QUOTE(Midknight @ Apr 24 2008, 09:25 AM)

Some people in poverty are happy with their lives and circumstances. How could you motivate some that have no desire or focus to change to anothers lifestyle. Anyone have any persuasive sales pitches. Its like someone trying to sale you something that you dont want or someone trying to draw guilt upon them to stimulate their desires to change.
Agreed.
QUOTE(Tom @ Apr 24 2008, 09:20 PM)

For prosperity to exist there also has to be poverty. There is nothing we can do about it on the scale of our economic implementations, because our politics and economies are national (and we also have global markets) rather than based in small communities. Hence why in the first world, a lot of communities are equal in regard to poverty, because they manage things on a tiny scale independent of the rest of the country.
I do agree with you on the most part of your post '@tom'
I do not think you always need poverty to have prosperity. Economically talking, the 'economy' is a circle.
People invest, people work, people produce, people get money for production, people spend their money on their (and other) productions - so they - in a way invest for others to create - build - work and others to produce and make money for their own production.... and the circle continues...
If everybody work, everybody produces, everybody makes money, everybody consume, everybody live in the circle of economy. Now ok.. you can be working and be poor (its what is happening in france at this moment) but that is only because people can NOT handle 'their lives'
I am sure you are aware of : you can make 100$ a month and save 50$, and make 100 000$ a month and save 1$.
But everybody can work and everyone will be happy. In no way you need poverty for prosperity.
Also, i think 'poor' people give no advantage in prosperity. Since they are poor (again economically speaking) they do not consume much so they do not participate in the forming of the economy... basically they are doing no good for the prosperity.
But yes, nowadays its whats happening... people are poor.
But i will go with Tom on this one.. "it is up to the individual to make sure they are not one of the few who falls below the line"
For example : immigration in France has increase really highly from Africa. Most of the people that immigrate, unfortunately have no papers, so they can not work, they have no money and end up poor (not always the case in France since in France the social care is really good. You can have no papers, no work, no name but still receive money from the government (see how well the example is with the 'poor people not doing good to economy of country')) but to continue, they have no money so they end up poor. Well they can choose to stay in their countries and not end up poor (as poor like they are in the country they are moving to). They actually choose to come (for the comfort - i have come to believe it is for the social care in France) but they actually choose to come and end up poor.
And also like any other places where people do not get the chance to be born in in wealthy family... but hey, people survive that !... everybody has it chance !