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Every single time a post about poverty and inequality comes up, like clockwork, you're defending the status quo, greed, the american system, etc. Is there any
by RodericDay 10y ago
Every single time a post about poverty and inequality comes up, like clockwork, you're defending the status quo, greed, the american system, etc.
Is there any place you expound on your views in more detail? I think I'd like to mount a more formal, less piecemeal rebuttal to your worldview, if I can.
- yummyfajitas 10y agoI've been considering writing a blog post on the topic. However, I don't think I'm arguing as much as you think I am. I'm not arguing for a status quo, greed or the American system. I'm merely arguing that certain behaviors seem to be extremely common among the (American) poor and that these behaviors also have a direct causal relationship with being poor. This is my major claim - do you disagree with this?
- RodericDay 10y agoNo, but I find it strange to stop there, and find satisfaction in blaming it on 'poverty'. Okay, poor people do things that keep them poor. You may call it a "poverty cycle". Where to go from there? A lot of people reach out for race and genetics pretty quickly. I don't think this holds. What else is there? Economic policy, surely.
- yummyfajitas 10y agoAs I said in my reply to gjm11: Adriand discussed whether "anyone can go from "rags to riches"" and declared this "myth busted" based on the fact that most people don't. The only way the latter could imply the former is if all of them attempted to, but simply were unable to do so. That's the sole point being made in the comment you replied to. There are behaviors people can engage in to stop being poor, they simply don't. I'm not allergic to genetic explanations, but I also believe that economic policy can affect behavior. I favor economic policies that will put the poor back to work and get them to stop engaging in these destructive behaviors. (For example, I favor replacing welfare/disability fraud/etc with a Basic Job - like a basic income, but only given to people who work for it.)
- RodericDay 10y ago> I'm not allergic to genetic explanations I suspect this is an understatement. Looking forward to you expounding on your views in greater detail sometime.