I agree with David f's definition of poverty.
The inability to afford minimal standards
of food, clothing, shelter, and health care.

Why isn't something done about eradicating poverty?
The reason may well lie in the belief that the poor
are in poverty because they are 'idle,' and prefer
to live on 'handouts.'

Opinion polls
repeatedly show large sections of the community
favouring cuts in welfare spending, or favouring
plans to 'make welfare recipients go to work.'

Myths abound:
that welfare recipients are a terrible
burden on society - (welfare actually represents two
percent of the Federal Budget); that people are on
welfare indefinitely - (most receive it for less than
two years).

Why do these myths persist?
If those who get ahead can claim credit for their
success, then those who fall behind must, logically
be blamed for their failures. The poor are therefore
supposed to need incentives to work, rather than help
at the expense of the taxpayer.

However, there are few complaints about how the
Nation pays out far more in "handouts," to the
non-poor than to the poor. A large majority of people
receive benefits in one form or another. This fact
generally escapes attention because these benefits
take the indirect form of hidden subsidies or tax
deductions rather than the direct form of cash payments.

I imagine that were surveys to be done - a great deal
of benefits from hidden subsidies would go to the
top five percent of income earners in the country.

I'm not trying to suggest that poverty is "all society's
fault," Some people undoubtedly contribute to their
deprived circumstances. But poverty like wealth is the
outcome of a complex interaction between individual
human beings and the social environment in which they
find themselves.

If we can socially construct our societies, we can
also socially modify them as well - provided that people
are conscious of their own ability to change what they've
created. Whether we choose to preserve, modify, or
change our system is ultimately up to us.

Our choice - what kind of society we want to live in.

Mary:”...I've been reading a few of Col Rouge's posts these past few days,...”

Were you holding a cross, garlic, wooden stake, holy water, gun fully loaded with silver bullets, kryptonite, a bible, your blanky?

WHY MARY? WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?

Well TPP, after I read a post I then look at the name at the bottom, and by mere chance Col Rouge has been popping up a few times lately. Now I know this would give him joy, because it means he's the centre of my attention for 1 minute. He probably gets off on this attention, but as we know most men take less than 60 seconds so I guess my 1 minute gives him ample time. God bless him.

Ludwig, doesn't our system already take from the rich and give to the poor.

We have 42% who are welfare dependant, this means the other 58% (call them rich if you like) pay extra taxes which provide the very welfare they receive.

How much more do you want the 58% to give. They already pick up the slack and pay all the bills?

Mary:Well TPP, after I read a post I then look at the name at the bottom, and by mere chance Col Rouge has been popping up a few times lately. Now I know this would give him joy, because it means he's the centre of my attention for 1 minute. He probably gets off on this attention, but as we know most men take less than 60 seconds so I guess my 1 minute gives him ample time. God bless him.”

Given the content of some posts I reckon he is getting more than enough attention at home in all departments and performing over par to have this attention bestowed on him now with the promise of it continuing in sickness and in health.

I’m trying to work out if this latest flurry of debate is the man positively gushing with love for all mankind but not allowing it to hold him back while participating in his favorite sports activities which look like CJ hunting and Examinator fishing with a little David prodding thrown in.

But I have faith that maybe next year when marital bliss has settled in with a comforting warm and more domestic embrace that we might see more of the “no one is safe”, “god help what you say to me”, “you’re going to be so sorry once you’ve looked all the words up”, man we all cherish for his uniqueness and utterly arctic approach without favoritism.

Yeah okay, I hate it when he’s telling me off. I’m backpedaling and arsekissing like crazy.

Peace out.

I suspect those who don't believe in the condition of poverty or being poor have never been experienced those conditions which are high risk for poverty such as disability, chronic illness, old age, PTSD (Vietnam vets), single parenting, mental illness, gambling or drug addiction etal. Excepting Third World poverty which is entirely another discussion.

While I understand Col's concept of individual responsibility what I think he misses sometimes is the fact that things can happen to people that are out of their control - even for a short time. Things that might make it difficult to lift them up from the abyss to become self-supporting and contributing individuals.

It is not impossible but support is necessary from governments, private individuals and charities in various combinations. Some individuals may require less support than others, but ultimately we cannot assume that we are all the same, that we have the same level of education, family support, intellect or the same personality types.

These supports benefit the whole community in the long term.