Why are the poor, poor?

[Jeff Wrangler]

These points about "family values" also remind me of yet another lesson from my old college poli sci class: People will also vote for someone whom they perceive to be more like themselves.

And perceive is important: How many Americans come from oil-rich families with long histories of government service and own ranches in Texas and once owned their very own baseball team? Not many. But talk real folksy-like and mispronounce common words--despite having an Ivy League education--and a lot of people will perceive you to be more like themselves than someone caught on film windsurfing off Cape Cod. ... 

What has depressed me (probably permanently) is how many people are taken in by this bullshit. I had thought Americans were smarter than that. Apparently you can fool a lot of the people a lot of the time.   

I guess this makes me an elitist, too. 

[Artiste]

Are we talking why are the poor, poor ?

Seriously ?

When I saw a foreigner passing himself as a good person while he burned persons houses and collected insurance, and then opened up crack houses, I saw the poor become more poor, because that drug lord was seen as so nice, but if you don't take his drugs and pay more and more, then I saw persons even during the day being hit in their front or back yards by his gang of thugs !!

So, that is one way that the poor as well as the rich trapped by drugs, become poor and more poor !!

Did you know ?

Au revoir,
hugs!

[Artiste]

I liked Mrs. Roosevelt !

Happy Mother's Day to her !

And to you all ladies too, to-day !!

[Luvlylittlewing]

I liked Mrs. Roosevelt !

Happy Mother's Day to her !

And to you all ladies too, to-day !!

Thanks, Artiste!

[Artiste]

Merci Littlewing !!

Bienvenue ! Welcome !

May you have a wonderful Mother's Day !

And to all others too !!

Au revoir,
hugs!

[Artiste]

Just a thought:

If we would all consider mothers and be thankful for their activites and wondrous help, then there would be no poor ?  !!

Au revoir,
hugs!!

[serious crayons]

I believe broketrash said that Republicans do more charitable giving than Democrats, based on a book he cited by a conservative writer. I did a little quick checking. The only places I could find that broke donation statistics into individual giving of Republicans vs. Democrats were right-wing sites, of which I am a bit skeptical. But I did see in a couple of ideologically neutral places that red states have higher giving rates than blue states, on average.

I can think of a few possible explanations besides Republicans just being nice and generous and Democrats mean and stingy. 1) Republicans are wealthier on average, 2) Republicans are more church-going, and they give primarily to churches, 3) Red states need more charitable help because government services are scarcer, 4) Democrats give less because they believe in helping the poor via taxes.

Who knows.

But one interesting factoid I ran across was this: The people who give the highest portion of their income are the rich and ... the poor! Middle-class people give the least.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I can think of a few possible explanations besides Republicans just being nice and generous and Democrats mean and stingy. 1) Republicans are wealthier on average, 2) Republicans are more church-going, and they give primarily to churches, 3) Red states need more charitable help because government services are scarcer, 4) Democrats give less because they believe in helping the poor via taxes.

It would be interesting if giving to churches could be parsed out of this. Certainly money given to churches counts as charitable giving for tax purposes. This is not to deny that churches do charitable work--my own runs a sort of drop-in center for people affected by AIDS and H.I.V.--individually and collectively as part of a denomination, but it's also true that money given to churches goes for lots of things that aren't "charity," like upkeep of the church building, utilities, and clergy salaries, just to name three examples. I can't help but wonder what the figures would look like if it were possible first of all to parse out the church giving altogether, and then to parse out what part of the church giving goes to overhead.

But one interesting factoid I ran across was this: The people who give the highest portion of their income are the rich and ... the poor! Middle-class people give the least.

I've always heard that the poor were more generous.

I also heard a news report about a week ago that in the current economic situation, demands on food banks are increasing--and donations are decreasing. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. "
— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Amen.

I'd go so far myself as to substitute for "our progress"--"our greatness as a nation."

[Jeff Wrangler]

but there are enough "Dittoheads" that take every word that comes off talk radio as truth they will believe it. Tell a lie enough times and eventually people will start to believe it.

Jess, are you making up words now? 

If you are, I like that one!