. Or get robbed or someone just want to beat a homeless dude.

Did you know that most crimes, including murder, acted on homeless and poor people go unresolved? Nobody bothers. Justice only extent to the amount of gain people can get back.

[W31rd0]

Squirrels still have it tougher. They can get hit by vehicles on the road, and nobody cares. It's a dog-eat-dog world.

Similarly, if a human has the mindset of a squirrel, then he wouldn't care if "justice is served". He just wants to live in the moment. That includes outwitting or outcompeting predators. In the natural world, there are always predators waiting to get you. Sometimes, you have to know how to outwit a predator, so that you can live and the predator can prey on someone else.

[oddwaffle]

Or you can just work and survive instead.

It's a terrifying feeling to be the hunted. Most people die within days inside a forest. Even experts could die too. The 1st night without fire and secured shelter?

But then again, squirrels have little to do with rich and poor. They are usually poor. Life expectancy would be 1/3 of what they can live.

[W31rd0]

Just before running away from society, one catch a YouTube video about how to make a fire and a bunch of other wilderness survival strategies, like how to find food and defend yourself against wild animals with fire.

[oddwaffle]

People had been doing that for quite awhile... It's fantastic. You don't grow old. You just die at around 30 years old.

Probably might want to practice extreme fasting. You can go for weeks without food and you still need to find food.

[W31rd0]

First of all, food is most important in a person's life. Without food, you will be dead. Therefore, you should reasonably spend a great portion of your time on securing a food supply, collecting food and saving up food for the upcoming winter.

Second of all, there are many things in the world that can kill people. If you happen to die by consumption of a toxic plant or attack by wild animal, then you should remember that you are part of an universal energy market. The energy from your body directly feeds another organism. Death is a natural part of life.

[Hidden_P]

Well I must be poor considering I can't afford any of this.

Please donate to www. hidden_p-ispoorandneedshelp. com
Just £2 a month make sure hidden can buy underwear (because she hasn't for the past 3 years), clothes, contribute to her disabled fathers mortgage, pay for his bandages and more.
She's asking less than a cup of coffee.
Without your help hidden p has to continue freeloading off her dad because her country has no jobs. In the past year hidden p has only earns £160 because assholes won't pay their bills. £13 a month is all hidden has had.

Please spare a thought for us poor bastards at home. Dial 0800 NOBODYGIVESAFUCK for more information

[notallthere98]

"If you are reading this, then you should know that you are one of the richest people in the world"

Me: *Sitting in a poorly insulated trailer, thinking about the $12 in my bank account and how I can make that last the rest of the month, reminiscing about all the times we couldn't pay the bills and had to keep our food in a cooler and use candles at night, wondering how long I have to wait until I can go to the food bank again, trying to figure out a way to ask my doctor if I can pay him next month for the medication I need now*

Me: Yeah, I'm so rich

[John_Doesnt]

I love this comment.

[notallthere98]

@John_Doesnt Thanks

[curiousnorway]

I thinks the writer thought most of the readers are from the first world. Most of the population in the first world have more wealth and a better life quality than people from the second and third world in general speaking.

[notallthere98]

@curiousnorway Which in general is true. Just not for poor people in the first world

[JulieXO]

What you described has more to do with luck and privilige to be born in a politically and economically stable country. To me, being rich means being able to afford a luxurious home, to travel, to buy expensive clothes, to have a maid\cook\driver etc, not having a roof over your head.

[Jager66]

YES! Exactly.. yet people are still unhappy about their wealth and always "need" more. It's so dysfunctional!

People at the poverty line now often live with the same home conveniences a middle class family had in the 70's.

[JuliaHarris]

I don't see your point. Should I apologize for where I was born? Because i'm not ''checking my privilege'' or any such rubbish. Life is s**t, and there is nothing that an ordinary person can do about it.

[Cccgala]

I agree. 😊 We're capable of surviving at the very least and having the necessary commodities for everyday survival is a long-term proof that you're financially capable of fending for yourself.

[writing_essays]

I agree. My parents are rich but I am not rich without them and I don't complain because I eat 2-3 meals a day while people in africa are starving to death.

[zagor]

Yeah, my Grandfather had to poop in an outhouse and draw water from a well when he was a kid. And cut firewood to keep the house warm, and cut chicken's heads off for dinner.

[curiousnorway]

It was other times then. The standers changes with time. Something which is average in the past may not be average in the future and visa versa. In medieval time spices, sugar and coffee were luxury in Scandinavia. But today it's not luxury, but average and very common among most people.

[Cosytoasty]

Good take and so very true. If you're born in the west you're in the top percentile of the world's population by default.

[RealandGenuine26]

Amen , God has blessed me so much. I still feel bad for the ones that aren't as fortunate though. He's also blessed me to be in a loving family.

[steveguitar]

You're right, but if it's difficult to get a job then you are probably going to be out on your ass or going to school for the rest of your life.

[steveguitar]

Which is a fault of modern societies. Where having a job will still make you insecure

[LiveFreeorDieHard]

I have a house, front yard and back yard, clean water and all that but I'm only considers low income because of how much I make, mmmm interesting.

[alice55]

Even in the western world some people doesn't have that...

[IsabelGuimaraes]

You're right. I see people say they're poor all the time and that makes me angry.

[notallthere98]

Believe it or not, you don't have to live in a third world country to be poor. Are there people worse off than us? Yeah, absolutely. Doesn't mean there aren't poor people in first world countries

[IsabelGuimaraes]

@notallthere98 I don't live in a first world country and it's obvious there are poor people in the first world countries. Duh. I'm talking about people that have everything necessary to survive and be healthy and they still say they're poor, just because they can't afford things they want (but don't need). Do you have some problem interpreting texts?

[notallthere98]

Well you gave so much information in the first text, you're right, there was no possible way to misinterpret that

[IsabelGuimaraes]

@notallthere98 You'd only misinterpret that if you assume I'm dumb or if you are dumb. It's obvious I wouldn't get angry at real poor people that say they're poor. Then it's obvious I'm talking about middle class people that say they're poor. And every person that has everything necessary to survive and be healthy is at least middle class (not poor). And I see them saying they're poor all the time and that's ridiculous.

[notallthere98]

How was any of that obvious? All you said was you get angry when people say they are poor. If I'd known you meant middle-class people, I would have been like "yeah, same". You gave no indication whatsoever who you were talking about

[IsabelGuimaraes]

@notallthere98 Again, it's obvious I wouldn't get angry at real poor people that say they're poor. Except if you assume I'm dumb. And then all you'd have to reply is: "Do you get angry at poor people who say they're poor? Are you dumb or haven't I understood what you meant?". And not what you first said, that had nothing to do with what I've first said.

[notallthere98]

Again, you never made it obvious who you meant in your original post. Like I said, I know now you mean the middle class and I agree with you, but you didn't make that clear in the first text. All you said was you get mad at people who say they are poor. How was anyone supposed to know that you specifically meant the middle class? This post made it seem like first world poverty wasn't a thing because at least we have clean water and a waste disposal system. When you agreed with the post, I thought you were implying there were no poor people in countries with the basic necessities

[IsabelGuimaraes]

@notallthere98 I'll reply to you later since I'm busy now.

[John_Doesnt]

Yeah, with the $11 in my bank account I'm sooo rich.

[W31rd0]

In rural Guatamala, many people may earn as much as $1 a day. Consider yourself fortunate that you at least have clean water in public places. :)

[John_Doesnt]

People in Native American tribes (In the US) are at about %90 unemployment and do not have clean water. The water will actually catch fire if they put a flame to it.

[W31rd0]

That's why I write in the beginning: "If you are reading this, then you should know that you are one of the richest people in the world."

Did I mention the Native American tribes in the United States? No. I mentioned you, the reader, at your computer right now, talking to me. :)

[John_Doesnt]

they have computers too. Public libraries give out free wifi.

[W31rd0]

Yes, and they likely can find free food in garbage bins. So can you.

Did you know that the United States has a large amount of food waste? Whether it's from the farm, the restaurant, or the supermarket, there is food waste everywhere. For the farm, you may have to ask the farmer to pick up the leftover unharvested crops or risk getting prosecuted for trespassing. For the restaurant/supermarket, you can try looking in garbage bins.

[clampfan101]

And most of all, we are rich in God's love and forgiveness! 😇

[Djaaaay]

This is a genralality and a bad anology of something you know nothing of.

[CountryLesbian]

Good, plus I'm dating a girl who make be the one

[CountryLesbian]

*might

[Maxemeister]

Have my upvote!

[BigBallerSodaPop]

That's why I don't shower

[BMWE92M3]

I get ur point