The more I read discussions about poverty, the more I realize people are conflating wildly different definitions of "poor". The article is referring to $0.65/day, people who in no way can afford to squander a generous influx of cash. World median income is $2/day; if you're making more than half the people on the planet, I contend you're not "poor". The USA official "poverty line" is 20x world median income, and welfare ensures anyone under that line will be given enough to get there; special cases aside, that's enough that "poor" is more a matter of poor choices than poor cash flow, a life where a burst of cash can easily be spent on pleasure instead of leveraging already-neglected advancement opportunities.
The more I read discussions about poverty, the more I realize people are conflating wildly different definitions of "poor". The article is referring to $0.65/day, people who in no way can afford to squander a generous influx of cash. World median income is $2/day; if you're making more than half the people on the planet, I contend you're not "poor". The USA official "poverty line" is 20x world median income, and welfare ensures anyone under that line will be given enough to get there; special cases aside, that's enough that "poor" is more a matter of poor choices than poor cash flow, a life where a burst of cash can easily be spent on pleasure instead of leveraging already-neglected advancement opportunities.