Round Two
I'm reluctant to even bring this up again. We got into quite a fight over it in the comments section a week or so ago.
Poverty: bad circumstances or lack of effort?
I was not at all surprised to learn that your opinion on this matter has something to do with how much you make. Poorer people tend to think that it's a result of bad luck, richer people are evenly split. Make of that what you will.
I don't know why this has to be an either-or thing. Almost nothing in real life is, so why should this be? I know both unlucky and unambitious poor people (as well as unambitious middle-class people)--and I'm sure you do too.
I can understand why politicians want to brand poor people as lazy: it's cheaper for them if they don't have to fix the problem. What I don't understand is why people buy it.
posted by Marie Antoinette at 12:38 AM
9 Comments:
Marie, what would you GUESS is the percentage of those whpoa re poor and casn't help it as opposed to those who are poor and can...and just choose not to?
It is NOT my responsibility to provide for those who have no responsibility.
Look, I don't know what the percentage is. All I know is that some people need help. That help needs to be given out in a way that can't be abused. (debit cards: bad idea)
Did you hear about the "lap dance" story? Where some are using their debit cards to party at the local strip-clubs?
It reminds me of those in our area who asked to be re-relocated to have access to liquor stores. (Our area of the Ozarks consists mainly of dry-counties)
People need hope and if they have never had any or been exposed to any, well it's pretty difficult for them to aspire to something they know nothing about.
There will always be fools in every society, but that is no excuse for neglecting the rest.
Yeah, some people will waste whatever they are given, they probably do it because for just one moment they can have something they never imagined they could have. Of course it isn't wise but it's human nature. It's no different from people who run up god-awful charge card bills. That's not wise either but it's done because they want things they really can't afford.
Okay there's my two cents and if you like I'll take some change if you don't think it's worth the price. LOL
When I first heard they were giving out debit cards, I thought "oh shit, somebody is going to spend it on a hooker and then every poor person who ever existed will be blamed." It was a nice idea to give out the cards, but very naive.
Perhaps the cards should have been limited to certain store, I don't know but I do know there had to be a lot of people who were glad for any help to try to get their dignity back again.
I heard on the radio, that IQ/Intelligence is only 3% of the contributing factors to success. If your dad is rich, it is overwhelmingly likely that you will be rich and if your dad is poor, you will likely be poor.
In other words, in 97% of cases, it doesnt matter if your IQ was 200 or 20.
Of course, the study might have been skewed, because the rich probably have a higher IQ anyway (or test better anyway)
But, looks like the "Work hard and you can become successful" deal doesnt work anymore - Having the right connections and having gone to the right school are far more important.
Unfortunately, whether or not you get to go to a good school depends on how good a house your parents can afford. There are definitely good schools in poor neighborhoods, but they are the exception. Thanks, school districting!
I've found in my life that IQ doesn't count when it comes to making money.
What does count is the ability to be less honest: to fudge resumes; or fib about who actually thought of the new money-saving idea; or take credit for an underling's work; or rationalize why you had to do something a tad unethical in order to accomplish goals for the corporate bottom line.
If you can morph your ethics to fit into the corporate world you can go far.
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