Emotionally, it saddens us. Economically, it helps us by boosting exports and supplying cheap labor for American industries that engage in "off-shoring". Food aid to poverty stricken countries helps prop up food prices for American farmers. Politically it also works to our advantage as we can pick and choose our allies and supply arms to one country that the other can not afford. Many of the favorite tourist destinations for Americans are poverty stricken countries, as the dollar buys a lot there.
I'm sorry to be so cynical to show the silver lining of poverty. I wish I could say that we are concerned about other people and that we are all working to help lift everybody from poverty, but we share so little of our wealth as a percentage of our GDP to help for purely altruist reasons, that I would be lying. We have many people who care who live in the U.S., but without a national united effort we don't make the large differences we could and should make.