Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarpop
There are plenty of poor people who are smart, but they couldn't escape the trap of poverty (and it is a trap, for many people, no matter how hard they try to get out).
Not all people who succeed do so because they are intelligent. Many of them succeed because they are corrupt, unethical, and immoral, and they prey on people.
As far as, how far should society go to support poor people, I think as long as we keep making rules and laws that only apply to certain segments of society or are applied differently to rich people, then it is our obligation as a society to take care of the people who don't have a chance. Personally, I really believe there is no reason why we can't end poverty. The problem is greed. Some people just think they entitled to more than others. I think it is really obscene that in a so called "civilized" society, one man could have many billions of dollars while there are people starving and living in cars. It's just, wrong.
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So do you not agree that there is a segment of society who live poorly because they've made bad decision - sometimes by way of stupidity - or simply because they don't try very hard to improve their lot in life?
While I agree that in some ways and from some perspectives, the distribution of wealth is inequitable, I just can't help but open my eyes to the fact that a lot of poor people needn't be poor.
Take Australia for example. There's really no reason why anyone should live below the poverty line considering we have a pretty good welfare system in place, and yet somehow there are people who can't get their shit together enough to use the help that's available to them.* I'm not saying our system is perfect, but it's a pretty good safety net for those who choose to take advantage of it.
*Issues of mental health come into this point, along with alcoholism and other addictive behaviours. Those are social problems which I believe we are all responsible for in some ways, but not all.