Everybody seems to be vaguely aware of some supposed link between stress and illness, but I never see people considering the ramifications. A few years ago I read The Status Syndrome by Michael Marmot. He argues that life in a society with a big distance between the top and bottom is toxic to the people at the bottom. In other words, feeling like you occupy a low rung on a social ladder slowly kills you.

So, here’s what I want to say about poverty. Poverty isn’t the state of living without modern conveniences. It is the mental state that comes from too much anxiety, desperation, and hopelessness.