Five Myths about the Poor

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   Sophia Angeliqueposted 11 years ago

   Three are a mass of people out there that believe all sorts of fairy tales about the poor. This article explodes those myths.
   
   You hear all these myths all the time - everybody can be rich. If you're poor, it's your fault. Get a job. Of course, it's the response of those that are ignorant and who have been so brainwashed by these myths that they can never believe anything else.
   
   This is an excellent article who would like more information to counter those that are myth believing!
   
   
   http://truth-out.org/news/item/12264-li … e-the-poor

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I read this earlier and thought about sharing.  Glad you did!

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      GNelsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I see the homeless in the park everyday.  Sometimes they are in a car and sometimes they are on a bench.  I see whole families.  Many still work.  Those who will talk all tell a different story.  It is not a simple problem, it is not a new problem, and to begin to understand what is going on you have to talk to those who are living poor.

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      Mandrake_1975posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I only question what "Plutocracy" has to do with wealth and poverty?  Plutacracy assumes that monetary wealth is REAL, which it is not - it is manmade.  When I look at it from that perspective (that money is a manmade concept) I have to wonder why we bicker about economic philosophy and not the "root"?  But then again, I have more anarcho-primitivist leanings than most are willing to accept may be the problems with the world.

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   RobSchneiderposted 11 years ago

   What a brilliant article! Thanks for sharing it. How could it be otherwise? Almost by definition, capitalism depends on impoverishing workers in order to make a profit. As long as those workers live in or are imported from distant countries and can be considered racially inferior, it's not a problem - in fact, you can even blame them for "taking jobs from American workers." When a minority of Caucasians join the ranks of the poor, a myth is created that they are stupid and lazy - "white trash" or "trailer trash." When the children of middle class white American parents can't find work even though they've done everything "right" (sent them to college, etc.), maybe things will change, but I doubt it. The government will just stop trying to justify the system and keep it going by force. Although I'm an outsider now and can't speak from observation, that seems to be the direction the country's headed in now.

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      "Almost by definition, capitalism depends on impoverishing workers in order to make a profit."
      
      Excellent analysis!  The system requires a small percentage to own the majority of the wealth, which is then supposed to "trickle down" to the rest of us.  Capitalism has massive inequality built into it's very essence.

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         Sophia Angeliqueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Capitalism is a system based on unequal exchange...
         
         http://capitalismandyou.blogspot.com/20 … s-way.html

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   crazyhorsesghostposted 11 years ago

   Great points everyone. I work with the poor everyday and I see all kinds of myths. People don't realize that  there are many more  hungry and homeless people here in the United States than people care to admit. I saw hundreds of people line up this evening to eat  as they always do at the last of the month. In five states tonite we fed 16,663 people and did not turn anyone away. Next week the numbers will drop but people will be standing there in line waiting and needing to eat.

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   Tealparadiseposted 11 years ago

   I know the jobless benefits require one to prove they are actively looking for work, but what about food stamps for those who already have a job?  I wonder what kind of hoops you must jump through for that.

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      Sophia Angeliqueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Generally if you're earning, you get less money proportionally. So, if you're earning $1000 a month, you will get about $26 for food. Obviously they don't ask you to look for a job.
      
      Incidentally, with so many people out of work now, and with the about half the population earning basic wage at this point, nobody is being asked to look for work anymore. Somewhere at the top, it's finally being realized that there aren't that many jobs and/ even the ones earning slave labor wages are hard to find.

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   kathleenkatposted 11 years ago

   Thank you for sharing this. It is a very interesting read, especially to highlight those who can only find part-time work, at low-paying retail jobs.
   
   I am interested if someone has written a similar article about the rich. I am sure there are an equal amount of misconceptions about them, as well.
   
   edit: Actually I think this article may do a good job brushing up on the rich: http://themanwithnopants.hubpages.com/h … eople-Suck  just skip the first section about Obama.

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      Sophia Angeliqueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would hardly put that hub in the same class as the link I posted. It's badly written and is nothing more than one person's emotional experience. There is no deductive reasoning or cause and effect. Apart from that, I grew up in a pretty well off environment, privately educated, with full time servants at home, etc. I also dated very, very rich man. I do understand the rich...
      
      Power and wealth go together. Wealth is accumulated as a result of certain personality type.
      
      Here it is...
      
      http://www.cracked.com/article_18777_5- … -suck.html

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         RobSchneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Well, if "Do Rich People Suck" is the best rebuttal anyone can come up with, you're on pretty solid ground, Sophia. It did have some amusement value, but otherwise, what a pompous idiot. I know it is "bad manners" to say that and the author said, "I crush people with bad manners like a roach", but that absurd statement shows bad manners, too, so I reckon we're even.

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            kathleenkatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Well I don't have anything better to post. I, of course, was the original inquirer on whether there was such an article.
            
            I just happened to read that, and thought it would be good to post here. I, too, come from a wealthy family Sophia. No man-servants or anything, my parents were rather frugal with their money and spent it more on fun things like vacations, and my dad took up flight school once (had to drop it due to finances). I was taught to work for my money; never got allowance, always had to do a chore or two. Dad encouraged me to get a job when I was old enough to work, and I am forever thankful for that, because I didn't need to go into any debt for college. Hey, I'm going off on a tangent, but we are all different, Sophia. There are very likely kind wealthy people, too. I would guess Bill Gates may be one of them.

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