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Unfortunately, that's not true. There are a lot of people out there who genuinely think that the poor in the Western world are simply lazy, and that they could
by thenomad 13y ago
Unfortunately, that's not true. There are a lot of people out there who genuinely think that the poor in the Western world are simply lazy, and that they could manage perfectly well in similar circumstances.
I've seen quite a few of those comments on HN. I recall one commenter, even, claiming that the obesity problem in the US proved that welfare payments were generous if not over-generous, because "our poor eat like gluttons".
The more evidence against idiotic viewpoints like that which accumulates through experiments like this, the better.
- rayhano 13y agoIt's entirely the case in the UK. The poor are derided by politicians and the media alike. However, there has been a growing campaign regarding the 'cost of living crisis'. Food, shelter, water and transport are beyond the means of too many people. For no good reason. Inflation is not a market effect. It is nations purposefully stealing from the poorest.
- yummyfajitas 13y agoOut of curiosity, what evidence (if any) would persuade you that welfare payments are sufficiently generous, or that the American poor are lazy? (I might be the commenter you are referring to, I certainly take both the positions you've described. I've observed that I get an extremely emotional reaction when I cite statistics on this topic and I'm curious what evidence would be sufficiently persuasive.)
- drcode 13y agoI suspect his opinions are not falsifiable, if that's what you were hoping for.
- thenomad 13y agoEvidence that it was possible using reasonable efforts and with reasonable implicit levels of education for everyone on welfare to maintain a healthy diet would be a good start. Note that "healthy diet" means more than "enough calories".