Excuses Excuses....
Cancer??
There is another dumb statement...

Yes... People make dumb decisions... So what?? Is that the end?? NO.. They get up the next day and try again... And then again.. And then again...
Until they get it right!
I am not saying that people don't fail... If you read any of my post you will see that.. I am saying the if they CHOOSE to try again then their chances of success go up significantly. IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO TRY AGAIN.... THEN FAILURE IS GUARANTEED.
Trying to compare this to getting a disease is just moronic.

I agree that poverty is not that dominant here in America due to it being so rich itself. In America the garbage disposals eat better than a third of the world does. Even when you get groceries then romanoff noodles are a pack of 12 for 1 dollar and that is less than 10 cents a pack for something that will fill you up and yet nutritious. Even if you can't afford the noodles then there is always soup kitchens to eat at and there is all kinds of charity to make sure that you are alright. I am a democrat but I am one that believe that poverty isn't that big of a problem when you compare our situations with the situations in other countries. Our major problem is that we got a mentally deficient ruler who is making what is real problems with the rest of the world and is making enemies faster than we can kill them, wasting all our military might and allowing all the foxes to invade the henhouse {Pentagon} and milk it dry financially. We indeed have a big problem but it isn't poverty.

poor people do make poor choices

wealthy people make poor choices

wealthy people can afford the resulting outcomes much more than the poor

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“Mayor Palin fails to have a firm grasp of something very simple: the truth.”

[Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97]

Surprise!! Jerry hates Bush!!!

And he is a democrat!

I guess I can check those off my list of questions...

Oily= I am so glad that I was able to take a load off of your list of queries.

Yes I am democrat and hear us roar, we love America and it is our number one interest and the hell with Iraq and the rest of the world. We started from the bottom and had no help becoming who we are and you say that people should be responsible for their own situation and that is how we feel about Iraq. Let them take care of their own country and we aren't responsible for their problems but that is too late now because we are now in their crazy quagmire also and thanks to 'you know who'.

Keep the posts on topic, or they will be deleted.

OG- don't encourage him, please.

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

"You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

Its hard to say. We have to look at why people make mistakes. IQ for example is determined mostly by genetics, and only moderately by environment.

So if someone is born with a very low IQ base level, they can try all they want but they are still going to struggle with academics, decision-making, and life in general.

So saying living in poverty is a choice is very ambiguous. Alot of the traits we are born with, IQ, good looks, learning disabilities, we cannot change or can only change to a certain extent, so some people are destined for poverty no matter what.

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"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. " — John Stuart Mill

You're forgetting one of the biggest issues...the society we live in.

Live off McDonald's, and now you're a fat pig? Nope...not my fault. "Fat" is a disease. I'm just sick.

Crappy parent who can't/doesn't want to control your kid? Nope...not me. My kid just needs a little ritalin.

You're an unruly, criminal asshat? Oh, no..I'm innocent. "The System" made me who I am.

Same thing works for the "poor, poor, pitiful poor." It's SO much easier to shrug off the blame, than actually make some sort of attempt to pick yourself up. Hell...just blame the government! That's the fashionable thing to do.

Again...there ARE instances where poverty can't be helped. Usually it's the severely handicapped. Those who WANT to better themselves, but can't because of some severe mental or physical disability.

Generally the reason people make mistakes are not due to their IQ.. It is due to experience and knowledge. Also... Mistakes don't determine a persons lot in life... it is their response to the "mistake"
IQ may have to do with how many times a person makes the same mistake >> meaning they don't learn from them.... It also depends on the kind of mistake you are talking about... Financial? Relationship? Parenting? Choosing a bank? Whatever...

IQ doesn't determine a persons lot in life... There are plenty of people that struggle with "IQ" test... It ends up labeling them as some sort of social reject.
I am not talking about the severely mentally retarded.. I am talking about everyone else... IQ doesn't effect a persons attitude does it? unless they let it. Does it effect their ambition?? Or work ethic??
So if a person has a good attitude, ambition, and work ethic... I would say the in America... IQ is just another challenge that they can overcome.

I say making excuses for people that live in poverty does them damage.
If they can fall back on a victim label... then they will be satisfied with it. They will accept it and stay there.

NOW...
Will there always be people that live in poverty? Heck yeah! Like I have said before... Most people take the easy road... They do enough to survive and that is it... They know they can be dependent on the government because it is an open buffet. Government welfare check... Government housing.. Government Schooling... Government childcare... Government food stamps... You name it... The government offers it and some people see that as the easy street and take it... they have LOW Ambition... Usually have a Bad Attitude and Don't know what a work ethic is.

Yes

Link please.
I think for many people they do make choices that lead to them being poor.
However, my first job - which was too challenging for me - was teaching at the poorest school in Texas.

One of my students, a girl named Rubi, was very smart and enjoyed school. But her family made her skip school every monday, wednesday, and friday, to watch her elderly grandmother, while both her parents went to work.

Needless to say, she didn't make it though school and I am sure to this day she is "poor".

The question becomes, did she choose it? or was it chosen for her? In her case I believe it was the latter.

Another student, I didn't have but knew about, was a young boy whose mother made him drop out of school and sell drugs.

I will wager that he lives in poverty today. Again, I don't think he choose it.

Guess what % of wealth in America is inherited.

The good news is that it is and has been on the downward trend since the 1980's. That argument won't hold up in another 50 years is my guess.

In many many ways, yes.

Most do.
Paris Hilton doesn't.

Question for you.

Do you think coming from a family that encourages, nay demands higher education is a factor in a person making it out of poverty?

I don't think Paris Hilton is evil.

Personally, I highly doubt you came from an impoverished environ, and your views are skewed by your upbringing.

Nothing easier in the whole world than blaming poverty on the poor.

Ixtellor

P.S. Do I detect a smidge of Social darwinism trying to rear it's head?

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George W. Bush "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building"

Blasphemy is a victimless crime.