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Date: Sun, 08 Nov 1998 20:42:27 -0800
From: Ted Toal <ttoal@jps.net>
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To: ppn <ppn@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: The Poor
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Jim Talboy said:

"My complaint, against the tide perhaps, is the insistence that "the poor," are

the problem.  Given that the USA economy demands consumption beyond the needs
of
its inhabitants, and especially the amount of waste  those citizens tolerate,
these arguments are particularly galling...."

This would seem to have been in response to Ed Glaze:

"It seems more
likely to me that the biggest sacrifices will eventually be made by the rich
overconsuming populace in countries like the US because they live so much
further from sustainability than poor people."

I'm afraid I don't understand Jim's point.  Perhaps he is under the impression
that overpopulationists blame the poor of the world for the overpopulation
problem.  But Ed pointed out that the "rich" of the world are the one's living
farther from sustainability, thereby acknowledging that they are as much or
more of a problem than the poor.  I suggest that we try to get beyond the idea
of "blame".  What is happening today in the world is far bigger than any one
person, group of people, nation, or group of nations.  There is no need to
place blame.  There is only a need for understanding the big picture, and
taking actions to change it.