Is poverty a moral failing like the repugs believe?

[Gothic Sponge]

I'm sick of these right-wing idiots equating people's self-worth to their bank account!

[southpaw]

1. No.

Just a way to justify their greed and selfishness.

[Trajan]

2. Poverty IS a moral failing ....

of those who have the power and resources to stop it, and dont ...

[cheezus]

16. ...of our nation

we have the resources to make sure that nobody sleeps on the street. We have the resources to make sure that nobody goes to bed hungry. We have the resources to make sure that nobody goes without health care.

We choose to let it happen anyway. That is a HUGE moral failing.

[dorktv]

20. You are correct. If you own a business and refuse to pay

your employees a living wage when you have massive profits then YOU are the moral failure, not your employees who are the ones producing the product you make your money from.

[amazona]

3. no but wealth is

Needing to amass great wealth is a sign that one does not trust in the Lord. Jesus did not wait to accumulate a big 401(K) before he went out and became a teacher. I think to a certain extent we all have this failing; I know I certainly would not be willing to trust in the Lord to this extent and I will continue to attempt to save/invest for the future.

[mrboba1]

6. no it isn't. (to amazona)

Needing to amass great wealth is not necessarily a sign of weakness, and I think it is disturbing that so many people think that having money is some sort of evil.
There are many many ways of amassing great wealth while helping other people - it's not always at the expense of others and it has nothing to do with trusting God.

Such a view is very shortsighted.

[amazona]

11. the need to amass wealth is fear and fear is a weakness

There are not "many, many ways" to amass great wealth while helping others although if you want to suggest even one way, many of us lower income people here will be glad to give it a try!

My point above is simple: People amass great wealth out of fear. If we did not fear the future, we would have no need for great wealth. If we did not fear other's opinions, we would have no need for conspicuous display. I'm not saying all rich people are evil. But I am pointing out that they are all afraid which is a weakness by any definition of the word. Lack of courage is a moral failing -- a common one, an easy one to sympathize with, but still a failing.

[mrboba1]

13. there are many ways.

Some just involves a lot more commitment and dedication than most people would want to give. They don't exist in the "normal operations" of the business model, and therefore shunned by the "business world."

Others are very simple. There is a saying that money is power. But this is better:
getting a financial education.

If you know how money works - and I mean truly know how it works - you can do almost anything you want and amass wealth.

[bo44]

21. My father was driven to succeed and become wealthy

out fear as you argue Amazona. As an 18 year old apprentice carpenter with a wife, a daughter and two knuckleheads to come he was determined to not let his future grandkids live in poverty. It made for a unique experience growing up watching my father succeed. My mother and father have never flaunted their success and do not run with the yuppies.

[Cobalt Violet]

4. No,

No, it is not!

I'm tired after working 16hr. from 3pm-to 7am this morning to use my brain properly. But the short answer is no!

[madrchsod]

5. no- i think this

idea is based on Calvinism . the koran and the teachings of christ state that the wealthy should help the poor.

[Selwynn]

7. Yes.

It is a moral failing of a society who has more than enough ability to have none of its citizens in poverty when that society allows it anyway.

[ashling]

10. LBJ knew this

[HEyHEY]

8. FUCK no - you know how poor I am????

WHY AM I POOR YOU ASK? Because I had to put myself through school with student loans which I'm now repaying..... who's got the moral failing? The rich repub taking a free ride of his folks then spending most of college pissing it away and barely getting a degree. Then they get a job because of connections, never have to work and don't see the hypocrisy in saying anyone who is behind because they have to WORK for something is morally corrupt.

[wildeyed]

15. It's truly hypocrisy.

My husbands cousin's folks paid for his college, down payment on his home and then lent him the $$$'s to purchase a business. Oh yeah, and pay the country club dues for him. And he seems to think poor people deserve to be poor and he deserves to be rich. He is BETTER than they are, instead of LUCKIER to have rich and generous parents.

There are so many people out there working so hard for very little, with no back up. All it takes is a broken down car or an illness, and bam, they are out on the streets. It's the shits.

[HEyHEY]

9. I'll tell you another moral failing

Fuckers paying educated people SHIT WAGES.... they're making shitloads off the debt I'm still paying off

[Gothic Sponge]

12. I'm sure some of you will hate me for saying this...

(in its current state) I hate capitalism! It's system based on greed. I'm not against people becoming rich. (as long as it's not at the expense of the others.) I think we need a capitalistic/socialistic system in America!

[wildeyed]

17. I think greed is a good

economic motivator. I own a small business and I never would have worked as hard as I have if it wasn't for the greed factor. I have long term financial goals, sending my children to college (I don't want them to be saddled with loan payments) and retiring before my husband and I are too decrepit to work anymore. Greed? Maybe, but I don't think it is destructive.

I don't worship greed or think it is the answer to all that ails society. We need a government that protects the weak so the super-greedy don't grind them into the dirt. Is it weird to not want to live in a country that allows children to live in the street? I mean, we could afford to put a stop to that if we chose to.

[Book Lover]

14. Then wouldn't Jesus be

a really bad person in their eyes? I mean, I may not have attended Mass in many years, but I do seem to recall something about rich men and the eye of the needle (which IIRC actually turns out to have been a nickname given to the entrance to a city, which makes the image much stronger, but I digress...)

[Tsiyu]

18. If the Morality is Jesus- based

the rethugs are immoral. That guy named Jesus that they claim to know so well said "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth." He went on to say that accummulated wealth and stuff would only rot.
When the Rich Kid asked him how to get to heaven, Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor.

The only way the Rethugs can claim it is immoral to be poor is if they are not Christians and don't believe in anything Jesus said.

It's fine to believe anything you want. I'm not a Christian, but I am disgusted with those who claim that God speaks to them while ignoring or plain out bastardizing the faith they claim to share.

[Donkeyboy75]

23. I just couldn't agree with you more.

The doubletalk these fuckers use is pathetic. They happily devour the 20% of the Bible that appeals to their bigotry and greed, and ignore the rest. If you ever have the misfortune of speaking to an evangelical who behaves like this, it's a lot of fun to watch them squirm as they try to explain their way out of this conundrum.

[Westegg]

19. Steinbeck (and the Bible) argued eloquently otherwise. (n/t)

[noonwitch]

22. No-but it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, etc.

Not that I think that all rich people are corrupt. I've known some good ones-the family that used to own Steelcase, the Idemas, were very nice people. My dad knew them through Rotary. The Meijer family, conservatives though they may be, seem like very nice people, too. I like the ad they have running about their first store and how Fred Meijer met his wife when she was a cashier there. The Meijer Garden in Grand Rapids, MI is really something worth seeing.

Every time I see Ford CEO William Clay Ford, Jr., on the news, he always strikes me as a pretty decent person.