Understanding poverty, unemployment, homelessness, drug-addiction, or any other socio-economic stress was a topic addressed last week. How well would you survive in poverty is the subject of this week’s Blue Zones Bulletin. Ruby Payne’s “Understanding Poverty” quiz is revealing.

• I know which churches and sections in town have the best rummage sales.
• I know which rummage sales have “bag sales” and when.
• I know which grocery stores’ garbage bins can be accessed for thrown-away food.
• I can get someone out of jail.
• I know how to physically fight and defend myself.
• I know how to get a gun, even if I have a police record.
• I know how to keep my clothes from being stolen at the laundromat.
• I know what problems to look for in a used car.
• I know how to live without a checking account.
• I know how to live without electricity or a phone.
• I know how to use a knife as scissors.
• I can entertain a group of friends with my personality and my stories.
• I know what to do when I don’t have money to pay the bills.
• I know how to move in half a day.
• I know how to get and use food stamps.
• I know where the free medical clinics are located.
• I am very good at trading and bartering.
• I can get by without a car.
  
  

Surviving in middle class is a more comfortable exercise for the vast majority and also comes with a skill set.

• I know how to get my children into Little League, piano lessons, soccer, etc.
• I know how to properly set a table.
• I know which stores are most likely to carry the clothing brands my family wears.
• My children know the best name brands in clothing.
• I know how to order in a nice restaurant.
• I know how to use a credit card, checking account, and savings account—and I understand annuities, term life, disability, medical, homeowners, flood, and replacement insurance.
• I talk to my children about going to college.
• I know how to get one of the best interest rates on my new-car loan.
• I understand the difference among the principal, interest, and escrow statements on my house payment.
• I know how to help my children with their homework and do not hesitate to call school if I need additional information.
• I know how to decorate the house for the different holidays.
• I know how to get a library card.
• I know how to use the different tools in the garage.
• I repair items in my house almost immediately when they break—or know a repair service to call.

Wealth is not immune from having its own framework as noted below.

• I can read a menu in French, English, and another language.
• I have several favorite restaurants in different countries of the world.
• During the holidays, I know how to hire a decorator to identify the appropriate themes and items with which to decorate the house.
• I have a preferred financial advisor, legal service, designer, domestic-employment service, and hairdresser.
• I have at least two residences that are staffed and maintained.
• I know how to ensure confidentiality and loyalty from my domestic staff.
• I have at least two or three “screens” that keep people whom I do not wish to see away from me.
• I fly my own plane or company plane.
• I know how to enroll my children in the preferred private schools.
• I know how to host the parties that “key” people attend.
• I am on the boards of at least two charities.
• I know the hidden rules of the Junior League.
• I support or buy the work of a particular artist.
• I know how to read a corporate financial statement and analyze my own financial statements.

Inspiring movement on a large scale first involves empathy—placing yourself in someone else’s situation to find his/her perspective. Empathy is not pity. Rather, empathy should empower us to understand and help. Many of our current economic stresses could be remedied as impoverished citizens become more productive and simultaneously move into the middle class.