What is poor?

In the United States we hear an awful lot of talk about the plight of the poor. But what is poor? It is, after all, a relative term. In a subdivision full of Lexus sedans the guy driving a Ford may seem poor. But if we continue to define the poor in relative terms then we will forever be the dog chasing its own tail, for relative lack of wealth can never be overcome.

Let me show you what poor is:

This is a brief clip I filmed during my recent trip to Honduras. These people are poor by any stretch of the imagination. These aren't even the worst homes -- a term I use hesitatingly -- and a not uncommon scene during the drive west from San Pedro Sula.

Here are some photos:

Note the stream next door, which is probably also the primary source of water for washing clothes and perhaps drinking/cooking. It probably also contains a variety of contaminants, for example fecal matter from the cows that drink from the river further upstream as well as what other people have dumped in it.

I suspect that most Americans have little idea what being truly poor really is. After all, the Heritage Foundation notes that most people who fit the definition of being poor in America own a car and the overwhelming majority own a television. We have it so good and don't even know it.

Here's more food for thought: during the roughly 10 days I was in the country, with all of its attendant poverty, I had exactly zero adults approach me asking for money, something that happens on an almost daily basis in my neighborhood in DC.

Lastly, I will note that Democrats, who profess to have a monopoly on compassion for the poor and blessed with particularly keen insight on foreign affairs, largely opposed the CAFTA free trade deal that included Honduras. Even if you concede for the sake of argument that CAFTA would result in a net loss of U.S. jobs to places such as Honduras, so what? Based on what I have seen, they deserve it and need it more than we do.