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| Ben Stein: Poverty and income inequality |
| 2014-04-07 |
| BLUF [Bottom line up front] [American Spectator] My humble observation is that most long-term poverty is caused by self-sabotage by individuals. 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. Did Ben actually use the "L" word ? Impoverished people have personal problems. They may have had terrible childhoods. They may have been the victims of abuse. They are often the victims of their own abuse of drugs and alcohol. But they are not the victims of corporations or of the Federal Reserve. Their sad backgrounds lead them into self-destruction. Is there any public policy that can help them? We just don't know so far. But whipping up hate against the successful simply cannot do it. There is no connecting mechanism between envy and greater productivity. Quite the opposite. Envy legitimizes class hatred and idleness (see "higher education -- 2014") and produces nothing. Class hatred is a favorite tool of communists. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #11 And animals. Animals have rights, too! |
| Posted by: gorb 2014-04-07 22:38 |
| #10 Neither is a made-woman lazy, Shipman. Let's be inclusive and say a made-person. |
| Posted by: rammer 2014-04-07 22:20 |
| #9 Being a criminal is like any other job RJ. Crime doesn't pay (unless you do it everyday). It's all about the work ethic, the families know this. A made man isn't lazy. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-04-07 16:45 |
| #8 I bet if they got hungry enough they'd be willing to work. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2014-04-07 13:54 |
| #7 There is an immense amount of income inequality here and everywhere. I am not sure why that is a bad thing. I am, hard work yields pay, no hard work, no pay, seems simple Yes? (No it's not enough, that's why you work. For more) Robbery is not hard work, that's why we have Jail, so hard work is relatively easier. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-04-07 12:25 |
| #6 Unless you make EVERYONE completely equal, you will always have relative poverty. Harrison Bergeron to the white courtesy phone. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-04-07 12:11 |
| #5 Unless you make EVERYONE completely equal, you will always have relative poverty. In death we're all equal. Socialism - 100 million dead in the 20th Century, and still counting. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-04-07 12:01 |
| #4 Unless you make EVERYONE completely equal, you will always have relative poverty. That would involve restraining the top 2% that drive everything. |
| Posted by: gorb 2014-04-07 11:44 |
| #3 Unless you make EVERYONE completely equal, you will always have relative poverty. On the other hand, poor people in America are much better off than poor people in many other countries. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2014-04-07 11:28 |
| #2 'Human free will' is not a term found in most lefty documents other than to repudiate its existence. To them we're all creatures of our DNA and programming (natural or man made) deserving to be ruled in their hierarchical political domain. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-04-07 09:03 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Deadeye Ghibelline9981 2014-04-07 00:51 |