American Wealth vs. Third World Poverty

The United States is undeniably the richest and most powerful nation ever on the face of the earth. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the U.S. is larger than the next two biggest economies combined, which in China and Japan. The U.S. economy outproduces the combined economies of over forty-seven poor nations, which account for 53 percent of the population of the world. These forty-seven nations include China and India. But on an individual scale, just how does the income of the average American compare to the average income of the poor of the world?

In 2000 the per capita income of the U.S. was 360 percent higher than the world’s average per capita income (CPI). The U.S. boasted a CPI of $34,100 while the average world CPI was $7,410 (measured in international dollars). This does not give an accurate picture because the world’s average CPI includes the U.S and the other wealthy nations of Europe. Therefore, lets look at the 56 percent of the world’s population who comprise the world’s poor.

According to statistics from the World Bank, 56 percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. They survive on an income of less than $730 per year or $2 per day. Half of the worlds poor who comprise 28 percent of the world’s population live on $1 or less per day. In comparison, the average American earns from 46 to 92 times more than the poverty stricken comprising over half the world’s population.

If you are like me, you might say but things are so much cheaper in poverty stricken countries. Yes, many things are cheaper but we now live in a global market. Food is an international commodity. The cultivation of third world food is usually much more labor intensive and is often more expensive than food grown on America’s mechanized farms. Yet, American’s spend and average of $3,400 per year per person on food and beverages. That 365 percent more than the total average income of over half the people in the world.

Accounting for every man, woman and child in the U.S., Americans spend an average of $0.20 per day on cosmetics, perfume and skin and hair care products; over $0.50 a day on jewelry; nearly $3 on furniture and other household goods; over $3 per day on clothing; gambling totals almost $6 per day; over $7 a day is spent on automobiles and trucks; and over $9 on food. Americans simply live a lifestyle that is beyond imagination for most of the poor in the world.

The Bible describes a nation called Babylon. Revelation 17 and 18 say that Babylon will be destroyed. God says that this destruction is his judgment on the nation. Revelation 18 clearly describes Babylon as the richest nation on earth. It is the nation to whom the merchants of the earth sell their goods. The U.S. is the largest importer in the world. In 2000, the U.S. imported $5.867 trillion in goods and services. Americans need to repent and turn back to God.