10 Ways the Poor Are More Ethical than the Rich

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/10-ways-poor-are-more-ethical-rich



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1. The Poor Don't Cheat As Much

An analysis of seven different psychological studies found that "upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals." A series of experiments showed that upper-class individuals were more likely to break traffic laws, take valued goods from others, lie in a negotiation, and cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize.

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2. The Poor Care More About Other People

Numerous reputable sources have concluded that lower class individuals tend to be more generous and trusting and helpful, compared to the upper class. As people gain in wealth, they depend less on others, and thus they have less reason to understand the feelings and needs of the less fortunate. The poor are better at interpersonal relationships because they need other people.

***SNIP

3. The Rich Focus on Me, Me, Me

The authors of a recent psychological study argue that rich people are different because they have the freedom to focus on self. In support of this, a number of studies have demonstrated that higher social class is associated with increased narcissism, even to the point of looking at themselves more frequently in a mirror. The rich feel entitled. They attribute success to their 'superior' traits, while people from lower economic backgrounds attribute success to societal values, such as educational opportunities.


4. The Poor Give a Greater Percentage of Their Money to Others

Research has shown that low-income Americans spend a much higher percentage of their income on charitable giving. Results from three studies average out to 4.5% from low-income people, 2.7% from those with high incomes. With respect to helping people in need, the rich give even less. As Robert Reich notes, about two-thirds of 'charitable' donations from the rich go to their foundations and alma maters, and to "culture palaces" – operas, art museums, symphonies, and theaters.

[IronLionZion]

1. They spend more of their income, thus boosting the economy more

through consumer demand.

[Blus4u]

2. Gee the 'lower' class seems to be....

a higher class of people than the 'upper' class.

Peace

[IrishAyes]

4. That's been my experience.

After his military career my ex went to work as a lobbyist for a certain gigantic agricultural organization whose members were quite wealthy. One day a particular woman offered me a huge amount of honey produced on her farm; I thanked her but said it was far more than our small family could ever use. She insisted anyway and I gave in to keep the peace, knowing I wouldn't keep all the honey for myself. When she eventually found out I'd given a large portion of it to actual poor people (some of whom worked her fields), she came unglued. Not so much because I'd given some away. She'd pretty much realized that would happen. Her rage centered on the fact that I'd shared with people who could never afford to buy anything so costly. They hadn't done anything to deserve it! Forget that some of them were her farmhands. Can't let the poor get a taste for anything nice! They might start to think they deserve something for their labor.

Which brings me to a striking sign I saw at a recent protest:

"Soon the poor will have nothing left to eat but the rich."

[seabeckind]

3. Good points

Unfortunately only a few thousand might read it, maybe 80% might agree, maybe 10% will discuss it (quietly between themselves in the ether), and there'll be a hundred opposing articles about wealth redistribution and how much they tithe,

and nothing will happen. Cause there is no forum and that rich money controls access to everything. See item 3. They didn't get where they are helping another guy in the ladder, they got there by taking advantage of that other guy on the ladder.

BTW, I think once more we see problems with our economy:

"... Over 90% of the assets ... are held in a combination of low-risk investments (bonds and cash), the stock market, and real estate... "

[Le Taz Hot]

5. I can affirm #2.

Having to go to people's houses for interviews, I can tell you the poor are FAR more likely to ask me inside and offer me a bottle of water. The wealthy? I'm far more likely to interview on the porch, including in 110 degree heat, they're far more hostile and dismissive and I don't think a one of them has ever asked if I needed some water.

[reformist2]

14. They're afraid you might steal their jewelry & silverware!

[mountain grammy]

6. I see this often, living a working in a one season resort town

and it's a short season at that. The wealthy visit their million dollar mansions and bless the local poor with their presence but not much else. They tend to leave 10% tips for food service, whine about the lack of housekeepers or how much they charge, and the tourists, who are our bread and butter. When they pack up and leave after their Labor Day bashes, we stay behind and keep going. We used to have a robust winter snowmobile business, but the rich who visited us in the winter don't like the noise, and the town council, filled with real estate interests, obliged with enough silly rules to ruin it for everyone.
Our elementary school closed 3 years ago, not enough kids in town to keep it open, so our kids are bused 15 miles to school. The rich bought us a $5 million theater, but it's only open in the summer and is closed, like the mansions, most of the winter.

I do see signs of change.. we elected 3 locals to our town board this year who are not in real estate, but struggling wage earners, like most of us. We had plenty of snow, and the local lodging businesses ran some great specials, bringing in visitors who discovered what a fantastic experience our mountains are in the winter, and the town officials welcomed them for a change (or kept their mouths shut.)

[dotymed]

7. Spot on.

Since I have retired, I often get "wealthy" (they think, I have done jobs for actual wealthy, "big family name&quot people (in public) ask how I stay happy (I am poor you know,,monetarily), occasionally invite me to join them at places I can't afford (expenses paid)...I hear how most people are just after their money, blah, blah.

Inevitably, when "they" have a "bargain" for me, they try to rip me off or, for instance, a "friend" who constantly talks about all of his money (trust fund baby who has invested in transportation companies) asked me if I would pick up a car for him, he was selling it. I did and it was a decent deal. I told him that after my Son graduates school (this week) I would buy it. "No problem, I will hold it for you."
lol. I drove by his house on my way home the very next day. The car was in his yard with a for sale sign..
I texted him and and said that I liked his car in the yard (facetious me). I did tell him that I had changed my mind about the car (because it was really no BFD to me. He now acts a little awkward around me... I just wouldn't do that to someone,,,
America has the worst wealth equality in the world. So, I agree...soon there will be nothing left for we poor to eat, except the wealthy.)

[fasttense]

10. I sell at the farmer's market

and many people like to pretend they grow the food they sell. It is a growers only market. You have to be the farmer or grower to sell your produce there. But it's difficult for the market manager to get out to everyone's farms to confirm they are growing or raising the food themselves. So, I volunteered to help her out.

Most of the people who are cheating are really well to do. For example a real estate flipper had fallen on hard times and he claimed to raise beef, pork, sheep and chickens on his farm to sell at market. I went to his farm unannounced and he only had one sad ram, an old bull and lots of chickens. So, I asked where were the sheep, beef and hogs. He said he had slaughtered all of them. So, he showed me his frozen meats and there was everything in there from turkey to beef. But the label was from the slaughter house. He was taking off the slaughter house's label and putting his own on them. He claimed the slaughter house had made a mistake.

Yet, when I go to the poor run down farmhouse with a family of 8, they have large herds of animals and big gardens. They are very busy feeding and gardening while the flipper was rocking on his porch drinking cocktails and grilling steaks.

He had this beautiful, expensive house, about 4 huge trucks and about 5 acres (he claimed to be renting his neighbor's land for all his pasture raised meat. Yeah right.) The sad part was that he kept arguing with me and the market manger backed down and let him in to resell the slaughter house meat (he only lasted a year, customers caught on to him and his sales slowly declined to nothing.) For a year he was cutting into the real farmer's sales and gladly walking off with their money.

[raouldukelives]

8. If it wasn't for the poor, I wouldn't have any friends.

Seriously, I've tried communicating with the wealthy. They don't want to be bothered. Ever tried to discuss AGW with a Chevron investor? Not a pleasant scene. They usually shut me down before I even get started. Can't have the facts getting in the way of the good feelings generated by a never ending vacation from the effects of unregulated exploitation.

Any time I have ever been assisted, picked up hitchhiking or given a break, has been by a "poor" person. Every time I have assisted a poor person they have been more than thankful, even offering to reimburse me monetarily.
I cannot recall ever being helped by wealthy person. And as for the times I have assisted a wealthy person, I was given the impression I was only doing what was expected of me. No thanks needed, the privilege of being near them apparently thanks enough.

[Thespian2]

9. Our Village

is small, both in size and population. We are in one of Canada's poorer provinces. Yet when one of our neighbours, a fisherman, got his face broken up in an accident and needed extensive surgery, the community came together to help him during his recovery. Other fishermen and fisherwomen have been hauling his lobster traps each day since the season opened. They are keeping his business going. Yesterday, at our community hall, neighbours put on a ceilidh (social event featuring Irish and Scottish music) to raise money for him. Our village numbers about 350...we raised over $8000 to meet his needs. I must add we have "socialized" medicine, so he had no medical expenses. The money was given to meet his living expenses while he recovers over the next several weeks. Not a greedy bastard in sight.

[deafskeptic]

11. I think Eric Cantor is from my old neighborhood.

I grew up in a very affluent neighborhood. Eric is a grad of my brother's old high school Collegiate. My brother graduated from it in the early 1970s while Eric is a grad from there in the mid 80s. For the record, I have never met him.

When I worked as a mail clerk, it amazed me at how generous the less affluent people were.

I remember a banker named Eric Freedlander well. He lived right across the street from my old home. When the second morgate scandal broke out, the local papers just could not get enough of Eric Freedlander for over a year. I recall that his parents, brother and he all went to jail for this fraud. The kids and their mom were the only ones who didn't go jail.

Another neighbor went to jail for selling heroin at his pharmacy. I'm serious.

As for Eric himself, I think his behavior is self explanatory.

[WillyT]

12. K & R !!!

[bettyellen]

13. I was just watching "What Would you Do" - that show that sets up scenarios where you would

hope someone intervenes. (My excuse being it is often filmed in my town)

Anyway, there was a bit of a marathon and I looked up whenever anyone intervened and it struck me today, not a single man that wasn't black helped. It was all ages and demographics of women, but all teen boys and men were AA. It was kind of striking.

I think that a huge part of WP is just to lack empathy big time. Sorry to inject gender and race into it. But that is what I saw today.

[gtar100]

15. The link cut it down to 5. The rich must have gotten upset and bought up the other 5.

If you turned these around, it would be a Guide to Getting Rich in Today's America:

1. Cheat. Take whatever is to your advantage by whatever means you can get away with.

2. Fend for yourself and let others do the same. Only help others when there is a personal gain for yourself - others will owe you favors, your reputation is jacked up etc.

3. Focus on me, me, me. And tell yourself repeatedly that that is what everyone else does too.

4. Give money only when their is a return of value in your favor. Giving to the poor and needy is for suckers and bleeding hearts - except to maintain a certain respectable reputation.

5. Once you have money, keep it safe, don't take risks, accumulate, accumulate, accumulate.

There. That's the kind of system we have built for ourselves due to deregulation and tax laws built to reward the rich. We've lost the set of rules that channel investments into the higher purposes of community and humanity. Indeed both occidental and oriental histories show that enlightenment of the human race is a rare, rare thing. I think we learned through Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt that there are practical things a system of government can do to enrich humanity as a whole. Its ideals were never fully realized before the republicans/conservatives (i.e., fundamentalists) got enough of a foothold on power to knock it all down again. Historically speaking, we care way too much about Kings and Queens, Emperors, and Popes, conquerors, and almighty Gods that sit on thrones in judgment of our everyday lives. Democracy and justice is antithetical to all of that. And the rich today... they love their own kingdoms too much to see the fault that lies squarely at their feet for the destruction of this world and all its suffering. They have the means to make it better but they do nothing. They lack creativity and true ingenuity, and despite all their wealth, they are less than worthless to this world... they are a detriment to it.

[adirondacker]

20. +1000! nt

[maggiesfarmer]

16. Freakonomics had a relevant study...

where they speculate people at the top may have gotten there because they cheat. The study was about a guy who provided a service of stocking break rooms of professional office buildings with bagels. He had an honor system, asking people to pay a fixed amount for each bagel. He noticed that some break rooms tended to be more honest than others and started keeping detailed records. He found an inverse correlation between offices with highest salaries and honesty. Even within the same corporations, he found the executive suite break rooms tended to be less honest than the worker bee break rooms.

[Phlem]

17. The poor contribute what they can to DU

only to get shouted down by the fan base.

This place is a joke and No! the jury is not rigged at all.

[adirondacker]

18. Many of us can see right through the bullshit, But you gotta give em credit for pretzel twisting

the turd (way)

[Phlem]

19. Thanks Bud.

You know it!

-p