system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does poverty exist in the Harry Potter universe?

With magic being able to produce almost anything except for food, why does poverty exist in the Harry Potter universe? The Weasleys are described as being poorer than most families, but they seem well-fed. Magic seems to be equivilent to the replicators of Star Trek(besides the food of course), but Magical Britain is far from a post-scarcity society. Why is that?
gpt
Because there are always some things magic can't produce.  

Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration states that food cannot be produced out of thin air, but it *can* be replicated if you already have some of it.  Therefore, poorer families such as the Weasleys can still keep themselves fed, as long as they had a small sample of food to replicate.  

However, apart from food, there are many other things that have to be bought.  Clothing for seven children.  Books and school supplies.  Wands.  Upkeep of the Burrow.  Miscellaneous expenses such as a wedding.  

The economy of wizard society differs from muggle economies, no doubt.  But the simple rules of supply and demand will still result in the same general phenomenon of haves and have-nots among wizards.