Poor in the USA is actually poor isn't it? In the UK poor just means in receipt of benefits. Of course there are still "odd ball" cases of people living on the street, but I would still imagine life in the USA to be far worse for the truly poor.
A good incentive to get off your backside and work then. My wife works with 'problem' families here in the UK who have been on benefits for generations. Some of them get more in handouts than she does in salary after tax, and I'm not exaggerating.