International Poverty
On average, do poor people in the United States have a higher material standard of living than poor people in Europe?
Correct Answer
The "preferred" material "welfare indicator" of the World Bank is "consumption," a comprehensive measure of all goods and services consumed by people. This includes everything they personally purchase, all government benefits, and all private charity. Adjusted for purchasing power, the poorest 20% of people in the USA consume more goods and services per person than the national averages for ALL people (not just the poorest 20%) in most nations of Europe and other developed countries around the world, such as Denmark, Iceland, Japan, and New Zealand. In opposition to this reality, the NY Times has alleged that the USA is "the poorest" developed nation in the world. That claim is rooted in statistics that exclude all non-cash welfare benefits (like government housing) and compare incomes within nations, not between them. The Times spread this misinformation in a video that decries "fake news" and declares it is a "myth" that the USA is "the greatest nation on earth."
DocumentationInternational Consumption NY Times Misinformation