Your assumption that poor people are dumb and don't know how to help themselves is insulting. I'm a part of the unexotic underclass; I was doing pretty good in my life till serious health problems started in college. Being transgender played a large role too. I've been homeless, broke, been a housemaid and a sex worker, exchanged sex for housing. Before that I was top of my International Baccalaureate program class, and a National Merit scholar. I attended a well ranked state school. I just didn't have any golden parachutes when I had health problems.
From being poor though what I've ended up discovering is just how hard it is to come up from being homeless and broke, or not being from money and having serious health problems, or being black and getting a felony record from an asshole cop. There are a lot of decent poor people, that just can't come up in the world anymore. Their jobs work them like dogs, the world treats them like shit, and their spare energy left at the end of the day is zip. There's nothing left to better yourself with because everyone takes and takes from you and gives back nothing but disrespect.
Sure there are people that are just lazy too. But even among those people there's only a small number that are purposely taking advantage. The silent majority have either disabilities holding them back, or trauma from their life (PTSD). Or the simple lack of anyone parenting them properly and encouraging them to explore their dreams and interests.
Drugs, alcohol, junk food, tv and other vices are a coping mechanism for a shitty life. Make people's lives the least bit better in substantial ways, and those people will start to flower and bloom into more capable and wonderful people.
The disrespect, patronizing, and superior attitudes of the privileged upper class are a huge part of the problem.
From being poor though what I've ended up discovering is just how hard it is to come up from being homeless and broke, or not being from money and having serious health problems, or being black and getting a felony record from an asshole cop. There are a lot of decent poor people, that just can't come up in the world anymore. Their jobs work them like dogs, the world treats them like shit, and their spare energy left at the end of the day is zip. There's nothing left to better yourself with because everyone takes and takes from you and gives back nothing but disrespect.
Sure there are people that are just lazy too. But even among those people there's only a small number that are purposely taking advantage. The silent majority have either disabilities holding them back, or trauma from their life (PTSD). Or the simple lack of anyone parenting them properly and encouraging them to explore their dreams and interests.
Drugs, alcohol, junk food, tv and other vices are a coping mechanism for a shitty life. Make people's lives the least bit better in substantial ways, and those people will start to flower and bloom into more capable and wonderful people.
The disrespect, patronizing, and superior attitudes of the privileged upper class are a huge part of the problem.