Comments on: Are Poor People Lazy?

By: Marle

Marle — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:33:50 +0000

When we say poor people are lazy (we being not-poor) we are saying that we deserve our standard of living, we do not need to feel bad for those who have less. We are telling ourselves that if we follow the rules, we will be successful, and that bad things can’t happen to good people like us. We are saying that we’d like to believe that when bad things happen, the world is not unfair or cruel, but people make their own choices.

This is nice to believe. But how do we know what we’d do in other people’s shoes? And here’s something to think about: What if tomorrow everyone was blessed with large amount of ambition, drive, and intelligence. What if everyone followed the rules, graduated from high school, went to college, didn’t have kids when they couldn’t afford them, were smart with money. Does our world have enough opportunities for everyone? What if all the janitors and maids, walmart and mcdonalds workers, pizza delivery people, etc, suddenly started doing everything you did to make sure you wouldn’t be stuck in those jobs. Would society shift and allow everyone the opportunity to work in rewarding and well-paying careers? Or would we have college educated people who followed all the rules unable to find work and losing their homes?

By: nicki

nicki — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:04:05 +0000

Creation and spirit –
I have lived among the super rich and the super poor – black, white asian latino whatever – homosexuals trysexuals bisexuals whatever – lottery winners trust fund babies derelict and self starters – lucky nonlucky – is there a level playing field – not here or anywhere ive seen – the difference i have observed is those whose situation I see improving is those who are not satisfied with their situation TO THE EXTENT that they CREATE a new reality for themselves – CREATE the path to that reality – and then they have the SPIRIT to continue in that creation – the people ive seen step up do not allow themselves excuses to settle then make sacrifices ensuring their vision becomes their reality and not someone elses

By: Takilla

Takilla — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:56:15 +0000

Perhaps people would be less offended if the article said the following:

Many low income people in America and other countries with similar access to resources (poor people) remain low income because they do not devote as much time and effort to improving their financial situation (IE they’re lazy) as those who apply more effort to improve their financial situation. Regardless of race, sex, disability or other adverse circumstances: the individuals who work harder and smarter will generally improve their financial situation while those that don’t work as hard will generally not.

In other words: poor people are lazy =)

Thank you and good night.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:49:36 +0000

I thought about the couple times in my life that I was worried about money and considered myself poor. Then I thought of a few more times…When I was a kid, my family was poor but I didn’t know it. I lived with my grandparents and they worked at home as well as outside jobs. We grew our own food, made what we needed. We did without. But we were not lazy, we were very busy living productive lives. Then I went to live with my Dad. He was a dairy farmer and worked 24/7. We didn’t have much but a roof over our heads, but we had food. At 27 I bought my first home. What a mistake. I was poor again. I worked night and day to make payments. I bought a cheap house, but with NY taxes…I sold quickly. At 39 I was poor again. My husband lost his job, my dad was dying and I was the sole caretaker. I had a two year old and worked nights because I could not afford daycare. I always worked a home business on the side. We live 20 miles from the nearest city and I still worked, even when we only had one car. There are different kinds of poor. Some people think not having a big-screen tv is poor (my husband). I am sometimes embarrassed about my families lack of “things” that most people have, wall-to-wall carpet, a dishwasher, a new kitchen, a state of the art bathroom, no laptop, no blackberry, no cable tv, ect. But I don’t want to work for those things, does that make me lazy? (I live on a farm, run a business, but only work a part time job so my daughter doesn’t need daycare.) But by not working full time does that make me lazy? We would have more things, but would we have more money in the bank? So many families have cell phones, the latest electronics, pedicures for their pit-bills, designer clothes and lotsa bling and claim they are poor…Poor is when you don’t have money to buy milk for your child. There are too many people claiming to be poor, when they aren’t and too many people claiming they can’t work. They are lazy.

By: Jim Bauer

Jim Bauer — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:57:22 +0000

In response to #4 from J.D. it’s absolutely a fact that you can take two people who have exactly the same amount of money and track them a couple of years later and find that they will have arrived at two entirely different places. One great example of this is sports players. Some go on to become great businessman who accumulate more and more wealth out of their fortunes, while others simply spend it all soon after their last game.

It’s really, then, not about how much one makes. It’s not instantly making the claim that one who is poort is lazy. It truly is a behavioral thing. You hand me $5 and I’ll look for ways to turn it into $10. If you hand a $5 to someone else he may go and see what he can find what DVD he can buy in the bargain bin.

It’s just a fact.

By: Leszek Cyfer

Leszek Cyfer — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:45:47 +0000

People can be divided into those who take responsibility for their life and those that don’t.

Those who take responsibility are first to point out that it’s their own doing that brought what happened to them – either good or bad.

Those who don’t take responsibility blame everything else except them for anything that happens to them – if it’s bad it’s other people, circumstances, bad luck – if it’s good it’s luck.

The thing is – the irresponsible react with hostility hearing the word ‘Responsible’ – they think that it means pointing the blame. In other words, they are afraid of being put to blame and defend themselves blindly anytime someone points out that their life is their responsibility.

So Trent, anytime you or JD will use the ‘R’ word they will respond with “it’s not that simple!” or outright rage :P

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:09:29 +0000

People are led by their emotions, and so they have tunnel vision, ignore facts, and basically take something and run with it without thinking it through. The Vulcans are on to something…

By: Kai

Kai — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:31:15 +0000

Why on earth has formal logic been removed from our schools? So many of these issues could be rectified by a basic understanding.

It is not that (all) poor people are lazy. It is that (many) lazy people are poor.
‘If A then B’ DOES NOT EQUAL ‘If B then A’

Saying that laziness will often leave people poor does not mean that poor people could not become so any other way, or that all poor people are lazy. Merely that if you personally are lazy, you have a much higher likelihood of ending up poor.
And ‘poor’ should not be taken to mean ‘anyone without large amounts of money’, especially if they have chosen not to pursue. ‘Poor’ is ’struggles to provide the basic life securities for themself and their family, and/or trapped in an unwanted life by lack of financial freedom’.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:47:57 +0000

I would also like to add that many of the people that I know who work incredibly hard at their jobs do not make a lot of money because of certain moral decisions they have made. This is not to say that rich people are all bad, but sometimes deciding to do things because they are the right things to do can hold people back from a lot of money. This does not mean they are lazy, just not willing to sell out for something that goes against their beliefs.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:43:55 +0000

“live as cheaply as you can and use your spare time to improve yourself.”
This is the best part of the article.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:53:46 +0000

deRuiter – so funny and so true.

I truly believe the NUMBER ONE way to get yourself up out of poverty (and to avoid it if you are not already there) is to NOT get pregnant until you can afford it. This means don’t get prego in high school, and don’t continue to get knocked up for several more years until you have several children you cannot afford. And don’t you dare blame society if you do CHOOSE to live your life this way.

This goes for men, too, who go around knocking up those women. It takes two to tango!

Since you are child free, you are also free to live frugally, get room mates, whatever, take one class at a time if you have to, to better yourself and your life. For many people, the opportunity for self betterment dissappears when a child is born (or at least they think it dissappears).

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:09:03 +0000

Want to be poverty stricken and unsuccessful in America? It’s easy! 1. Don’t study and drop out of school at 16. 2. Get pregnant at 15 and have a series of children by different fathers. 3. Don’t develop a stable marriage with one person. 4. Smoke. 5. Drink. 6. Break laws, get arrested and jailed. 7. Get lots of tattoos and body piercings so respectable, responsible bosses will not hire you because you look weird and landlords with nice places will not rent to you because you look like street trash. 8. Don’t take vocational training. 9. Blame “the rich” for your sitation. IT’S ALMOST ALL CHOICES! It starts first thing in the morning, get up and get to work on time or don’t. Make coffee at home or buy a $5. latte every morning. Dress nicely or dress like a thug. Study in school or fool around and drop out. Have unprotected sex and get STDs and pregnant or don’t have a baby until married and secure. IT’S ALL CHOICES. If you make the wrong ones, it’s not my fault. Poverty is living in India on a dollar a day and having two changes of clothing, one to wear while the other is washed. There’s incredible opportunity to succeed in America, but you must put forth effort and make the correct choices! Please don’t drag in those felled by terrible illnesses and who are mangled by accidents, we’re talking about the able bodied. Blame your failure on being depressed? Take a brisk walk around the block or go to the animal shelter and volunteer to walk the dogs on death row to save them from the stark boredom of the kennel 24/7. Get over it!

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:46:11 +0000

Nice post, but I know many lazy people with money. They use the money to pay for others to cover their laziness.

The problem comes when they get a shock to the system and the money is interupted– then they are exposed and at a loss to help themselves. With the current economy there are plenty of examples if you look around for them.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:52:15 +0000

People really should stop having kids they can’t afford, from 8 different fathers, no less. When you don’t have 8 babies with 8 different baby-daddies then you can complain about your “situation”.

By: spaces

spaces — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:38:56 +0000

This week, I took on a case where my client is an 11 year old girl. A projects kid, she lives with her mother and five siblings, none of them are also children of her father (not that the men ever come around). She has attended seven different schools. (Her mother wonders why she’s having problems in school. YA THINK?)

The girl may not be lazy, but she’ll probably always be poor.

By: Walter Daniels

Walter Daniels — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:01:47 +0000

Earlier today, I watched a video with Tony Robbins, and found that I agreed in large part with his conclusions. There is a circle of potential-> visualization and will->effort->effect->leading back to potential. If we succeed, it makes us more willing to believe in our potential, and leading to more effort that eventually means success, or failure. The poor, for whatever reason have failed at achievements, and that convinces them that they don’t have the potential to succeed.
Plus, despite all the fancy words, the welfare system and its ilk, do not want anyone to succeed, and will fight against it happening. BTDT, when I lived in subsidized housing.

By: proctor

proctor — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:55:47 +0000

Many people would get offended by this writing because they want to think that discrimination is the true and sole cause of trouble in the world. The world is more complex than that, especially in the USA today. You did not say anything that should be offensive. I think that a lost of people did not read the whole thing closely.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:24:08 +0000

This is a terrible article. It made me quite angry. Just gross generalizations. Like if you are x you MUST be y. There are many factors that lead a person to the life they are living. I am quite shy. No matter how much I socialize no matter how many times I try to assert myself I remain shy. Because of this I do not take classes or do many of the things suggested for me to do to get ahead in life. So according to you I am lazy. NOT SO. If allowed I would work 12 hour days at my job.
I also agree with many of the comments that being in the right place at the right time can have a more positive outcome on you life than anything.

By: shelley

shelley — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:14:41 +0000

I don’t believe in luck, but I do assuredly know that advantage and priviledge are at work in our society; some have access to it while others do not. There are also many systemic causes of poverty that are not known by many, but that influence vast numbers of people negatively. There are hidden rules at play that apply to each economic class, and if you’re not priviledged to know them, it’ll be difficult to move from one class to the next. Any chance those of you who feel someone’s poverty is solely created by their poor choices has ever befriended a person in poverty to help assist them in navigating through all that’s nessecary to climb from poverty to middle class? They need to know the rules in order to get there. You may have been too busy trying to get ahead yourself to recognize that need in the man who washes your car, or serves your food, or who babysits your children. They need help and encouragement; someone to show them the ropes. You may have to get out of your comfortable home and leave your safe neighborhood and be a bit uncomfortable for a minute. Just think of what a payoff it would have if you took that time and effort though!

The reality is that the poor teach their kids how to navigate life in poverty; it’s all they know. The rich teach their kids how to grow and maintain wealth, and the middle class teaches their kids what they need to know to live a middle class life style.

What we all need to come to realize is that poverty affects us all; not just the poor. We need to ask ourselves what we can do to address this problem. I’m not suggesting throwing money at the poverty problem because we’ve seen The War On Poverty that it solves nothing. Poverty rates are higher now than they were back then! I’m suggesting that we each look at what is happening in our own communities and in our own neighborhoods where we can plug in to help address the poverty that is all around us, affecting all of us, and possibly begin relationship with those around us that need our inside knowledge of how to get out of poverty to begin their journey up and out.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:51:43 +0000

I used to work a very good paying job but left it to home school my kids when my then-husband’s business took off. I thought I would always be employable because I had been an overachieving office manager in the car business. To make a long story short, my ex-husband proved the adage, “To see a man’s true character, give him a large sum of money.” A foreclosure, repossession and divorce later, I am stuck paying off $200,000 in debt on a job that pays $11.41 an hour. Four of the five dealerships in my town have closed in the last year. I continue to apply for higher paying jobs to no avail. My ex is perpetually unemployed and has paid zero toward the debt. Because I pay family health insurance and cannot seem to get ahead of wage garnishments, my take home pay is $600 a month. (Less than Trent spends on food!) Because my gross is so much higher, I do not qualify for public assistance. I cannot discharge the debt in bankruptcy because it is part of a marital settlement. I confess I spent two years wallowing in the “victim” mindset but no more! I still have the same talents and abilities I had before and I intend to use them. I am taking classes and planning on starting a web based business. My plan is to get out of debt (eventually) from my side business and then open my own retail store.

Success is not measured by where you are but by how far you have come from where you began.