Ben Stein: Poor people are jealous, lazy drunks who don’t appreciate indoor plumbing

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Conservative pundit Ben Stein suggested that only government-sanctioned religion could save poor Americans from their own “self-sabotage,” reported Right Wing Watch.

“What will make the genuinely poor stop sabotaging themselves?” the actor and TV host asked Friday in The American Spectator. “Maybe, just maybe, if we let God back into the public forum it would help. I have seen spiritual solutions work miracles.”

Stein argued that anyone concerned about wealth inequality was just jealous of billionaires, whom he described as necessary and beneficial to American society.

“They fund symphonies and ballets and schools for inner city kids,” he argued, while recovering from an illness and listening to Big Band music. “They are a bulwark against tyranny because they can afford lawyers to fight overweening government.”

The wealthy are actually good for democracy, Stein argued.

“We want for there to be a high number of rich people who function as a brake on government just as the nobles did on the crown in long ago England,” he said.

On the other hand, Stein argued, poor people dragged down society with their slovenly habits and appearance.

“My humble observation is that most long-term poverty is caused by self-sabotage by individuals,” he argued. “Drug use. Drunkenness. Having children without a family structure. Gambling. Poor work habits. Disastrously unfortunate appearance. Above all, and counted in the preceding list, psychological problems (very much including basic laziness) cause people to be unemployed, have poor or no work habits, and enter and stay in poverty.”

Stein argued that the definition of “real poverty” had been diluted since his childhood in the early 1950s, when cars and air conditioning were considered luxuries.

“Yes, the government designates many tens of millions as poor, but they almost always have indoor plumbing (which my mother did not have in her small town in the Catskills) and they are super nourished as opposed to mal-nourished,” he said. “They get food stamps. They get free medical care. They get vouchers for many of the needs of life.”

While he pities their plight, Stein pointed out that poverty was greatly reduced in scope and severity in the past century.

“In olden times, poverty was the common human condition,” Stein said. “In the USA, as recently as the Great Depression, poverty was commonplace. FDR might have exaggerated when he described one-third of the nation as ‘ill housed, ill fed and ill clad…’ But surely he was not far off.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, of course, enacted New Deal domestic policies that imposed stricter industry regulations and enacted programs, such as Social Security, to fight poverty – although Stein curiously overlooks these.

“Is there any public policy that can help them? We just don’t know so far,” he laments.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/09/ben-stein-poor-people-are-jealous-lazy-drunks-who-dont-appreciate-indoor-plumbing/#.U0VTnNP_KuE.facebook

Edited April 9, 2014 by Porterhouse

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

[Danno 1,228]

Tru dat Ben.

[Karee 4,189]

I was ready to defend Ben Stein from Steven's sensationalized topic title. After I read Ben's comments, they're indefensible.

[B_J 2,752]

I was ready to defend Ben Stein from Steven's sensationalized topic title. After I read Ben's comments, they're indefensible.

How much of this do you disagree with:

My humble observation is that most long-term poverty is caused by self-sabotage by individuals, he argued. Drug use. Drunkenness. Having children without a family structure. Gambling. Poor work habits. Disastrously unfortunate appearance. Above all, and counted in the preceding list, psychological problems (very much including basic laziness) cause people to be unemployed, have poor or no work habits, and enter and stay in poverty.

Stein argued that the definition of real poverty had been diluted since his childhood in the early 1950s, when cars and air conditioning were considered luxuries.

Yes, the government designates many tens of millions as poor, but they almost always have indoor plumbing (which my mother did not have in her small town in the Catskills) and they are super nourished as opposed to mal-nourished, he said. They get food stamps. They get free medical care. They get vouchers for many of the needs of life.

[Karee 4,189]

How much of this do you disagree with:

I changed the channel after "government sanctioned religion"

[GandD 5,966]

Fat people can be malnourished too you know............ Its expensive to eat healthy food.

This ####### always breaks down America into the super wealthy and "welfare kings/queens" What about the ####### load of people in the middle. People that are educated, hard working, moral people. The same people who live with whatever those with the means to influence political campaigns decide. Rich people wouldn't be so bad if they didn't get all the say about what happens in washington.

I changed the channel after "government sanctioned religion"

In other words, a better way to control the unwashed masses. How enlightened of him. You see, poor people aren't people like we are. More like dogs to be kept on a leash by imaginary deities.

[Sousuke 1,214]

I sort of agree with him, but there is a structural problem with the economy causing a divergence of the haves and have nots. Whereas people in poverty may be 'self inflicted' by drugs etc I think the wealth inequality issue today is more about former middle class people falling into poverty through nothing more than mistakes made by their corporate overlords.

[Karee 4,189]

I sort of agree with him, but there is a structural problem with the economy causing a divergence of the haves and have nots. Whereas people in poverty may be 'self inflicted' by drugs etc I think the wealth inequality issue today is more about former middle class people falling into poverty through nothing more than mistakes made by their corporate overlords.

Maybe the government should force corporations to hire more people and pay them higher wages?

[GandD 5,966]

I sort of agree with him, but there is a structural problem with the economy causing a divergence of the haves and have nots. Whereas people in poverty may be 'self inflicted' by drugs etc I think the wealth inequality issue today is more about former middle class people falling into poverty through nothing more than mistakes made by their corporate overlords.

Sometimes not even mistakes. Sometimes its strategic.

[Karee 4,189]

Sometimes not even mistakes. Sometimes its strategic.

I'll go one better. I think MOST of the time it's strategic.

[GandD 5,966]

No joke. Now companies inflate the temp job pool because the future is "uncertain" and they don't want to have to let people go. Would you risk being a full time/full benefit person knowing you'd be gone when times got "tough" again? I would.

1/3 of our production folks are temp because our management doesn't want a repeat of the mass layoffs back in 2008. Since then, more and more positions have been required but most of them are filled with temps. 2008 was a long time ago folks. Some of these jobs could have had full time employees going on 5 years. Its not like its hard to fire people when you call it a layoff.

[Novembro 1,763]

Yeah, I've always viewed God as a massive band-aid, too.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

No joke. Now companies inflate the temp job pool because the future is "uncertain" and they don't want to have to let people go. Would you risk being a full time/full benefit person knowing you'd be gone when times got "tough" again? I would.

1/3 of our production folks are temp because our management doesn't want a repeat of the mass layoffs back in 2008. Since then, more and more positions have been required but most of them are filled with temps. 2008 was a long time ago folks. Some of these jobs could have had full time employees going on 5 years. Its not like its hard to fire people when you call it a layoff.

You make a good point. But Ben is blaming this on jealous, lazy drunk people.

But with today's economy, people can fluctuate back and forth in between having and not having, being poor and not being poor depending on the stability of their job field and the company they are working for.

[Karee 4,189]

You make a good point. But Ben is blaming this on jealous, lazy drunk people.

But with today's economy, people can fluctuate back and forth in between having and not having, being poor and not being poor depending on the stability of their job field and the company they are working for.

I'm a jealous, lazy, drunk person, and I don't really appreciate Ben Stein scapegoating me.