NYT: Being poor, and/or noticing poverty, is Chinese propaganda

Incredible opening image:

Noticing poverty means you're ignoring CONTEXT and NUANCE:

The fact is that societal inequality is a problem in both China and the United States. And the American economy no doubt leaves many people in fragile positions. The causes are complex.

There are fewer visibly homeless people in China because of AUTHORITARIANISM:

Yet in China, poverty is experienced and perceived differently. In most Chinese cities, street begging and visible homelessness are tightly managed, making them far less prominent in daily life.

Just because it's true doesn't mean it's true:

When I was growing up in China in the early 1980s, my family subscribed to China Children’s News, which ran a weekly column with a simple slogan: “Socialism is good; capitalism is bad.” It described seniors in American cities scavenging for food, and homeless people freezing to death. Those stories were not invented, but they lacked context and were presented as the dominant experiences in American society.

Classic

That fear of running out of money is one reason China has among the world’s highest household savings rates.