Is poverty a moral failing?

[Jayson1]

Well, to be honest such people do exist. I have an acquintance who has been willing to live on welfare level for his entire life, because working doesn't appeal to him, and he frankly admits as much. ('why work if I would barely have more to spend with the jobs open to me than I can get from welfare?')

But such persons are the exception. Most 'poor' people I know are willing to work, and work hard, but just had fewer opportunities in life, for whatever reason.

To me this is more of a problem with the system than this guy. The fact that jobs screw over the worker were they are basically working for welfare level of pay should make people look at how companies do business. It should also spark a rebirth in labor unions and a increase in mininium wage. People shouldn't have to settle for whatever crumbs the rich want to give us and if they don't want to change why should anyone feel sorry for them when it comes to higher taxes going to welfare and social programs?

Jason

 

[Jayson1]

^I agree that labour should be compensated fairly.

Then again, most people I know probably still would take the job in that situation, and gradually try to work their way to a better job. Myself included. And not because I'm ambitious (I'm not), but simply because sitting at home would be really detrimental to my mental health. I already get itchy and impatient when I am on holiday for more than 2 weeks.

I think it depends on the job. The job I use to have help make my mental condition worse. Worked as a bulk carrier for the local newspaper and had the job for over 13 years. Driving alone at night, every night and never seeing any other humans just about can get to you.
It was while I was working when I started to notice my OCD thoughts and that is were I started to kind of have a imaginary person talking to me and that is where I tried to drive my truck into a river.
I live on disability now and I got to admit I don't miss the job. I do want to find things to do though which is hard because my town is so boring their isn't much to do.

Jason

 

[at Quark's]

^I see you responded on the post I deleted.

I'm privileged in some way because I apparently have a job that makes me itch for it after only a 2 weeks' leave, and I realised not all jobs might do that, and my argument therefore showed my bias. That's why I deleted my post 5 minutes after I placed it, hoping that nobody would have seen it yet

Still, in general I think I'd prefer a dull job to sitting at home. But that's just for me, personally. I can understand it would work differently for someone else (or for a specific combination of personality and job), as I indeed see in your reply.

 

[O_Kav]

I have an acquintance who has been willing to live on welfare level for his entire life, because working doesn't appeal to him, and he frankly admits as much. ('why work if I would barely have more to spend with the jobs open to me than I can get from welfare?')

We should try to understand the complexities of his motivations then. We should also try to understand the system that makes him reject working... I know you didn't implied it's his fault, but we shouldn't be blaming him. He needs professional help.

Work is an essential and healthy part of Human Life. At least, it should be. We all seek feeling useful to one another. Wanting to be a productive member of Society is a basic Human characteristic we all share. Working shouldn't be something torturous that makes some of us run away from it. Having an Occupation that reflects on our individuality and makes us complete should be the ideal situation here. When a lot of jobs are not Occupations and most of them are inhumane... Then we will do it merely because of survival.

In the 21st Century, after so many technological advancements, working just to survive shouldn't be a thing. We don't live in the Iron Age anymore. We shouldn't have scarcity, we shouldn't be fighting for scraps... But here we are!

Each day that passes Capitalism weighs down more and more in our heads. We are losing our Humanity, most of us are giving in to Stress and many other mental conditions. We don't have enough clinical assistance, what we had is being taken away by Austerity. The Private Sector can't possibly handle it too. Neither the State or our Bosses care for the comfort of the Working Class anymore. People are being thrown to the wolves and expected to produce twice with half of the quality of life they had before.

The technology that should be saving us of dangerous and physically demanding jobs is being used in a wrong way and doing the exact opposite thing. It's creating structural unemployment. It's creating more Sweatshops and dangerous Ore Mines.

Something is inherently broken with this system that we live in, not the people like your acquintance who are victims of it.

 

[Australis]

The 1%. The 1% are broken.

 

[Nyotarules]

In a super consumer society that we live in, the smaller the gap between rich and poor the more customers the MNCs will have to buy the silly products that we really do not need in the first place. The wider the gap, the smaller the market of potential customers, don't the mega rich see that? Its in their interest to have a large vibrant middle class.
I can understand if the inherited wealth do not have a clue...

 

[Jayson1]

In a super consumer society that we live in, the smaller the gap between rich and poor the more customers the MNCs will have to buy the silly products that we really do not need in the first place. The wider the gap, the smaller the market of potential customers, don't the mega rich see that? Its in their interest to have a large vibrant middle class.
I can understand if the inherited wealth do not have a clue...

I think having a global market is seen as a replacement for having your country have a strong middle class of consumers. What money you loose by having more Americans not be able to buy your products can be made up by having people in China,Europe etc buy it. Just look at how Hollywood has started shaping it's strategies towards movies to apeal to the China market. You don't even have to have a strong domestic gross to make a profit.

Jason

 

[Nyotarules]

I think having a global market is seen as a replacement for having your country have a strong middle class of consumers. What money you loose by having more Americans not be able to buy your products can be made up by having people in China,Europe etc buy it. Just look at how Hollywood has started shaping it's strategies towards movies to apeal to the China market. You don't even have to have a strong domestic gross to make a profit.

Jason

And for that to be successful those global markets need to have a mass market of middle class, and a narrowing gap between rich and poor. If this was worldwide everyone would benefit. Instead the MNC rely on 'global markets' and the poorer nations rely on migrant remittances from the developed nations so their politicians have no incentive to improve the lot of their own people, let them live off Moneygram and Western Union instead.