1996-05-19 - Re: Why the Poor are Mostly Deserving of their Fate

Header Data

From: Sean Gabb <cea01sig@gold.ac.uk>
To: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Message Hash: c9f0e0acfa61a46d9ceb0e2406f194b27c5240ad07b3ba10cdfc3e45b417ce6e
Message ID: <Pine.SUN.3.93.960518233115.11520B-100000@scorpio.gold.ac.uk>
Reply To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960518041937.11104A-100000@panix.com>
UTC Datetime: 1996-05-19 05:02:07 UTC
Raw Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 13:02:07 +0800

Raw message

From: Sean Gabb <cea01sig@gold.ac.uk>
Date: Sun, 19 May 1996 13:02:07 +0800
To: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Subject: Re: Why the Poor are Mostly Deserving of their Fate
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960518041937.11104A-100000@panix.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.93.960518233115.11520B-100000@scorpio.gold.ac.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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On Sat, 18 May 1996, Duncan Frissell wrote:

> 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
> 
I've done all these things - and rather more in the way of education.  But
while I don't fall on or near the poverty line, I'm still poor as a church
mouse.  What am I doing wrong?

Sean Gabb.






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