everybody has there shortcomings. Yes we as a nation (the US) should do more to help the world but hey we have our own problems.

My pride of my country and my faith in my religion clash alot.

I know that I earn about 30,000 a year IN america...Thats before taxes...after the fact..The area I live in (Tempe Az), Is a somewhat technology and college area, The Level of cost of living in my area puts me at poverty level..I do not make enough to put the 30% of earned income into an apartment..Average 1bedroom in my area is 600$, I actually rent at 480$, But It is still approximatly 20$ more than my budgeted rent should be..

I try to follow the standard principal of not living in a place that takes more than 30% of my gross income..But I also attend school so it really puts me under the poverty level..So much for my 2 year degree and 12 dollar an hour wage...Maybe more school and student loans will fix that...

paxx,

I can agree about the difficulty of overcoming that kind of situation and the need for pride and self confidence. That kind of pride comes from doing things for yourself and getting results. It does help to have some options to allow the chance to do something.

Part of the problem is that we have (here in the US) created something of a dependent subculture, a group of people who are so inured through a few generations of exposure to the idea of government support and a sense of entitlement that even when the options are presented to them, they are unwilling to take them. And part of my position is that I would hate to see such a circumstance happen to others (though it still does).

Even that isn't a dead end, or a reason to give up on these people (I grew up supported by a single parent who had to depend on welfare for a while, so I'm not unsympathetic to the situation), but let's not repeat those mistakes.

kona,

It isn't an either-or situation. If we do it right, by addressing, however tentatively, the root causes, provide, as much as possible, equal levels of access to goods and resources, then circumstances should improve pretty much across the board.

The old saw is applicable here; "A rising tide lifts all boats".

Two words......Soylent Green.... [this, of course is known as that typical larrikin humour of the Aussie]...

Good Hesaton Movie.

Based on personal first hand experience of slums, it's my view that most of the reason that slums exist is that the people there make them slums.

There really are a lot of people who simply don't care enough about the filth around them to do anything about it. My son doesn't like to clean his room. But we make him clean his room. Hopefully, by the time he grows up, he'll see why it's important to take care of your things and your surrounding environment.

But not all people want to learn that lesson. I've known a LOOOTT of people who simply have no problem living in their own garbage. Sure, they'll let someone else clean it up for them but otherwise...

For example, even before the Marshall plan went into effect, Europe, particularly western Europe (and ironically especially Germany for some reason) managed to get their services back in order. It wasn't the US army doing it, the civilians simply got together and cleaned things up.

I am not suggesting that all people who live in slums are lazy or non-industrious. What I am, however, suggesting is that we're applying a sort of cultural relativism. We're defining "slum" based on our rich western civilization terms. What we call a slum today would have been a paradise 200 years ago. It was only 200 years ago that raw sewage flowed thorugh the streets of Paris (even the nicer areas).

It was only 200 years ago that thousands and thousands of people died of Cholera and other "diseases of the slum".

There is no magic bullet here. You can't spend your way out of it. The societies in question will have to do the work themselves. There is no short cuts going from an agrarian society to a industrial one from a cultural point of view. And frankly, as I said, a lot of people in the world, even here in the west, simply don't care enough to do anything themselves.

About a sixth of the world's population - nearly 1 billion people - live in slums...

Who gives a rat's behind (besides those that live in the slums)...

Drop been there more than once. RF Datacom made our Microwave Heads for us. THough I was always have mindless while there because I was always thinking about the site and what was needed and stuff.

Nice place though

Question: Is the number of people in slums increasing or decreasing as a percentage of the population?

I believe that's the important question, not the absolute number. The absolute number will always increase due to simple population growth.

On a somewhat morbid note, AIDS should drastically reduce the numbers of those who live in slums within a decade or two. Some countries are closing in on an 80% infection rate