Why so many of the poor remain poor

I've been trying to bite my tongue (in the interests of national security), but... government programs like the seizure of land for certain political families whose favored sons own baseball teams (which they have surely earned) and want to build new stadiums?

Ah! I couldn't do it! Cheap pot shot at the highly privileged leader of the free world!

McG, Not everyone is able to "work themselves through school or college." Some are incapable, no matter how hard they try; many are developmentally disabled - by no fault of their own. Have a little compassion, my friend. Not everybody is you! c.i.

McG - congrats on your masters in psychology, didn't realize you had one.

McG

I think the comment about poor people thinking "they are owed something" is overdone.

Most of the poor people I know are merely trying to eke by in a very competetive world -- and while they sometimes bemoan the fact that the playing field is not always level -- I don't think most really argue they are owed something.

Some certainly try to take advantage of the system.

Hey, some of the richest people I know almost make a career out of trying to take advantage of the system also.

In any case, there are things the poor do that has a counterpart among the rich. It just seems to me there is a class of folks who are offended by the stuff poor people do -- but are easily able to overlook some of the similar things the well-off do.

A COMMENT ABOUT THE RICH -- OR THE WELL-OFF


When Christie Whitman first ran for governor of our state, she found herself embroiled in one of those nannygate things. She had a South American nanny for her kids who was earning peanuts (I think under the table) and no Social Security tax was being withheld.

I wrote a letter which NEWSWEEK published that went something like:

It is amazing to me that rich people often spend tens of thousands (in some cases, hundreds of thousands) of dollars each year for lawyers and accountant to tend to their money and investments -- yet are willing to have their kids tended by people who earn $5.50 per hour.

Makes one wonder about their priorities.

Something to think about!

Agree 100%
wondering if the poor learned that from the rich, err if the chicken or the egg came first

When it comes to taking advange of the system, no group comes within a mile of the corporate/military/industrial/energy/financial/ complex. Billions of welfare for the rich, dozens of dollars for the poor. oh yeah and food stamps. Reminds me of when George the elder was running for re-election, went into a grocery and was amazed at the "scanner."

One thing - I've found in the foodbank business is:
a reality!
a normal averge joe or jane is not that far removed from the poor folk! - and under extreme circumstances the average joe or jane - don't know it!!

another point is about all (very high%) them joe's send in jane to get food! just shameful in my opinion.

McG, once again, you make sweeping generalizations. Let's put it another way:

A lot of people smoke and drink.
A lot of people have less education than they need, or can afford.
A lot of people, rich and poor, feel they are 'owed' something.

This is a human condition, not a class distinction. All through college I considered myself a liberal, but I came to realize that political distinctions are just too grey to put labels on. Rugged Individualism, strangely enough, a term coined by the Progressive Conservatives here in Canada, is one of the first all-encompassing political thoughts they have had in years.

There will always be those who lack the wherewithall to pull their **** together, and the reasons for that are really quite irrelevant. Rich and poor have a lot more in common, as human beings, than they have differences. Life creates the same stress for everyone. I had my schooling paid for, I grew up in the upper middle class, if that's really a term, and I eschewed a steady job to do my own thing, despite offers. I love my work, although not the lack of it at the moment here in SARSville, but I still choose to remain a rugged individual and not take a handout from the government. That's just me.

I don't feel sorrow or pity for the poor, but I don't feel a need to denigrate them either. Whether it is by choice or circumstance, they are entitled to the lives they get, and are free to work it out or not. Abuse of food banks by people who don't really need the service, now that pisses me off....but those people are just assholes, it has nothing to do with poverty.

husker, I don't remember exactly when, but our local newspaper ran a article on how more families in the middle class in Silicon Valley (one of the highest average income areas in the US) are turning to food banks to feed their families. Many thought their careers were secure, but we know what happened with the tech bust. Many had savings, but used it up to live while looking for another job. As you say, the average joe or jane doesn't know it, but they are one paycheck away from the food bank. c.i.

Yikes! patiodog -- you sure know how to hurt a guy and you just stomped on the correct one.

I agree whole heartedly. One idea I had was to impose an entertainment tax on sporting events that had 2% of the ticket price and 1% of other revenue that sports teams make be redirected into the education system.

Basketball players who can't spell making more money than every teacher that player ever had combined.

Movie Stars getting paid 20 million a picture to ACT! while our police and firefighters risk their lives for 30K a year.

While I don't live in a mansion I live in a small middle-class home.
Not far at all from a poor\poverty area. I've considered buying a home in the area, but so far - vetoed by the rest of the family. We do put a lot of time and effort into reaching children and younger teens, feel these young people are most at risk. There is not doubt that being able to help one kid is worth it, and more are a bonus. At this very minute the Mrs is doing a bookmobile in the lowerclass \ poorer area, with snacks in hand. She also reads aloud to the younger ones.

Something Cav said is VERY IMPORTANT.

Sometimes the people taking advantage (or even the ones cheating) are assholes (or crooks) -- and it has absolutely nothing to do with their social standing.

They are not taking advantage because they are poor -- nor is it necessarily a trait of poor people -- they are taking advantage because they are not especially ethical.

And a lack of ethics is not confined to any one social class.

Frank, thanks, and how about a show of hands....how many people fudge their taxes, just a little, every year? There but for the grace of God go all of us....

Not a bit, but I did get a pretty good chunk back on the lifetime learning credit (or something similar) this year.

I did fail to file a state income tax return one year, but since they owed me about four bucks and I didn't live there any more, I didn't think it was worth it.

There is a slight odor of sour grapes when one bemoans the fact that a sports star or an actor is able to command huge salaries. That's capitalism at work. In a free society, there's not much that can change it except to tax them more money (hmmm, interesting idea!) By the same token, you can't squeeze talent out of someone who doesn't have talent. With actors, it's often their physical beauty that is being put to use and they are paid well for it even if they aren't terrific actors. That's fate to a certain extent. There's also the mindset that it is not good enough to succeed - others must fail.

Cav
Think a guy came up with that in 1893 or so at the World Congress of Historians
http://www.worldandi.com/public/1990/may/mt7.cfm

Obviously you didn't understand what I said.



Smoking and drinking is a choice. If you choose to waste your money on booze and cigarettes instead of clothes, food, shelter, etc, then I think that is fine. Buy don't turn around and expect handouts.

Education is FREE! Take advantage of it. Another choice.

I have seen people sale food stamps so they can buy cigarettes and beer. Meanwhile, the kid in their arms is dressed in rags and is lucky to get a daily required amount of calories. Do all people do it? No. I'm not saying they do. I am saying that some do it. It comes down to choices. Many people choose to be poor and then bitch about it. That pisses me off.

McG, bad parenting and bad lifestyle choices cross all class barriers. Don't blame the poor. I happen to agree with you in terms of hating assholes, I just don't agree with the implied synopsis that this behaviour is limited to the poor. Husker, thanks for the link. All I knew was that the PCs borrowed it a few years ago.