Redit ran a list of what counts as Rich vs Poor in the USA. I expanded it a bit. Poor? Or just less-well-off. I contend you must leave the U.S. to find poor people. "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet"
| U.S.A. Rich | U.S.A Poor | Venezuelan/Cuban Socialist Rich | Third World Rich | Actually Poor | Mega-Rich |
| You order pizza because you want it. Not because it's $2. | You feed the kids fast-food because it's quick & cheap. | You get meat on Thursday – sometimes. | You have Flour, tomatoes & cheese; all at the same time. | Most days you get less than 1,200 calories. | Your chef puts truffles on the pizza. |
| You top-off your gas tank up aka "filing it up all the way rich." | You add just enough gas to get where you are going. | Gas is 25 cents a gallon but there is none. | You have a bicycle. | If you had a bicycle you would sell it for food. | You chauffeur keeps all the cars full. |
| Your vacations aren't just visiting family. | You visit grandma or Auntie because your folks need a rest. | No one works because they have to stand in line. | You have days where you can rest. | You have never had a vacation or day of rest – survival. | Vacations are always some place exotic. |
| You hire movers. | You borrow your uncles truck. | You cannot move without permission. | You own more than you can carry. | What you own is on your back. | You hire packer/movers & specially art movers. |
| You buy things without debating how badly you need it. | You sweat over every purchase (buy this or food). | You see a line, get in it & take what ever they have. You can trade it later. | You have extra things to barter with. | You are all you have to barter. | You never look at the price of anything. |
| You go to a psychologist for mental health. | You self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. | You are unhappy? They re-educate you with a cattle prod. | You are not scared 24/7. | You are beyond scared, death is a common event. | You go to a psychiatrist to get drugs for mental health. |
| You wear designer shirts/jeans/shoes to do yard work. | Your work clothes are your clothes. | Your clothes must last 10 years. | You have shoes. | You bind rags to your feet. | You own nothing but designer shirts/jeans/shoes and never to do yard work. |
| Your fridge has a water dispenser. | Your fridge works – most of the time. | No point. There is never anything extra to put in it. | You have potable water most of the time. | Stagnant water is all you have. | You drink only bottled water. |
| Your Doctor/Dentist visits aren't just emergencies. | Your family Doctor is the ER. | Healthcare is spectacular & free. If you get to the top of the que before you die. | There are doctors. | Death is the healer. | Your Doctor/Dentist visits are for touch ups (Botox,nips/tucks). |
| You have nice teeth. | You have basic fillings. | Stainless Steel – it lasts. | Your teeth are mostly there and still work. | You pull teeth is they are bad. | You have nice teeth and paid for them. |
| You do not panic if your car breaks down. | You ride the bus or walk anyway. | If you have a car, it is patched together from ancient parts. | You know someone who owns a car. | You panic if you sprain your ankle. | You do not panic you have four more at home. |
| You do not know EXACTLY how much money you have. | You know exactly how much money you have ($-0-). | Money is shit, Ration Coupons are what counts. | You have any money at all. | You have never has money. | You have no idea how much money you have, your people take care of this. |
| Your parents buy you a car. Bonus if it's new. | You got a car in your "Happy Meal". | You may get to ride in a car. | Your parents haven't considered selling you. | A car is something the police/army have. | Your parents buy you a sports car, vintage or exotic. |
| You get a new mattress every few years. | Your mattress is slightly lumpy. | The current wait for a mattress is 12+ years. | You don't sleep on the floor. | You sleep on the ground. | You have no idea the maids take care of it. |
| You buying new furniture, not scrounging from relatives, thrift stores or garage sales. | You "shop at the curb" for furniture on trash day. | You make your own. Furniture is not a "peoples priority". | You don't squat on the ground for meals. | Dirt is your furniture. | Your decorator buys designer furniture or "used" furniture aka priceless antiques. |
| You hire people to: cook, clean, mow or remove snow. | You get hired to cook, clean, mow or remove snow. | You only hire people if you are a Party leader. | You know what a lawn is. | You eat grass to quiet your stomach. | You hire people to take care of your: Tennis Court, Pool, Orchids, Rare Plants. |
| You and everyone have their own room. | You share a room. | You wait 20 years to be "assigned" a larger apartment. | Everyone has a room but it's the same one. | Occasionally you do not sleep outdoors. | You and everyone have their own room in each/all of your houses. |
| Your house has a living room, dinning room or den/family room. | You house has more than one room. | Your house has cement floors. | You have a hut. | You have no house. | Your house has all these: formal dinning room, music room, library, game room, bar room, gym. |
| You order an appetizer and/or dessert at a restaurant. | You order extra fries a McD. | Only Party Leaders, Foreigners and Black Marketers can afford it. | You know what a restaurant is. | The concept of being served food seems ridiculous. | You chose restaurants by the number of Michelin Stars. . |
| Your parents didn't€™t fight over money. | You fight everybody over money. | Nobody fights over money - it's worthless or there is none. | Neither parent starved to death. | Your parents starved to death. | Your parents fight over money, but it's in the millions. |
| Your meals at month end do not depend on bill status. | Everything at month end depends on bill status. | Your meals depend on luck. Find the right line & they did not run out. | Meals don't depend on how much it rained. | Meals depend on your resourcefulness. | Nothing depends on bill status. |
| You heat the house so you did not need a sweater. | You heat the house – if the power is till on. | You bundle up because the utilities are off most of the time. | You have firewood. | You sometimes crowd someones fire when it is cold. | You heat all of your houses year-round so your pets do not get cold. . |
| Your house is big enough for stairs. | Your house has stairs because its an apartment . | If your house has stairs you share it with another family. | There is a ladder you can use. | . | Your house is big enough for an elevator. |
| You can take something from the fridge without being yelled at. | Your mom whups you because ate tomorrows dinner in the fridge. | There is never anything in the fridge. | Seriously, a fridge & electricity?? at the same time?. | There is never extra food around. | You yell at the staff when something you want is not in the fridge. |
| You have fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. | You can't keep fruit from spoiling. | You have fresh fruit/vegetables IF you steal them. | You have fresh fruit/vegetables IF you pick them. | In season you can steal them from a farmer. | You have ripe fresh fruit and vegetables replaced daily. |
| You went to Summer camp, not church camp or youth authority camp. | You have never been nature west of a numbered street. | You go to camp every year to learn about this communist paradise. | You camp all year round. | Camping would be glorious. | You went to All-inclusive resorts with your nanny. |
| You go to Sit-down Restaurants Bonus points for cloth napkins. | You think eating inside at McD's is living high. | Only Party Leaders, Foreigners and Black Marketers can afford or go. | You have a stove. | Most of you food is consumed raw or cold. | You have no idea that restaurants have paper napkins. |
| You got presents that were not clothes or school supplies. | You get socks, school paper or designer sneakers. | Presents are meaningful; somebody did-without to give it to you. | Someone gives you something they made. | You make whatever you have/find into coverings. | All of your presents come from stores with locations on Rodeo Drive. |
| You got new Clothes - not hand-me-downs or thrift store. | Everything you wear was handed down from siblings or neighbor kids. | If you have new clothes they are the wrong size as the commissar orders production. | Mom sews something new before your one dress wears out. | You get clothes from the recently dead or careless tourists. | You got new the latest designer clothes every week. |
| You got Salon/Barber Shop haircuts - Not a kitchen special. | You hair is cut in the kitchen. | You go to "Kitchen-Cuts" Barber Shop (aka Mom w/ scissors) | You know what a barber is. | Your hair is long but no by choice. | Your stylist comes to the house as do the mani/pedi folks. |
| You had a duvet. (or even know what one is). | You have a blanket, but sometimes have to share. | You salvage old cloth scraps to make blankets | You have an animal skin or rags to keep you warm. | You freeze. | You had a duvet filled with Siberian Goose down (but don't even know what that is). |
| You have food delivered. | If the car works we do drive through. | You can get nothing without waiting in line. | Your Fast Food: chase it, kill it, cook it, eat it. | Fast food is running after stealing bread. | You have food delivered by the butler from the chef downstairs in your kitchen. |
| You never wake-up Hungry. Except when dieting. | You sometimes wake-up hungry. | You always wake up hungry. | You wake up. | You always wake up hungry. | You have never been hungry. |
| You fly first class. | You have seen airplanes. | Only Military, Party Members & Black Marketers. | You walk everywhere. | You see them overhead. | You have your own aircraft (plural). |
| You have been to another country. | You have been to another State. | You cannot leave the country. No one would come back. | You have been to the next village. | Your world is your village. | You travel internationally often, sometimes just to shop. |
| You own a purebred dog. | You "adopted" a stray pit bull. | Protein, but let's not go there. | You don't eat you dog. | You want to get a dog for food. | Your have a kennel of purebred dogs but don't show them. |
| You ride horses occasionally. | You bet the horses at a local bookies. | Protein, but let's not go there. | You have seen a horse. | Horses are good, it can feed the village for a week. | You have a stable, horse trainers and racing colors. |
| Your house is air-conditioned. | You can open a window. | Your window is broken, so it is always open. | You own a hand fan. | The weather is the weather, live with it. | All your houses are air conditioned but you move for better weather. |
| You gamble in Las Vegas for thrills. | You play the numbers in your neighborhood. | Speaking is gambling; you might get reported to the authorities. | You cross the alligator infested river for thrills. | You get thrills from just staying alive. | You gamble in Monte Carlo or Baden-Baden "to be seen". |
| You have a personal trainer. | You exercise so you can be a "baller". | "Personal trainers" make sure you follow the Party Line" "or else". | You are fit just surviving. | Survival is your trainer. | You have a personal gym, trainer, yogi and masseuse. |
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