BF2S Forums Welfare recipients withdrew $1.8 million at casino ATMs

Heres a question.  Why do you seem to get upset when poor people cheat the system but not the rich?

then I would say something like cheating is cheating and if they take more than what they give in I wouldnt exactly call that fair.  example: golden parachutes.  another example: ridiculous subsidies for the biggest corporations in the world.

Reciprocity wrote:

the child has an opinion.

The child also wants to know what you think of the opinion.

eleven bravo wrote:

Heres a question.  Why do you seem to get upset when poor people cheat the system but not the rich?

Exactly....

It's easier to throw contempt at the poor than it is toward the rich, because the rich employ most of us.  Subconsciously, many of us are either subservient to or fearful of the rich, so we're willing to put up with their shit.

Then of course, there's the fact that the low self-esteem of many people requires that they put down someone to feel better about themselves, and the poor make that easiest to do, since they're an easy target.

It also doesn't help that most capitalistic societies naturally develop a contempt for the poor, since we're constantly fed the idea that money = the worth of your life.  It's gotten to the point that a simple means of trade has become an obsession and religion for many people -- especially the "free market" types -- the same people who often turn a blind eye to corporate bailouts.

Remember, it's socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us.

Last edited by Turquoise (2010-06-26 11:43:47)

SenorToenails wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

eleven bravo wrote:

Heres a question.  Why do you seem to get upset when poor people cheat the system but not the rich?

Exactly....

It's easier to throw contempt at the poor than it is toward the rich, because the rich employ most of us.  Subconsciously, many of us are either subservient to or fearful of the rich, so we're willing to put up with their shit.

Then of course, there's the fact that the low self-esteem of many people requires that they put down someone to feel better about themselves, and the poor make that easiest to do, since they're an easy target.

It also doesn't help that most capitalistic societies naturally develop a contempt for the poor, since we're constantly fed the idea that money = the worth of your life.  It's gotten to the point that a simple means of trade has become an obsession and religion for many people -- especially the "free market" types -- the same people who often turn a blind eye to corporate bailouts.

Remember, it's socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest of us.

You have a good point here...but I wonder if the contempt for the poor and welfare recipients comes from people who DO work for crap wages barely make end meet, and then they see some 'lazy slug' who is getting money for free and driving a nicer car/wearing nicer clothes/etc...  I don't like it when anyone cheats the system, and rich people can cheat for more...but that's not part of the common man's experience.  He is more likely to see more poor people 'cheating'.

Well, this situation is one I can relate to.  Yes, it makes sense that people who work their asses off in a shitty job would be resentful toward leechers.  That part, I get.

I would also like to see the system reformed so that welfare provides less than what minimum wage does, so that there's more incentive to find work and accept a shitty job rather than live off of the system.

Another needed reform is that welfare should continue being provided to a person or family for a few months after finding work, so that there aren't any complications involving when a paycheck is received.  There are occasions where a potential worker is sent the wrong message when he or she can't get welfare if they have a low-paying job that still isn't making ends meet.   I'd like to ensure the system still encourages the person to work, instead of literally dropping all work just to get welfare.

beyond bernie madoff.  talking about tax havens and multi billion dollar corporations paying damn near zero taxes

SEREMAKER wrote:

I've always looked at it as :

most of us understand the hardship and life of a poor person but have that mentality of : if they can cheat the system why can't I and if I can't cheat it, then I'm pissed at them

but can tolerate some shenningaings from the rich until they rock the boat to much ( bernie ) - has to do with the methods that the rich uses to cheat the system

On a surface level, I understand that as well, but it also shows that people seem to ignore that when the rich cheat the system, it hurts the system far more than when the poor do.

For example, when Wall Street collectively decided to cheat the mortgage industry with some governmental help, they nearly crushed the economy.

Yet, Bernie is the only major figure in this who has gone to jail.

It seems like the message is one where you can cheat the system if you're rich without worrying about it, until you piss off a lot of other rich people.  You can cheat the working masses and be fairly insulated from any threats to your freedom.

SEREMAKER wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

SEREMAKER wrote:

I've always looked at it as :

most of us understand the hardship and life of a poor person but have that mentality of : if they can cheat the system why can't I and if I can't cheat it, then I'm pissed at them

but can tolerate some shenningaings from the rich until they rock the boat to much ( bernie ) - has to do with the methods that the rich uses to cheat the system

On a surface level, I understand that as well, but it also shows that people seem to ignore that when the rich cheat the system, it hurts the system far more than when the poor do.

For example, when Wall Street collectively decided to cheat the mortgage industry with some governmental help, they nearly crushed the economy.

Yet, Bernie is the only major figure in this who has gone to jail.

It seems like the message is one where you can cheat the system if you're rich without worrying about it, until you piss off a lot of other rich people.  You can cheat the working masses and be fairly insulated from any threats to your freedom.

if only everybody had their hand in the cookie jar

Well, for what it's worth, we sometimes do that as citizens.

Politicians of both parties love pork for their home states, because their constituents reward them for it.  Back when Ted Stevens was in charge of the Appropriations Committee, he racked up a record amount of pork for his state of Alaska, and while it was a scandal for the rest of the country, his people loved him for it.

Robert Byrd has spent decades bringing home pork for his state of WV, and like Stevens's constituents, they also love him for it.

The problem is that too many people, whether among the poor, working class, or among the elite rich, have no problem with putting their hands in the cookie jar because of shortsighted greed.  The only difference is in how much damage each type of greed does.

Granted, a good start from our perspective is to elect politicians that promise less pork for their own states -- not an easy thing to sell, of course.