That is the biggest cliche the right like to chuck around. Poor people as a general rule of thumb are extremely hard working, they have to be and they don't go around bitching about how life is unfair, they don't have time to.

Is this poll for real?
Maybe ppl wouldn't be so poor if we took some clues from muslim countries.... free medical care, free education and charity from every person who can afford it to help the poor each year.

Yeah, but we might need some large oil fields to pay for all that!

kaydee, your bitterness is showing.

No, not bitter. Just the truth. I lived in the ME. They treat nationals in the U.A.E. very well.......But they have OIL!

How can I post my "kaydee dirt poor" picture inline in a post?

Because I love it when liberals talk about poor people, particulary those that have never been there!

We have them... they're just all owned by individual greedy fat cats.....

The US has oil fields on par with those in the ME.

We talked about stupid, and stupid came. Thank you, stupid.

I'm probably the only person, with the exception of Gary that's ever been poor.......dirt fcking poor!

And what would the physical size of oil fields have to do with production? If only the dems would let us drill them!

PDFTT

too late

*burp*

What makes you think that? Oh, that must be how you got the idea about poor people b!tching all the time.

It doesn't surprise me though. Some people who have experienced poverty become more empathetic to those who are poor and wish to help them. Others develop this extreme vehemence against the whole poverty experience and this translates into a huge chip that they carry around with them, the "I did it without help (except of course no one exists as an island but that's another story) so everyone else bloody well should because otherwise it's damm well not fair!" chip. I expect that there is a deep seated fear of returning into poverty that fuels it which makes these extreme reactions against the idea of helping other people out of the cycle of poverty somewhat ironic.

PDFPT

but 6 people think that is ok....so far.

Jenn, I was born into a white trash family with 8 siblings and a mom that gave birth to her first child at 15....My father was so poor that he, by day, was an odd job handyman, and by night shined shoes.....

I never had a pair of pants, shirt, or even undies in my childhood; all hand me downs! If it weren’t for my grandparents we wouldn't have had shelter....I lived in one room apartment, that had bunk beds in one corner of the room and shared my bed with a bed wetting brother, all in the slums of Bed Sty in New York city.

Now whenever I hear liberals describe me, and my brethren as "victims" I cringe.
We were proud back then, and frankly I didn't even know how poor I was. I managed to escape the "cycle" because, and I really believe this, I didn't have anyone pouring over me with sympathy telling me how poor I was, and how I was a "victim".....

I don't believe in this culture of "victimization", whereby well meaning liberals partition off a group of people and indoctrinate them into a culture of "victims".......this isn't what I would term positive reinforcement.

Funny thing is, without those “victims” liberals no doubt would exist.

And I tried to post my “dirt poor photo, me as a child) but I can’t find a way to post it inline……..

a camel in every driveway too?

Just in case I'm one of your neighbors, would you give us a clue when and where you'll use that plutonium?

Only rich ppl in the ME have camels

If kaydee's family had money to take pictures, they must have not been too poor. The only picture I have is in an early 60s National Geographic depicting a poor appalachian family. If I hadn't found that magazine while rummaging through the garbage I'd have no family pictures at all.

Oh, this is turning into the who's poorer than whom....eh? We didn't own the camera the picture was taken by my mom's friend/neighbor.
I have only two other childhood photos.

bullsh!t....i came from a poor family and others did too.....so, you and gary are not excluusive..

Well ok, then be proud, and not a "victim"......




good advice

I had no idea what that says so I had to google it. Am I the only one?



Is that supposed to be the same or a different one?

kaydee457...sorry about all the people with a poor heart specially PT....

It means ...the most offensive thing I've seen all day

You might have me..was that neighbor/friend also your uncle?

PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLL AND PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE POOR TROLLS

As can a teacher, professor or librarian working for a nonprofit or private school for what would be a lower-middle-class salary anywhere else but living in an expensive area and therefore living a 'poor' lifestyle(no car, never owning a house, struggling to make rent...). This describes many of the people I know, most of whom have advanced degrees. Of course we could argue whether having advanced degrees means that someone is 'smart' - I imagine certain posters here replying that the only 'smarts' that matter are what can make you rich. And, I answered 'system is rigged against them' - stagnant wages and rising prices for housing, energy and now food have made a lot of hard-working people poor where once they might have been working-class but secure.

shouldn't it be.... PDFTPT

How many rich people inherited their wealth and have below average IQs? We have plenty of rich politicians who don't appear to be the brightest but they do have the most important factor, motivation. If a person lacks motivation, I doubt they will be successful doing anything except catching all the afternoon garbage tv.

Quite a few years ago I worked in a job involving construction and had the privledge to meet some of the temp laborers. Some were ok but most probably did good to get themselves dressed. Some people will never be sucessful because they simply don't have the intellect. Before I met them I didn't have any empathy for the poor. Afterwards, I could see why we need special programs to give them an option to stay off the streets. However, not all of them would choose to live with the overhead that comes gov't programs.

I voted that the poor would eventually be part of the next revolution. It has already happened in several countries.

I had no idea what it meant and didn't bother googling it.


Well.... depends on your definition on "poor" of course, but I'd say lower-middle-class isn't poor.


Lots. What's your point?

PDFTPT....happy???

Yes, the idea of 'poor' would need to be qualified... The stereotype of the single teacher or librarian used to be a woman living on her own in a studio or 'efficiency' apartment - now none of the librarians I know in NYC could afford to live on their own and have to live with roommates well into their 30s and 40s unless they are married or have boyfriends. This is the kind of erosion of living standards I am talking about. A worker in an entry level salary used to be able to afford a house(I am thinking Levittown ticky tacky boxes in the '50s) - now fugeddaboutit... Not to mention the same worker(usually a man) could afford to support his family on one income... I call people like me 'the overeducated underclass' - probably the best example is that of adjunct professors I know who teach a class here, a class there, they have Ph. Ds but have no benefits such as health insurance and are struggling even harder then I am to make ends meet. Generally people like us are not eligible for government benefits since we choose not to have children(can't afford 'em) and aren't as visible as the sterotypical 'welfare queen' who pays for prime steaks with her EBT card.

I think rich people who are azzholes are fun. Ever tried one?



I voted the same way. Am I an azzhole too?

yes very

I pity them - no.
They are losers - some are, same with rich people.
They make me sick - no.
Are stupid - some are, same with rich people.
Are criminals - some are, same with rich people.
Have smaller than average brains - some yes, same with rich people.
I want them to stay poor - no.
I want to give them all my money - no.
They are victims of a system rigged against them - hmmm
Will be the revolutionaries of the upcoming revolution - lol
Are the best people there are! - lol
Should kill rich people and steal their money - no

my vote is other, btw, because i can't generalize. Not all of them are none of the above. - meaning: I didn't vote.

Kaydee your premise that poor people see themselves as victims is a right wing construct. As a rule, they don't and as a rule they don't expect anyone to help them out. They aren't just sitting around waiting for some sucker liberal to initiate handouts they are too busy trying to make ends meet to worry about such things. I have no idea why you have the idea that poor people are suddenly different now, that today's poor think the world owes them something and they don't need to try to help themselves. One thing is for certain, this idea of yours bears no relation to reality.

Well said.

Recognizing socio-economic factors that impact poverty gets simplified into victimization, and then characterization of poor people as whiny victims. Although we are personally responsible for our own well-being, there are many things beyond our power to change. It's like alcoholics who paradoxically must first recognize their powerlessness before they can find the strength to overcome their addiction.

about that comment, when Charles read that he said that I probably vote for that, but I did not. I don't think you can blame the system for being poor. The system doesn't make you poor. My hmmm was more a hmm, are u seriously considering that as a serious answer, or is it more like a joke answer, like let's kill all rich people?

Nessa, if you don't mind me asking...do you come from an upper class family in Brazil?

Spend some time in 3rd world countries, before you speak. I have done so and can speak on this level.

The derived insight will change your perspective for sure.

William,

I think this thread is about the poor in America, not 3rd world countries.

Dammit, man, you beat me to it!

If this was a poll about poors in Brazil, I'd definitely vote for an option that the system drags you down, because that's the reality in Brazil. But I don't think that's the reality here in the States. I believe there are exceptions, there are cases that due to certain life events, situations, they wind up being poor. But most of people can make it if they try very hard and that the system is not an issue. An example, Charles could be considered poor when he came back from Germany and his wife had screwed him over and over, and not in the good sense , and he went bankrupt. He started all over again, and now he has a pretty decent life.

Now answering your question, even though I had a pretty good life, that took my parents some serious hardwork, it wasn't something handled to them. And although it's very hard for you to make it if you start from nothing, my dad did it. He's one of those macho kind of man that has too much pride so he left his parents house to start his life with nothing just so he could make it on his own, because even though my grandparents were in a good financial situation he wanted to make it by himself. He tells me stories about going to job interviews and putting lots of sugar at his coffee when they offered that to him just so he could put something on his stomach, cuz he could barely afford food. But he made it. That allowed him to provide his family a very good life. Both my parents worked very hard to provide for their family. I can't complain. I've only studied in private schools/universities, my dad was able to pay for several extra curricular classes, like piano, gymnastics, ballet, several other dancing and martial arts classes, English, etc. We could afford a good apartment in a good neighboorhood, a car, education, vacation trips, country club membership, etc. But that was possible with hardwork in the past. That was the 70's. Nowadays things are way more complicated. I don't entirely blame the system, cuz there are too many lazy and screwed up people in Brazil, but the way things work in Brazil don't help at all. The government corruption and incompetence really makes it difficult and even impossible for many people.

I've talked too much. Now to my final words. How dare you American Citizens blame the system? This is the land of opportunity, you can make it if you really want

Nessa, you should post like this more often

My dad always tells me how he came to JFK with 7 (or was it 8?) USD in his pocket in the early 70s. That was all the money he had and he had one friend in this country who was working as a security guard. He gets pissed when Americans whine about how hard it is too. He agrees it is hard but if him and all his friends made it, when they could barely speak English (and even today, it is very heavily accented), what's wrong with the American poor? This is a 'sensitive' issue at my parents home, they have no patience for bleeding hearts on this issue, even though they can be quite liberal on other issues

Sujeet kind of feels the same. He doesn't understand why people from other countries can come with nothing and succeed while some ppl born here can't. It's a sensitive issue for him too.

Well, it takes a certain amount of drive to actually uproot one's life from one country to another in the search of economic opportunity. It's not that unexpected that they will do better than people with less drive. A fairer comparison would be between the poor in India (who stay there) and the poor here.