Obama--the grumblings

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

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.

I think a better description might be that less educated people tend to be poor, rather than just stupid. More educated people tend not to be poor. I have found that often bad decisions that people make often lead to more bad decisions and things spiral down from there. People get stuck in that rut and can't get out. I think you hit the nail on the head with mental health issues, drugs, ETOH, etc.