4 ms·

The issue is that in the west, and particular in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw. Rudger Bergman goes into a bit of detail on the history of t

The issue is that in the west, and particular in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw. Rudger Bergman goes into a bit of detail on the history of that perception, which he attributes to the opposition against Nixon's UBI (at least in the US). So what we now have in many western nations is a huge bureaucratic body to prevent fraud on social security systems which at the same time significantly increase hurdles to apply for the programs and what can be done with the help. On the other hand, the bureaucratic support to fight tax evasion especially by the super rich, is typically tiny.

gerbilly 5y ago
> The issue is that in the west, and particular in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw. This is the Just world hypothesis in action.¹ 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
- fmajid 5y ago
  No, it’s Protestantism and the pernicious concept of grace as opposed to good works in Judaism, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity or Islam. If you are poor, you must be cursed by God and therefore deserve everything that happens to you. What’s more, the elect who have grace are entitled to make your life even worse for their benefit.
  - powerslacker 5y ago
    This is incorrect. Your comment references certain points of Calvinist doctrine but grossly misinterprets them.
- ByThyGrace 5y ago
  Voltaire's "Candide or the Optimist" is a classic literary novella with this subject as backdrop. Short and wonderful, a must read.
  - BizarroLand 5y ago
    Just keep in mind that the story is weapons-grade satire for a world that doesn't really exist any more, and even though it is still extremely relevant and eye-opening it was written for a different time. Without that reading Candide is akin to reading a serial killers' torturous fan fiction.
Chris2048 5y ago
> in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw The (modern) meaning of this is hard to discern without knowing if "poor" means the same in the two contexts. Is it not possible someone in the US who is considered to be "poor" (by wealth or QoL) might not be in Togo? > bureaucratic support to fight tax evasion Do you mean actual (legal) tax evasion, or tax fairness?
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  "Do you mean actual (legal) tax evasion, or tax fairness?" Many tax schemes exist in a weired gray area and have not been tested in court sufficiently, because of how complex they are, how difficult they are to invetigate and expensive to prosecute
marijnz0r 5y ago
Rutger Bregman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Bregman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Bregman

gerbilly 5y ago

> The issue is that in the west, and particular in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw. This is the Just world hypothesis in action.¹ 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis

fmajid 5y ago
No, it’s Protestantism and the pernicious concept of grace as opposed to good works in Judaism, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity or Islam. If you are poor, you must be cursed by God and therefore deserve everything that happens to you. What’s more, the elect who have grace are entitled to make your life even worse for their benefit.
- powerslacker 5y ago
  This is incorrect. Your comment references certain points of Calvinist doctrine but grossly misinterprets them.
ByThyGrace 5y ago
Voltaire's "Candide or the Optimist" is a classic literary novella with this subject as backdrop. Short and wonderful, a must read.
- BizarroLand 5y ago
  Just keep in mind that the story is weapons-grade satire for a world that doesn't really exist any more, and even though it is still extremely relevant and eye-opening it was written for a different time. Without that reading Candide is akin to reading a serial killers' torturous fan fiction.

Chris2048 5y ago

> in the US, being poor is considered a character flaw The (modern) meaning of this is hard to discern without knowing if "poor" means the same in the two contexts. Is it not possible someone in the US who is considered to be "poor" (by wealth or QoL) might not be in Togo? > bureaucratic support to fight tax evasion Do you mean actual (legal) tax evasion, or tax fairness?

ClumsyPilot 5y ago
"Do you mean actual (legal) tax evasion, or tax fairness?" Many tax schemes exist in a weired gray area and have not been tested in court sufficiently, because of how complex they are, how difficult they are to invetigate and expensive to prosecute

marijnz0r 5y ago

Rutger Bregman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Bregman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutger_Bregman