Country with the least Poverty

Bangladesh. . . .extreme poverty.

I remember when i was a kid and my parents would take me to Bangladesh after every 2 years.  Every time the plane was getting ready to land, I would see the greens and rich soil of my home country.  Many of them under floods from the Mansoon season. 

Then we would finally get off and drive through the city of Dhaka.  During our long frequent trips to Dhaka I would always sense some kind of improvement with the airport, or the roads, or some other thing.  Though there was one scene that would never change.  The scene of a young girl with burnt skin and a missing eye, an old boney man with a missing arm, or even a young little boy rolling on a wagon with no legs, begging to me, right by my car door. 

It hit me the most the first time i visited Bangladesh in 1993 of November.  We were on the road and came to a red light, an old thin armless man and his young little son went around begging in the streets to every single person in a car or rikshaw.  They finally came and stood by our car.  My mom started digging inside her purse for change and right when she got money out and was about to give it to the old tired man (who was so happy and thankful that he finally got something for his son ) through the car window,  the traffic light turned green and our driver pressed the gas so hard that not only did the man fall from the force of the car, but he never got the money that mom wanted to give him.  That driver was in some kind of hurry.  We had a lousy driver.  That night the road was insane, people drove on the local road like they were on the freeway.

I will never forget the look on that old man and his son as our car sped off, leaving them in the middle of the crazy road empty-handed. 

I came across many homeless people in Bangladesh, and everytime i saw one, it just made me think of that man who we could have helped but didn't.

America. . .I see them!

Bums on the street outside of Georgia State University!  That is the best example i can bring up.  Atlanta is full of homeless poeple, unfortunately.    On the streets, inside Marta (A crappy version of the Metro), and Ghetto areas near the city.

During winter times i would see some of the homeless covered under a small ripped off sweater, freezing, under the tree in some park.  I would see a lot of them drinking.  Most of them just looked very angry.  Always yelled out mean things to people.  Very distractive.  Once, this one homeless man called my bestfriend a black duck.  No idea where that came from, but that's how random the comments got. 

Angry people you don't want to mess with.  Not even have eye contact.  Avoid!

 But I think about the kids that grow up in this environment.  How can they have a bright future if their in such circumstances?   Growing up in the ghettos is difficult to survive.  The results of such poverty leads to crimes.  A reason why so much crime exists in the states (gas station robberies). 

Sweden.... UTOPIA

I don't see homeless people.  It's not that i havn't noticed any, I just don't see them.  Can't find them. 

Ok, I did see a couple poeple who looked like immigrants, going around in the metro asking for change. Just a few times.  They hardly bother anybody.  I am told that they are not really homeless, but they are just taking advantage of being poor?  Don't know what it is.  But i have not seen any homeless people in the streets. 

Sweden is known to have one of the lowest rate of poverty.

Sweden is actually trying really hard to reduce the percentage of homeless to half the size of what it is now. 

I'm glad with what they do with taxes.  THey take care of a hell of a lot of things.  And that's why the country has a very high standard of living.  One of the highest in this world.  

It's the safest country in the world.  Absolutely incredible.