The radical causes of poverty are not colonization, or the multi-nationals or the egoism of rich countries...
The root of the problem is that first one must produce if one is to consume: One consumes if one produces, and in poor countries not enough is produced to maintain the rate of growth of the population...
The following are facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau, taken from a variety of government reports: 46% of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. 80% of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36% of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning. Only 6% of poor households are overcrowded; two thirds have more than two rooms per person. The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.) Nearly three quarters of poor households own a car; 31% own two or more cars. 97%of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions. 78% have a VCR or DVD player. 62% have cable or satellite TV reception. 89% own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.
