"America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor..."

[Bonobo]

"America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves.

To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, "It ain't no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be."

It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor.

Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold.

No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters.

The meanest eating or drinking establishment. owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question:
"If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?"

There will also be an American flag no larger than a child's hand-glued to a lollipop stck and flying from the cash register.

Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue.

Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money.

They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves.

This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times.

Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these. a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor.

They do not love one another because they do not love themselves."

-Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five.

[msongs]

1. yeah but our corporate/military war machine is filthy rich and getting richer, so there nt

[Raster]

43. As is the MIC's symbiot: the Texas-American Petroleum Mafia

The rest of us are being drained dry like a vampire's victim.

[Cal33]

59. This is so typical of a Third World Country and Corporate America is doing its best

to see that we are getting there.

[raccoon]

2. Great post. Kick. nt

[azurnoir]

3. The truth is most of America 's poor do not realize they're poor

the peasants think they're bourgeoisie

[joshcryer]

4. The poorest people in America (save the homeless) have more luxrury than some of the richest...

...in some countries.

[WingDinger]

6. That is the lamest reason for telling all not rich to eat cake.

[Marr]

7. Some incredibly poor countries.

America is not a poor country by any stretch of the imagination, and has no excuse.

[Little Star]

8. Why should this country join them?? We need to lift them up not

bring ourselves down. Get it?

Most of those poor in other countries have a problem with their rich hording all the wealth and corrupt governments. They need to straighten out their own countries and we should be giving them political support to do so (sorta like, give them a fish and they are fed for a day, teach them how to fish and they will be fed everyday).

[pipoman]

58. So then Nation building? Installing leaders? Funding uprisings?

Toppling governments? All things sharply criticized around here.

Our closest neighbor, Mexico. We have sent our manufacturing jobs on the NAFTA promise that the standard of living would improve...nothing. Why? Because of Mexican government policy and corruption. The NAFTA has no indelible requirement for Mexico to improve the plight of their massively poor, thus the wealthy here and there are the only ones truly benefiting from the agreement. So, the question is, what type of "political support" do you suggest for our impoverished neighbors?

[provis99]

10. and you just confirmed the OP's complaint of ridiculing America's poor.

How ironic.

[bobbolink]

11. Thank you. I'm glad some are getting it.

[kenny blankenship]

12. Yeah, what they really need is a LUXURY TAX!

[azurnoir]

15. I don't believe I am seeing such a reply on DU

and what countries would those be? Every country has it's 'ruling' class and they are wealthy the difference is how poor are the poor, in America once you become 'homeless' you simply disappear in a way but even the non-homeless are virtual slaves to credit cards, to mortgage companies, to landlords, to low wage jobs, to a future with little hope......... but yeah they're better off than some of those in the Sudan or Bangladesh and that makes it all better

[truedelphi]

45. That reply really was weird wasn't it.

But at a party I was at recently, this young woman told me that Americans are still better off than people in Africa.
So it might be some kind of meme.

[JuniperLea]

16. As if to illustrate...

Shame on all those poor people feeling sorry for themselves! They should visit another third world country and see how it is to REALLY be poor.

Aiiiiiieeeeeee....

[Hannah Bell]

17. "luxury" = lol. the homeless are the poorest, & in most of those poor countries, the poor

at least have homes.

[liberation]

18. That word "luxury" does not mean what you think it does...

[Fumesucker]

Name a country where the richest people in that country sleep in their cars..

In sub zero weather..

If they're lucky enough to still have a car, else they sleep outside.

[Fumesucker]

22. Dupe.. Self delete..

[Nikia]

25. Having gone to college with students from some of the poorest countries

The privleged in these countries have modern appliances and electronics. I assume that is what you meant by the "luxeries" of the poor.

[DeSwiss]

32. Excellent point. n/t

[woo me with science]

35. The difference is that America has no excuse for its poverty. nt

[Bonobo]

37. Well, leaving out the homeless is exactly the problem and something Americans do uniquely well.

There are estimated to by more than 3 million homeless persons in the US. This is roughly equivalent to the homeless population in the entire European Union.

Australia: About 100,000

Canada: Perhaps as much as 300,000

Japan: Increasing greatly since mid-90's. Perhaps as high as 200,000~400,000 at the upper end.

England: Hard to say, but probably well over 100,000

[nxylas]

48. Actually, all but the poorest countries usually have enclaves of wealth

That's what the predator class wants America to become - a third world nation where a few people live in luxury while the rest starve. I'd say they're about 75% of the way there.

[quaker bill]

49. Where?

Friends travel to many places, and I have not heard of a place where the rich few are less than well taken care of. Even in the two poorest countries in this hemisphere, Nicaragua and Haiti, the wealthy few live very well, far better than the working poor here.

[baldguy]

50. If you're in the top 1%, you can live well anywhere.

If you're that rich in Malawi, you're that rich in Miami - and probably do.

[sulphurdunn]

52. Which countries?

[Orrex]

61. Many of the poor in this country carry more debt than whole cities do in some countries

So that in terms of actual, realized wealth, the impoverished Americans are operating in an inescapable deficit--often through no fault of their own.

[fasttense]

53. Really? They don't know they are poor?

I think they notice when they can't afford food. I think they notice when they are behind on the rent or they get kicked out of their home. I think they notice when the heat or electricity is turned off. I think they notice when the one channel they get on their TV shows them rich people. I think they notice when the bill collector wont stop calling. When they are hungry, cold and homeless they notice how poor they are.

The poor know they are poor. It's just the rest of us who don't notice.

[WingDinger]

5. My grandfather grew up dirt poor. Became rich, then almost poor

The guys he golfed with, actually said to him, we dont have to listen to you anymore, you have no money. My grandfather was despondent. I said, it is a blessing, cuz now you know who really was your friend. That didnt do him any good. Luckily for his sociopathic ass, he sold his company, and is now listened too again.

[XanaDUer]

9. And did he run back to the richies who rejected him?

I'll bet he did.

[dajoki]

13. When it is...

constantly drilled into your head by the rich and powerful, along with the media, you start to believe the lies.

[hfojvt]

14. Is that really from Slaughterhouse Five?

It sounds more like "Breakfast of Champions"

Of course, after a brief search, I cannot find my Vonnegut books.

[Bonobo]

20. Yes, I copied it directly from the book.

It was supposedly written, in the novel, by Howard W. Campell Jr. the American turned Nazi propagandist.

[hfojvt]

21. yes, I found the book later

However, Howard Campbell was not a Nazi propagandist. He was actually an American spy working undercover as a propagandist. His (fictional) story is told in the earlier Vonnegut book "Mother Night".

[Bonobo]

23. I never read Mother Night! Wow!

As Kurt said "Busy, busy, busy" or "Wheels within wheels".

[xchrom]

19. recommend

[Marnie]

24. But where do we rank wealth wise if you take out the top 2%?

[RandomThoughts]

26. trying really hard to avoid that path

At least they will know why

Casandra's real purpose.

Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8cDmi7-U8

[lonestarnot]

27. Rich don't limit their theft to just certain countries.

[dflprincess]

28. Remeber "Underdog" was described as " poor, but honest"

teaching all the kids watching the cartoon that we should expect poor people not to be honest.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. That's nutsy talk. The bad guys, by contrast are not poor and

not honest. Our,hero is also called humble and lovable. What was being taught was it is better to be an honest person than a rich or powerful one. Remember, he who is poor, honest, and humble actually has great powers he does not flaunt, and always wins the day. He is more powerful, but is content to seem less powerful to serve others rather than himself. I loved Underdog. He was played by Wally Cox. Love that Wally.

[dflprincess]

31. This was first brought up in one of my social work classes I took 100 years ago

we were using a book called "Blaming the Victim" (a book that is still used) and the professor was pointing out other ways we were led to stereotype the poor. He used the Underdog description as an example. Had Underdog been described as an "honest shoeshine boy" or as a "honest, poor shoeshine boy" that would have would have been fine. He was, however, described as "poor BUT honest" inferring that being poor and honest might be mutually exclusive or rare traits to find in the same person. Subtle, yes. But sometimes stereotypes are perpetuated in very subtle ways. "Poor but honest" (along with "deserving poor") was not an uncommon phrase at one time and its use was so casual that a person using it might not even really think about what was being implied.

There are many phrases that were once common that aren't used now because of the stereotypes they reenforce.

[DeSwiss]

30. K&R

"America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but because its people are mainly poor..."

/fixed

[Zax2me]

33. If that is true the rest of the world is fucked.

How does anyone make it. (?)

[Bonobo]

34. I think you're sort of missing the point.

Thing less concretely and more psychologically about the relationship between the haves and the have-nots, the Horatio Alger myth and how it is used as a political and cultural tool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Alger_myth

"Scholars have conflicting views over the validity of Horatio Alger's moral in his stories.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Alger’s works were virtually out of print and many commentators seemed to have regarded Alger as a propagandist, saying “the author who celebrated capitalist markets and insisted that in the United States, any poor boy with patience and an unwavering commitment to hard work can become a dazzling success.”<5> While those moving between income brackets and improving their socio-economic status may not be experiencing dazzling success, there is some evidence that the United States is in fact a land of opportunity, highlighted by, “the potential greatness of the common man, rugged individualism, economic triumph."
"ducation is another area where Horatio Alger's ideas have been criticized.

Education can be a means of maintaining class boundaries. Employers use education to determine who to hire, as education is used to select persons who have been socialized into the dominant status culture. Differential achievement in school occurs because of different expectations of administrators, teachers, and parents for students of different socio-economic backgrounds. Instead of mobility, childhood education merely reproduces the current social system. The wage gap between those with college degrees and others is growing. College tuition has increased dramatically and many can no longer afford college, and financial aid options have not kept up with increases in tuition.

The real median income on has increased steadily since 1947, from $22,000 to just over $50,000 in 2003. Since 1979, incredibly divergent income patterns have developed between the rich and the poor. There has been an almost negligible growth for the median and 20th percentile, with explosive growth at the top 95th percentile. The increase in income inequality since the 1970s can be described as the middle class squeeze, with the greatest changes in the bottom third and the top third. In the bottom third, income is generally as it was almost 30 years ago. The top 1% of the population have seen their incomes more than double. Among the poorest people, income grew during 1995 and 2004 due to the increase in annual hours worked, but the increase was very small. The opposite is true for the elite. According to Gregory Mantsios, director of Working Education at CUNY, “the wealthiest 20 percent of the American population holds 85 percent of the total household wealth in the country,” a statistic that does not offer much hope for the remaining percentage of the population.<9>

The poor are becoming relatively poorer and owing more money. In 1985, the average working-class citizen owed $500, compared to $8,000 today; adjusting for inflation, this is an increase of a factor of eight. For the top 5%, wealth (income and assets) has increased from about $500,000 to about $1,000,000. In 2005, the average family had a net worth of $80,000. The poverty level is also much too low for the Horatio Alger myth to be applied in modern society: “a total of 14 percent of the American population – that is, one of every seven – live below the government’s official poverty line (calculated in 1996 at $7,992 for an individual and $16,209 for a family of four)”.

[bhikkhu]

36. I don't mind being poor, myself

...though just this afternoon I had my daughter in for a dentist appointment, her first regular checkup after finding a new dentist (the last one blackballed us when my wife made a late payment a couple years ago). I was happy to have simply kept the appointment, gotten her in on schedule, and found that everything was fine and she is brushing well. Then the bill - $300. I paid it with sudden dismay, as we have just a little "extra money" from a tax refund. But why does it take over half a week's wages to pay for an hour of a dentist's time?

So there's poverty...already I know we won't be able to do another checkup in six months, and I'll have to come up with some excuse.

[Bonobo]

38. Teeth are pretty damn important when you have nothing much else.

That was ONE tooth for ONE child.

Multiply by one or two dozen and then again by a family of 4 or 5.

It is a national disgrace to allow people to have no dental care and face chronic pain, heart disease and an early death.

In Japan, it would cost perhaps $5 or $10 dollars for the care you described under the national insurance which is very reasonable and available to everyone.

[handmade34]

42. good example that poverty is relative

$300 is double a week's wage for many people... so why should someone pay half a month's wages for a dental check-up??

...and why should so many people have to go without dental care because they can't even imagine coming up with that much money??

[pnwmom]

39. Poverty is relative. The U.S. is not "mainly poor" on a worldwide scale.

But even the middle class are "poor" compared to the filthy rich.

[Bonobo]

40. And that relativity is very important, not something to be written off.

When national treasure is being spent on wars and lining the pockets of ruthless corporations who are selling out the poor, while at the same time the US lets education, health care and infrastructure fall into the "somewhat lower than first world status", attention needs to be paid.

These are serious abrogations of the social contract of this country and should not be swept under the rug simply because you can find greater examples of poverty in 3rd world nations.

This country which was founded on ideals of egalitarianism for all has trampled on its own reputation for too long.

But as my old political science professor used to say, "The cure for poverty is money".

We could employ our way out of poverty for most people with make work jobs and improve and update our infrastructure at the same time.

But we won't.

Why?

[MicaelS]

56. Why?.....

Because, among the white collar educated class, there is a great deal of contempt for blue collar workers in this country.

Many times on various "tech" websites, i.e. computer forums and the like, I have read statements saying the same thing:

"Why should union auto workers make so money, all they do is turn a wrench? They make more money than I do, and went to college of X number of years, and it cost me $100,000."

"Anyone who doesn't go to college, and try to better themselves, deserves what they get. They are obviously too stupid or lazy."

Anyone who is a blue collar worker, who works with their hands, especially if they belong to a union, is considered a lesser human being. For all the talk about the left always promoting class envy, there is a great deal of class envy among those white collar professionals that a blue collar worker earns, or might earn a wage equivalent to them. Especially if said white collar worker is in management. They simply feel it is not "right".

The short answer is that many in the white collar educated class are dismissive of blue collar Americans, and feel no need to help uplift them through "make work jobs".

[Orrex]

60. That attitude is not absent from DU, either

I've seen numerous discussions about the allegedly self-evident and undeniable benefits of a college education, coupled with disgusted posts about the raucous excesses afforded to union members.

The societal sickness is insidious and widespread. The "blame the poor for their poverty" mindset has become the default, and the challenge is to open people's eyes so that they realize that the problem does not originate with its victims.

[MicaelS]

62. Absolutely it is prevalent here....

But that's because many people have been brainwashed by that old adage, "Go to college so you can get a better job and earn more money." When they find out they have gone to college for X years, have a degree that is essentially useless, are in debt up to their eyeballs, and making the same money as a high school graduate, they feel they have been cheated out what is rightfully theirs.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Raster]

44. Yes, and one of the vehicles for maintaining their OBSCENE WEALTH is

convincing the people they are trodding upon that they are the true victims and that by allowing their OBSCENE WEALTH, some of it will "trickle-down" to the rest of us.

[grahamhgreen]

46. Kick

[indimuse]

47. KNR! n/t

[whathehell]

51. Do you know of any other western democracy

in which the poor, traditionally, are treated better?...I do not.

[Dash87]

57. Treated better? All of them

and even some third world countries as well.

The US has virtually no social programs.

[whathehell]

63. I'm not sure of that....The US certainly does have social programs

Every hear of Public Assistance, WICCA, Community Mental Health centers?...not to mention a slew of voluntary non-profits.

I'm certainly not saying we're tops in this area, but I doubt we're the worst especially when it comes to "attitudes" toward the poor.

You must remember that, even with opportunities shrinking as they are, we are STILL a meritocracy, rather than a traditionally class-based society, like the U.K., which has improved in that area in recent years but is STILL not free of the shadow cast by centuries of a deeply embedded class system.

[Poboy]

54. recommend.

[Orrex]

55. More of Vonnegut's wisdom:

"...I think it's a heartless government that will let one baby be born owning a big piece of the country, the way I was born, and let another baby be born without owning anything. The least a government could do, it seems to me, is to divide things up fairly among the babies. Life is hard enough, without people having to worry themselves sick about money, too. There's plenty for everybody in this country, if we'll only share more," said Eliot Rosewater.

"And just what do you think that would do to incentive?" asked his father, the Senator.

"You mean fright about not getting enough to eat, about not being able to pay the doctor, about not being able to give your family nice clothes, a safe, cheerful, comfortable place to live, a decent education, and a few good times? You mean shame about not knowing where the Money River is?"

"The what?"

"The Money River, where the wealth of the nation flows. We were born on the banks of it--and so were most of the mediocre people we grew up with, went to private schools with, sailed and played tennis with. We can slurp from that mighty river to our hearts' content. And we even take slurping lessons, so we can slurp more efficiently."

"Slurping lessons?"

"From lawyers! From tax consultants! From customers' men! We're born close enough to the river to drown ourselves and the next ten generations in wealth, simply using dippers and buckets. But we still hire the experts to teach us the use of aqueducts, dams, reservoirs, siphons, bucket brigades, and the Archimedes' screw. And our teachers in turn become rich, and their children become buyers of lessons in slurping."

"I wasn't aware that I slurped."

Eliot was fleetingly heartless, for he was thinking angrily in the abstract. "Born slurpers never are. And they can't imagine what the poor people are talking about when they say they hear somebody slurping. They don't even know what it means when somebody mentions the Money River. When one of us claims that there is no such thing as the Money River I think to myself, "My gosh, but that's a dishonest and tasteless thing to say."

"It's still possible for an American to make a fortune on his own." said his father.

"Sure--provided somebody tells him when he's young enough that there is a Money River, that there's nothing fair about it, that he had damn well forget about hard work and the merit system and honesty and all that crap, and get to where the river is. 'Go where the rich and the powerful are,' I'd tell him, 'and learn their ways. They can be flattered and they can be scared. Please them enormously or scare them enormously, and one moonless night they will put their fingers to their lips, warning you not to make a sound. And they will lead you through the dark ot the widest, deepest river of wealth ever known to man. You'll be shown your place on the riverbank, and handed a bucket all your own. Slurp as much as you want, but try to keep the racket of your slurping down. A poor man might hear.'"

From God bless you, Mr. Rosewater, copyright 1965

Forty-five years later and it's only gotten worse.