Posted on 08/24/2009 10:25:00 AM PDT by freed0misntfree
IMAGINE GETTING A bee sting; then imagine getting six more. You are now in a position to think about what it means to be poor, according to Charles Karelis, a philosopher and former president of Colgate University.
In the community of people dedicated to analyzing poverty, one of the sharpest debates is over why some poor people act in ways that ensure their continued indigence. Compared with the middle class or the wealthy, the poor are disproportionately likely to drop out of school, to have children while in their teens, to abuse drugs, to commit crimes, to not save when extra money comes their way, to not work.
To an economist, this is irrational behavior. It might make sense for a wealthy person to quit his job, or to eschew education or develop a costly drug habit. But a poor person, having little money, would seem to have the strongest incentive to subscribe to the Puritan work ethic, since each dollar earned would be worth more to him than to someone higher on the income scale. Social conservatives have tended to argue that poor people lack the smarts or willpower to make the right choices. Social liberals have countered by blaming racial prejudice and the crippling conditions of the ghetto for denying the poor any choice in their fate. Neoconservatives have argued that antipoverty programs themselves are to blame for essentially bribing people to stay poor.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
No, not the wildebeast. Those things travel in great herds, just drag a dead, trampled one from the river before the crocs eat it and start the BBQ
Yep. That's a memorable moment. I was only 27 when I realized I probably didn't really have to work anymore, and could have gotten by. But that would have been selfish.
Here’s a guy who took charge of his destiny,and still talks about all the amazing opportunities available
In truth, I never cease to be amazed at how hard it is to completely fail in America. Granted, we're not all predestined to be Bill Gates....but with a good attitude and a modicum of work ethic, it's hard not to make a decent living here.
People still choose to completely screw up their lives every day, though. Hard to be sympathetic. Likely harder for them to realize (if they ever realize) that their lives are the sumtotal of their choices.
A hundred years ago, if you were poor you could become a live-in servant in the home of some upper-class family. Although a low-status position, it had several benefits: you were in the company of people with good values, you could see day by day how they lived and solved their problems, and you were isolated from other members of the underclass, who would not be reinforcing bad habits.
“We need to teach classes in school called, “How to be poor.””
It’s easy, just do what poor people do.
If you want to be rich, do what rich people do.
blame econ 101? I blame Keynes for all sorts of things, like spending money that doesn’t exist and taking money out of the economy where its supposed to go and artificially redirecting it elsewhere. This creates malinvestments (and bubbles).
These people are not poor on the world standard. These people are quite prosperous if you take all of the government handouts they eagerly recieve. I bet they eat meat daily, how many people in Central and Eastern Europe eat meat daily?
Bad choices and being unmotivated to improve their condition because of handouts, because of “blame”, because of their “victim” status thinking they deserve more for nothing. These are all causes of the “poverty” in this country.
And if your an inner-city African American you better not be good in school (acting white). Poor White “trash” you better not aspire (you think your better than your parents?)
The problem is not Econ 101.
The problem is your trying desperately to find a way the “system” without blaming the “welfare system”. Econ 101 simply means you work for money and you spend money in your own interest and everyone is better off.
For a time while Dad was unemployed, Mom worked at HHS. She drew $3.74 an hour, just slightly above minimum wage (that should give you an idea as to when this was.....).
It used to anger her that - if she quit and gamed the very system she was working within - she'd make the equivalent of $6.00+ an hour. She didn't want someone else calling the shots, though, and since it was just a temporary situation, she kept working.
Welcome to FR! I hope you stick around in our little online community.
“There’s little incentive to work extra hard to, say, pay off one or two medical bills or old debts when there are six more in waiting,”
You should really check out www.daveramsey.com; he offers a wonderful system for folks in your situation. I have been following it for 29 months and have never felt more at financial peace!
I looked for people who took $hit jobs, worked, and accepted responsibility as they advanced, most of those people still work for the company.
It sucks don’t it. A little here a little there, the next thing you know you have a whole bunch, I was very surprised at my net worth when I retired.
Try to stick around, probably better if you stay away from politics though =o) The Viking Kitties have been sharpening their sporks.
Look, I’m poor. I am working on that =o). It requires me to stop being lazy, it requires me to stop procrastinating, it requires me to step it up and stop wallowing in self-misery.
Like I said, I am working on it.
BUMP to That
Sometimes stuff happens to you because you caused it, and you need to live with the consequences to learn not to do that again. Aye, but there's the rub. We have politicians in the country that are motivated by the cry "Won't Somebody DO Something". In particular, they're enabled by the perpetually guilty....people that need to clear their own consciences by "Being Helpful".
So, you wind up with an entire class of poor people being enabled by an entire class of politically motivated guilt trippers, who love to fix problems with someone else's money.
In your example, Some Fool tore a screen. In a rational world, they'd 1) fix the screen. 2) cover it with plastic or 3) Live with a ripped screen.
In a government world...some fool tears a screen. A Bigger Fool, walking past, sees the ripped screen and says "GOSH! A Ripped SCREEN! Mosquitoes could get in an bite the CHILDREN! SOMEONE should do SOMETHING!"
Never wanting to pass up a good crisis, politicians hear the cries of their constituents (they can do this, when convenient) and pass a "Provisional Screen Tear Abatement Bill" that's done "For the Children". They then pay someone (you?) to come out and fix the problem.
Better still, they set up a Department of Torn Screening to "Helpfully Advise" homeowners on the dangers of torn screens, and pay a raft of inspectors to examine screens to determine, if indeed, they are torn. Then, low bid contractors are hired to employ illegal aliens to enter - usually their own - homes and fix the screening. And it's all covered by your taxes.
Everyone wins. Pols get to keep their jobs and move on to the next "crisis". The Perpetually Guilty can massage their consciences, secure in the knowledge that if it helps one child, somewhere, it was worth it. Illegals can remain gainfully employed, and poor people don't need to worry about getting snacked on by various flying insects.
The only guy who takes it right in the shorts is the taxpayer, who's not anywhere on the above list of people. Simple, isn't it?
Yeah, I’m familiar with Dave Ramsey — we even signed up for FPU once but ended up dropping it a couple of weeks in (along with everything else) when we found out my wife needed another open-heart surgery. We’re still pretty crappy at budgeting, but Dave is at least partly responsible for helping us create a mindset such that we haven’t borrowed or financed a single dollar in 5+ years.
You’re a heartless right-wing b*stard!
The Man won’t let poor folks have high quality screens - that’s the real problem in America!
Thank God Obama’s going to straighten things out.
“being mentally challenged is a certain path to living at the bottom of the economic scale.”
I don’t know...look at Al Gore.
- mesoman7
BOY DID YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
That’s a great start. Good luck to you and yours.
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