I have been to several developing countries. There was definitely more poor people there.
However, even if SF beggars might end up having more dollars in their pockets at the end of a day than someone in a developing country, the quality of life that they get is not so different. No shoes, spending the day sitting on a street, begging, sleeping on a cardboard box somewhere. SF weather is more benign than other what most developing countries have, granted.
My point is: I expected more from the wealthiest nation in the world. They have more than enough to dress, feed and shelter every one of their citizens, many times. Developing countries simply don’t. The fact that you are putting them together in the same phrase kind of makes my point. “Better than a developing nation” is an incredibly low bar to apply to the US.
Where is our resident homeless/hopefully formerly homeless HN resident? I hope she’s doing well.
I don’t think enough people realize that once you fall below a certain threshold, it’s virtually impossible to get back out without a lot of assistance.
I have spent a lot of time in GCC countries (Saudi, Qatar, UAE, Oman). It’s worse there in the sense that more people are dirt poor, but SF is worse in terms of more people being rich.
What I mean is, in UAE/Saudi, the poor people are just as bad as the poor people in SF. But there are very, very few rich people. There’s also a lot of not dirt poor people (still poor).
SF had so many many rich people and there or there are just as bad as the poor elsewhere.
Come to Asia. You'll see people far richer than those in Silicon Valley next to people who parasites and diseases the Western world eliminated 100 years ago.
Not to say it isnt worth trying to fix.