Video: Indian Slums vs American Slums; My comments
Indian Slums vs American Slums | A Shocking Difference | A Millionaire Beggar | Karolina Goswami, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QXrItQjjyE, 7 min. 33 secs., published on 8th Oct. 2019
I shared this video as I think at least parts of it are true as of 2019. But some parts of it may be somewhat inaccurate.
BTW the millionaire beggar thing is an exception and the video has only a little coverage of it. Most of the video covers issues of the poor in India (in particular, Dharavi slum in Mumbai) and in USA (in particular, the poor & homeless areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco).
Living conditions for the poor in India can be terrible. I have been to slums in Mumbai and in Dombivli. I have been to Dharavi (Mumbai) slum as well. These were as part of social service volunteer work in 80s (as a National Service Scheme college student in Mumbai. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Service_Scheme) and 90s (as Sathya Sai samithi Seva Dal for a monthly medical camp in Dombivli). So I have some exposure to slums in and around Mumbai. The people there, like is shown in this video, are typically not aggressive towards better off visitors. The people there are also part of the community and have their community representatives. They also typically have some gainful employment. Some of the slum residents had televisions then. Today I am sure many of them will have mobile phones, with some having smartphones.
Rural Indian poor in the past in India, I think, led far more miserable lives as sources of employment were minimal for the rural poor. Today in 2019, I think they are better off but still have great challenges. Sources of employment for rural poor may have improved but still are not enough. I think that's why the rural poor migrate to cities where they may live in the city's slums. But they typically get some gainful employment and so prefer to live in the city's slums rather than be in their village where they have minimal sources of decently paid employment.
But rural poor (and urban poor) in India today do have significant benefits like very subsidized basic groceries (Below Poverty Line Ration Card for Govt. Public Distribution System, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_distribution_system). Cooked food seems to typically be available in local outlets at very cheap prices for the rural poor. And then there are some temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches which provide food at very cheap prices or, in rare cases, even free.
Cheap medical care for typical health problems seems to be available for Indian poor via government medical centres, hospitals and also NGO hospitals. But if the problem is a complex or serious one requiring advanced medical care then I think the poor do not get that sort of care easily.
Cheap but super-crowded transport by railway trains (unreserved compartments with cheapest fare) is an option for the poor (which they do use). Govt. run buses are more expensive but still heavily subsidized. Private tempo/auto operators cater to the poor by charging them less but are heavily overcrowded and jam-packed.
Life for India's rural and urban poor is not easy at all. But they can somehow survive (unless they have some major medical or other issues).
I think this video does show this aspect of India's urban poor, though the video may not be sharing some harsh details of India's urban poor.
I do not have direct exposure to America's urban or rural poor. But I have read reports and seen some videos. The above mentioned video seems to show some realities of America's urban poor. Perhaps the USA urban poor are a much smaller part of their cities as compared to India. But I think such urban poor in USA may find life to be far more challenging than India's urban poor. While the quality of transport is far superior in USA as compared to bottom rung transport for poor in India, the big problem from the USA poor's perspective, it seems to me, is that these transport services are just way too expensive for them! On the health front, Medicaid and Medicare (for elderly) seem to be the great welfare programs for the poor & elderly poor in USA. I don't have a clear idea whether some poor e.g. the homeless & poor in San Francisco, do not get access to Medicaid and Medicare (for elderly). If these poor have to use private health care in USA, then they simply will not have the money for it!
The video talks about 1000 US Dollars that needs to be paid if a person wants to use their health insurance in USA. I don't know how accurate this statement is. But even if the person has to pay 100 US Dollars before getting access to health care in USA, some of the urban poor may struggle to pay that.
In India, govt. medical centres and hospitals may not be providing great level of medical service but they are either completely free or charge very minimal/token fees, which most Indian poor can afford.
On the food and other basic store items front, I think the USA food stamps program seems to be a very good one (the video does not mention it). So on that front, USA poor seem to be taken care of, and if that's really true then it is a big positive achievement of USA government.
I shared this video as I think at least parts of it are true as of 2019. But some parts of it may be somewhat inaccurate.
BTW the millionaire beggar thing is an exception and the video has only a little coverage of it. Most of the video covers issues of the poor in India (in particular, Dharavi slum in Mumbai) and in USA (in particular, the poor & homeless areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco).
Living conditions for the poor in India can be terrible. I have been to slums in Mumbai and in Dombivli. I have been to Dharavi (Mumbai) slum as well. These were as part of social service volunteer work in 80s (as a National Service Scheme college student in Mumbai. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Service_Scheme) and 90s (as Sathya Sai samithi Seva Dal for a monthly medical camp in Dombivli). So I have some exposure to slums in and around Mumbai. The people there, like is shown in this video, are typically not aggressive towards better off visitors. The people there are also part of the community and have their community representatives. They also typically have some gainful employment. Some of the slum residents had televisions then. Today I am sure many of them will have mobile phones, with some having smartphones.
Rural Indian poor in the past in India, I think, led far more miserable lives as sources of employment were minimal for the rural poor. Today in 2019, I think they are better off but still have great challenges. Sources of employment for rural poor may have improved but still are not enough. I think that's why the rural poor migrate to cities where they may live in the city's slums. But they typically get some gainful employment and so prefer to live in the city's slums rather than be in their village where they have minimal sources of decently paid employment.
But rural poor (and urban poor) in India today do have significant benefits like very subsidized basic groceries (Below Poverty Line Ration Card for Govt. Public Distribution System, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_distribution_system). Cooked food seems to typically be available in local outlets at very cheap prices for the rural poor. And then there are some temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches which provide food at very cheap prices or, in rare cases, even free.
Cheap medical care for typical health problems seems to be available for Indian poor via government medical centres, hospitals and also NGO hospitals. But if the problem is a complex or serious one requiring advanced medical care then I think the poor do not get that sort of care easily.
Cheap but super-crowded transport by railway trains (unreserved compartments with cheapest fare) is an option for the poor (which they do use). Govt. run buses are more expensive but still heavily subsidized. Private tempo/auto operators cater to the poor by charging them less but are heavily overcrowded and jam-packed.
Life for India's rural and urban poor is not easy at all. But they can somehow survive (unless they have some major medical or other issues).
I think this video does show this aspect of India's urban poor, though the video may not be sharing some harsh details of India's urban poor.
I do not have direct exposure to America's urban or rural poor. But I have read reports and seen some videos. The above mentioned video seems to show some realities of America's urban poor. Perhaps the USA urban poor are a much smaller part of their cities as compared to India. But I think such urban poor in USA may find life to be far more challenging than India's urban poor. While the quality of transport is far superior in USA as compared to bottom rung transport for poor in India, the big problem from the USA poor's perspective, it seems to me, is that these transport services are just way too expensive for them! On the health front, Medicaid and Medicare (for elderly) seem to be the great welfare programs for the poor & elderly poor in USA. I don't have a clear idea whether some poor e.g. the homeless & poor in San Francisco, do not get access to Medicaid and Medicare (for elderly). If these poor have to use private health care in USA, then they simply will not have the money for it!
The video talks about 1000 US Dollars that needs to be paid if a person wants to use their health insurance in USA. I don't know how accurate this statement is. But even if the person has to pay 100 US Dollars before getting access to health care in USA, some of the urban poor may struggle to pay that.
In India, govt. medical centres and hospitals may not be providing great level of medical service but they are either completely free or charge very minimal/token fees, which most Indian poor can afford.
On the food and other basic store items front, I think the USA food stamps program seems to be a very good one (the video does not mention it). So on that front, USA poor seem to be taken care of, and if that's really true then it is a big positive achievement of USA government.
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