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Comment by markessien | Hacker News Reader

There is no country in the world where a dollar is not affordable. From the countries I know:

1$ in China = 2 Packs of Cigarettes or 3 bowls of noodles

1$ in Africa = 2 Meals of Rice or 2 trips on a motorcycle

Why subsidize something that is so cheap? It's pointless and counterproductive. Treat other countries not like aid recipients, but like real people who can be traded with, and are happy to get cheap stuff just like you are.

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"The [World] bank said there were 1.4 billion people — a quarter of the developing world — living in extreme poverty on less than $1.25 a day in 2005 in the world’s developing countries. Last year, the bank said there were 1 billion people living under $1 a day."

From http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/washington/27worldbank.htm...

I'm not saying you don't have a point, but the last time that I bought a pair of glasses, the whole affair—getting the prescription, and the frames, and the lenses—cost well over one day's salary for me. I'm sure that even for someone making just 75¢ a day, $1 for a pair of glasses would be considered a bargain if it means the difference in being able to see.

Several years ago my prescription glasses broke, so I replaced them with cheap non-prescription glasses for about five bucks. They weren't quite as good (I have astigmatism) but they were serviceable. Only recenlty did I get another pair of prescription glasses specifically for computer use. I spent several hundred doillars (even after insurance discounts) and they are not significantly better than the el cheapo ones I have been using. Yes, there is value in getting regular eye exams, but non-prescription cheap glasses work just fine for lots of people (and mine won't get filled with algae after a few weeks).

FWIW, algae shouldn't be a problem, because you don't have to use water; any clear fluid with a similar refractive index would work. Another article says they're actually using mineral oil.

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