Modern America's 'poor' ARE wealthy! At least, those that do not suffer from addictions.

When you suffer from addiction, no amount of money will ever be enough.

America's poor are not only wealthy by global standards, but also by the standards of living of most humans through all of human history, but most importantly:

They are wealthy as measured by the basic material needs we all share.

Everything beyond this is a cultural issue, a result of cultural programming.

We all engage in a mass cultural programming that we NEED more. We tell ourselves, and each other, that we are 'worth less' than others if we are 'poor'. We buy into the lies that we NEED greater physical wealth in order to be happy or content.

The 3rd world people of the world DO need more of the basic essentials to stay alive.

America - both poor and rich - needs a shift in priorities.

Policies which reward irresponsibility will only keep the poor in poverty, while doing harm to everyone else.

and keeping certain Politicians in Office indefinitely!

What makes some people feel entitled to judge other people's life styles or habits?
The money collected by tax department is used in many ways. If some agree, others shall disagree with the spending. It's nothing new, is it?
When smoking becomes illegal, let me know. Meanwhile, keep in mind that so called "sin tax" is quite welcomed by tax department and used to finance various government's activities, programs and services which some of us smokers approve or disapprove, equally as non-smokers.
What are we talking about anyways, poverty, smoking, prejudices...?

If one million working poor people stole just one dollar and one millionaire stole one million dollars, what shall we focus on when discussing the theft? On motives, means and opportunities or damage inflicted to society caused by one million and one thieves?

we disagree here

all humans NEED the same BASIC things to survive,, no one 'needs' more


however

based upon the economy which underlies the RESOURCES Available to attain needs, ones financial position in respect to THEIR country is very important,, even vital


if America had the cost of living of third world countries, the comparison would be relevant

but being our cost of living is an entire different arena,, I find it futile to try to minimalize one 'poverty' or the other

poverty, in any country, is something to be concerned with, regardless of who may be 'poorer'

just like we worry about war even though other countries are more war torn, or disease when other countries are 'more' disease stricken,,,,etc,,et,c,,

I agree, those that allow so many to sit on their behinds and flourish (and I do mean those flourishing, not those barely surviving ) off the labors of others

while simultaneously coddling those laboring by insisting how well they are doing compared to others and how grateful they should be that they have next to nothing instead of nothing at all


,,do plenty of harm,,,

ALL BULLSHITZ!

PUT FORTH BY THE FABULOUSLY WEALTHY UNTO THE PUBLIC TO DISCREDIT THE FABULOUSLY POOR.

ok...

if the wealthy can inspect and discredit how the poor spend their money, then the poor get to equally inspect and scrutinize and discredit how the wealthy spend their money.

for the more one have the more that be expected.

whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

damn the wannabe wise and self as great sure have Stockholm Syndrome...

as if every politician in the world is not sitting on their butts spending A LOT MORE MONEY THAN ALL THE PEOPLE ON FOOD STAMPS PUT TOGETHER!

lets see...

lets add all the politicians salaries together...

on average 250k base a year on the low, for the ditch diggers, and on the high, 600-800k year...

plus all the perks and taxpayer funded vacations...

and hunting in safari's in Africa...

and island hopping in the Caribbean...

and comped meals at most 5 star restaurants...

and gasmillions in police excorts and security...

and millions and millions of acres of land purchased with taxpayers money...

hum...

some idiots have not begun to be gobsmacked.

seems the lil guys and gals FEEL as if they are really truly friends with the "big guys", if they side with their opinions...

yea, go figure...

how novel...

only idiots would side with the abusers who rape and pillage their neighbors to be pc...

nothing but a bunch of brainwashed hyperbole filled yapping mustachios any that would use such garbage data to live by.

Foodsstamps in California can only be used for food items, can't even buy toilet paper with them much less a pack of cigarettes. Only certain people who are really bad off, I think they must prove they're homeless or disabled, caan have a feataure activated on the card that allows them to use it to purchase hot food (such as a baked chicken from the grocery store) or at the few foodstamp accepting fastfood joints.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/poverty.html

Poverty is not a mortgage on the labor of others—misfortune is not a mortgage on achievement—failure is not a mortgage on success—suffering is not a claim check, and its relief is not the goal of existence—man is not a sacrificial animal on anyone’s altar nor for anyone’s cause—
life is not one huge hospital.

If concern for human poverty and suffering were one’s primary motive, one would seek to discover their cause. One would not fail to ask: Why did some nations develop, while others did not? Why have some nations achieved material abundance, while others have remained stagnant in subhuman misery? History and, specifically, the unprecedented prosperity-explosion of the nineteenth century, would give an immediate answer: capitalism is the only system that enables men to produce abundance—and the key to capitalism is individual freedom.


It's Freedom that the Have-nots Have Not!

No matter how you look at it welfare entitlements are theft!

You take from those who earn to give to those that don't.....for whatever reason.

I believe in charity, but if mandated it becomes theft!

The fraud of taxation is the lies proclaiming it use!

Our govt is a tax and spend establishment. The problem is, like banks, they spend what they don't have or possess far in to the future, then must raise the debt ceiling, and taxes, to adjust for their out of control habits.

You think your taxes go to education and infrastructure, but the truth is, it only goes to pay the interest on the money govt borrows to feed its bloated enterprises and agendas.

Welfare is a crutch, and our 2 party system of govt has crippled our country to immobility!

Yeah those poor people keep stealing and getting rich off our tax money...


Hey if you believe in charity, why don't you donate your taxes to the poor.

It is easy to make people believe what they want to believe.

they 'steal' from non parents to provide for children in education

and they 'steal' from the well armed to protect citizens who may not be as able to protect themselves

and they 'steal' from pacifists to fund wars and pay military

expenses need to be paid even when there can be no complete consensus amongst 300 odd million people about what expenses or how,,,

in a 'CAPITAList' society, there are two important concepts

CAPITAL,, which basically means stuff, purchasing power, things, money,,,, those with it 'flourish' and credit the government in place for their prosperity and well being,,,,and the government(whatever its called) no doubt 'STEALS' or rips off others for their resources to build up their own reserve of 'capital' to then claim superiority over the very sources from which they took it,,,,


and


Society, which is not an INDIVIDUAL caring in a tunnel for only their own needs,, but a system where a GROUP who live on some level as a collective


it takes CAPITAL/MONEY to keep such a system running,, to keep certain parts of it like the laws, the EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, the JUSTICE SYSTEM and the community running in a way that its citizens and their CHILDREN can best 'flourish'


,,,taxes are a necessary evil at this point,, like that chore a child whines about having to do because, after all, its not their house, nor was it their choice to live in it,,, yet they do as part of that HOUSEHOLD have the responsibility just the same to play their part,,,





...so, fiscal policy that looks over the taxes and debts , is the mother

and the regulation of money and credit is the father


that is needed to run the household we claim to be such a superior 'society'



and when mom and dad are treating some kids like crap over other kids,,, it becomes a rather divided household very quickly,,,

Yes, that's what I'm trying to say. Technically we are both wrong, a person born with some genetic disease or birth defect will have different actual needs to survive, but for most part, for most people, our needs are most the same.

In my previous post I was saying that we are brainwashed by culture to believe that we NEED much more than we do. We are told to confuse wants with needs, and then expect others to provide our 'needs' (actually wants) if we cannot or choose not to provide for ourselves.





I see a much larger effect in the area of 'feelings of self worth', and 'ability to have peace, joy, dignity, and satisfaction while poor' which are cultural problems, not economic problems. If we do not fix our culture, shifting money will not solve the problem.




Thanks to our infrastructure, and the abundance of wealthy people, it turns out that many of our basic needs are easier and cheaper to obtain in the US than they are in 3rd world countries.

There are some for which this isn't true, some of our 'Costs of living' such as 'rent' (assuming we live legally) obviously are huge, but looking deeper into why that is - and why poor people refuse to move to cheaper areas - just seems to strengthen my case, imo.




Relative poverty or absolute poverty? Relative poverty is a cultural problem. Absolute poverty barely exists in the US.





I'm not sure what you are saying about war, since we don't suffer the direct effects of wars within the US borders, but regarding disease:

I also feel that it is also arrogant, selfish, and entitled for some people in the US to cry about how the government won't pay for medicine to reduce their flu symptoms while people are dying from horrible diseases overseas. The fact that other nations are more disease stricken should shift of focus and our priorities. We can and should still address diseases in the US, but as long as people are invoking the concepts of 'justice' or 'fairness' or 'humanity' or most other ideological basis for arguing for the seizing of the assets of the wealthy and using it to benefit the poor - as long as people are doing this, then we *should* be far, far more concerned with other countries. 'Poor' people in the US who make those arguments should gladly give up their world-relative wealth in order to help the much poorer people overseas. Otherwise, they are just selfish hypocrites.

This is how you try to argue against the points he made? By misrepresenting them? At no point did he suggest they were getting 'rich', only that they were benefiting from legalized theft.

And they are.


Sadly, too many poor people who get government assistance are not motivated to make short term sacrifices for long term gains. And therefore, they will never 'get rich', no matter how much money is given to them.

Not Really wanting to be on this side. No they just got most of their money back. In tax money. cigarette tax

all the bad things that can exist in humans creating humanity, as greed, lazy, stupid, violence, lying, accusers of others, slanderers, malicious, divisive, betrayers, hate...

and all the good things that can exist in humans creating humanity, like caring, kind, considerate, loving, protecting others, helping, unity, freedom for others, live and let live, equal things for all, love...

why none of these FEELINGS that decide what people are and do, are in any one place, or in any one group, or demographic, or creed, or color, but like flashing lights on and off in all places at all times in all places...

for while there are all those entering the kkk, there are those whom are leaving...

for all those entering into corrupt business agreements, there are those who are quitting making corrupt agreements because in being corrupt they experienced how it hurt their loved one's and didn't create happiness, since one put's it self in constant jeopardy of being discovered, and so must live on the defense, creating for it self many natural enemies, keeping one self having to live in fear of reprisal.

to deem the poor more guilty of anything, be an illusion put forth by the insecure rich whom follow their wish to feel them self as better and good, and so many go where they naturally gravitate as good, to what be not like them self as less, and so become mere followers and puppets of repeating history, leaving a legacy of hollowed heart, greed and self worship.

and to deem the rich as more guilty of anything be the same put forth by the insecure poor, whom gravitate to finding a reason for their plight besides them self and so follow like a puppet and slave the thing that made them poor, the natural gravitation of choosing sides and identifying the guilty, which has left many poor and destitute.

pity pity pity the whole world, for she is as a women in childbirth while on the run from a terrorist.

To assume that an *individual* poor person is guilty of anything is irrational, unfair, unjust, and an invitation for prejudice.

But there are trends. It's not an illusion to acknowledge trends.

Being rich or poor generally has a *component* of luck. The luck of your birth, and some events that can happen to people which they cannot predict or influence. Many people were doing just fine until a loved one developed a deadly, costly medical emergency which was not even influenced by their lifestyle.

Being rich or poor usually also has a component of personal decisions, which are influenced by character, discipline, planning, personal responsibility...