Have you ever been to La Crosse? Go to one of the Walmarts and observe things. Tell me if you see any emaciated wraithes begging for scraps of food. You will see far more of the opposite. Poverty statistics coming from the usual suspects tells you just about nothing about many municipalities. Nobody is starving in La Crosse.
Ask some clergyman you trust. He will likely know what is real. Relying on observation can be deceptive.