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Does it seem to you the more people are provided the less ambition they seem to have?

The war on poverty , cradle to grave medical care, WIC, welfare, grants, free public education, soup kitchens, Salvation Army, low income housing and on and on. Wouldn't you think with all the organizations to help the poor that poverty would be virtually eliminated? But the complete opposite is the case. The more you offer the poor the more poverty seems to grow. The governments answer always seems to be to tax the working man more to pay for the growing poor unemployed population.

Public Comments

1. My friend there will always be poverty thats just part of the human condition, would you let people die in the street? ( it's a retorical question, nothing personal) You must understand that although many people have jobs, some good some not so good...it can be gone in a New York minute. I personally know people who were Bankers, Truck drivers, Food service workers and Cops just a few months ago...now they are without work and some are receiving assistance. One man I know has a Phd. for Christs sake and cannot find a job. It could be me or you next time. Ambition does not always equal sucess, trust me. If it did we would all be exactly what we most wanted to be in our youth. However if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it!!
2. its true if you spoil people and give them everything - they will not have any motivation to do much in terms of getting better, they are already content. some people are motivated by being born in a type of standard to keep up with everyone else , so for some people they are never satisfied and what they have is motivation to accumulate more . some people are broke and poor and have nothing to lose - they dont know any better, you do not miss what you dont know and some people are born at the bottom of the chain and die at the bottom
3. I believe that we need to provide for people rather than let them live on the streets and die, but there does need to be a stricter system in place to make sure the ones getting help are the ones that actually need it. Too many people abuse the system these days. I personally know people that lie about their living situation and claim to support more people than they actually do, in order to get more aid from the government. One family I know even sells their food stamps to people and keeps the cash. That is just wrong. It is quite irritating also that the low income housing is often NICER than what working classes get. I have been inside some of that low income housing, and it is nicer and larger than my apartment which I work hard to pay for. I do believe the system works, but it is the people that make it what it is. As long as there are loopholes for people to take advantage of, they will. This is why people who are in "poverty' have iPods and widescreen TVs, and more groceries than my own family has. They work the system. It's unethical, and it needs to be fixed.
4. That may be some of it but I don't think that the school systems and popular culture encourage people to have realistic ambition. Every kid wants to be on reality TV or be a rock star. Nobody is seen working on most TV shows and they almost always have new shiny stuff and fashionable clothes and homes. When I was a kid most of my friends wanted good jobs, we didn't think being on MTV was a realistic dream. In poor places most people don't have belief that they can do better. Going to college or getting a good job seems like a fantasy to some of them. We need to change that. I don't think giving people everything is the answer either because that doesn't help people learn the things they need to learn to do better in life.
5. Yes but it's expected. Why would someone choose to work for things that they can get for free (unless they had personal honor). Who else is the government going to tax? The poor don't pay taxes. So far the feds get 28% of my income, the state gets 7% and my city gets 3%. That's 38% of my income and it doesn't even include Social Security tax, Medicare tax, sales tax (7%), property tax ($200 a month), gas tax, and the fed and state taxes on my phone, internet, electric, water and gas bills! Then there are the "fees" for registering a boat and cars and "fees" for licenses to allow me to fish, hunt, or drive. Since I live in a city, I have to pay for permits (get permission) to do things like building a fence or a deck. Basically, the government already gets over half of everything I earn. But they want more. The people who are getting things for free aren't happy enough with what they're getting. I know it sounds terrible but sometimes I think about taking a low-paying job just to get to keep more of what I work for. I won't do it but I do think about it sometimes. I've encouraged people to try working and was told they couldn't afford it. They said that then they'd have to pay for rent and medical and food. They didn't see the point and the only argument I had was a sense of independence (that didn't interest them).