Do westerners get some kinda cheap thrill from exaggerating the level of poverty in NICs?

NIC = Newly Industrialised Countries. It seems to me that westerners (especially Americans!) get some sort of an endorphin buzz from saying things like "India is a poor country!", "China has a large population living below the poverty line!"!! Why is that? Is it because they themselves are poor and filthy?? America's economy is in the doldrums, Greece filed for bankruptcy!! Is it because they are jealous of the rise of the NICs???!