>In absolute terms there is undoubtedly more extreme poverty in India than the US. Why that is so is not as simple as the country's broken social institutions, we're still talking about the world's largest democracy here. I would imagine the caste system plays a part. Colonialism too.
Wealth disparity is not what Rayiner was talking about. He was talking about social infrastructure. You're actually adding to his point here.
What he meant was that the wealthy class in India have about the same spending power as the middle class in the United States. They are sheltered away from the extreme destitution that is on display everywhere in their country and don't interact with the poor at all. It's perhaps 10x what you'd see from a rich person walking in NYC avoiding a beggar asking for change on the street.
Rapid urbanization and the slow collapse of the caste system has left a vacuum in India's culture that leads to stories like that of the poor woman we saw on Hacker News just last week or so. That is the lack of social infrastructure. Not enough is being done, and not quickly enough, to positively impact the society in a meaningful way. As it is now, India is in a state of culture shock that does nothing to help its economic system.
Wealth disparity is not what Rayiner was talking about. He was talking about social infrastructure. You're actually adding to his point here.
What he meant was that the wealthy class in India have about the same spending power as the middle class in the United States. They are sheltered away from the extreme destitution that is on display everywhere in their country and don't interact with the poor at all. It's perhaps 10x what you'd see from a rich person walking in NYC avoiding a beggar asking for change on the street.
Rapid urbanization and the slow collapse of the caste system has left a vacuum in India's culture that leads to stories like that of the poor woman we saw on Hacker News just last week or so. That is the lack of social infrastructure. Not enough is being done, and not quickly enough, to positively impact the society in a meaningful way. As it is now, India is in a state of culture shock that does nothing to help its economic system.