jimbrown45 wrote:
Lucky breaks....only a spoiled brat thinks that the poor miracle themselves out of poverty (with a healthy dose of government cheese of course).
Wrong.
I come from an extremely underprivileged background (for a North American) yet I'm vastly out-performing my cohort in pretty much every way. I don't know of a single person with a similar background who is doing as well as I am monetarily, professionally etc.
For example, people from my demographic background have up to an 80% drop out rate, and a substantial percentage of homeless people in my jurisdiction share similar histories to mine.
I'm lucky because:
a) I wasn't born with fetal alcohol syndrome or any other severe disability
b) I grew up loving reading and wanting to be a writer
c) A good number of caring people took it upon themselves to help me and teach me whatever they could
d) Because of my aforementioned literacy skills I was able to navigate government bureaucracies and advocate for myself
e) I never developed a drug addiction
f) I ended up with an excellent psychiatrist as a teenager who helped me break destructive behaviours before adulthood
g) A bunch of other very lucky breaks came my way professionally.
h) I'm white.
Did I work for my luck, yes, I did. However, if I was born with fetal alcohol syndrome no amount of "hard work" on my part would have given me the opportunities I enjoy today. Is it fair for someone born with that kind of disability should live a fundamentally less pleasant and stable life than the one I enjoy? I don't think so.
Even aside from "birth lottery" breaks like my intelligence and my lack of crippling disabilities, much of the success I enjoy today would be completely impossible without the good fortune I enjoyed in terms of people giving me a hand up.
It's not about expecting the poor to "miracle themselves out of poverty" - it's about recognizing that people who continue to be poor aren't there because they don't "work hard" enough. It's a freaking lottery. They might and probably do work incredibly hard. It doesn't make a difference if the only work that is available for someone with your skills pays starvation wages.
Again, I'm not saying people who do succeed didn't also work hard, but hard work alone is useless. If hard work was what it took to be successful and comfortable all the factory workers in China would be millionaires. Clearly, that's not the case.
Edited, Jan 14th 2014 3:47pm by Olorinus