Re: Why the Poor are Mostly Deserving of their Fate

[Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>]

It was understandable to be poor when all the world was poor.  It is 
understandable to be poor in those nations today that make the 
accumulation of wealth a crime for most people.  It is not understandable 
to be poor (for long) in the US where one can reliably get out of poverty 
simply by doing three simple things:

1) get a high school diploma
2) get married
3) get any job

Only about 2 tenths of 1% of those who satisfy those three requirements
incomes below the official poverty line.

Like most libertarians, I dislike the government.  I don't care what a 
person's income is.  When I was self-supporting on an income of $200 a 
month in 1979, I was below the poverty level for a single person myself.  
I am not enamored of the rich or poor members of the dependendant classes 
of course.

I try and keep in mind that 80-90% of the "take" in government 
programs for the "poor" goes to unpoor government employees.

DCF