Stuff I've written: The Culture of Assumption

[Sour Grapes]

Poverty is equated, most commonly, with laziness in America. As if the poor person deserves to be poor, because they do not work hard enough to have more money. Never mind the poor person is more than likely not being paid much, and probably spends the most of their money on food and utilities. The poor person, even if they are breaking their back day in and day out doing the work that the middle and upper classes would rather not think about, they are thought to be lazy. The stereotype is that they spend all their money on booze and/or drugs, and probably doesn't do anything but get Government hand-outs. There may be some truth to this stereotype, but it is not a universal truth. There is no reason for the almost universal disdain for those who are not comfortable, but it pervades the media, and is a part of the rhetoric of the Republican party and the Conservatives.

It is possible this disdain comes from the tradition of Rugged Individualism. If a person works hard enough, they can become successful, and overcome their poor background. It is something that happens to just enough people that the hope is still there. However one can not argue with what the stereotype has led to.
The pervasive disdain for the poor has led to a culture of assumption. It is assumed that the poor are lazy. It is assumed that the poor are all alcoholics and/or drug addicts. It is assumed that the poor choose to be poor and do nothing to help themselves. These assumptions may be true for some people, but they are applied to all. This is because of the popular adoption of the morals of a selfish atheist sociopath by the name of Ayn Rand. Rand's writings are all about the glorification of the individual at the exclusion of all else, including the mores of society. Rand believed that a person should not contribute to society or to charity, or even help those less fortunate. She believed that if one could not help oneself, then one did not deserve help. It is this adoption of the principles of individual greed over the good Christian morals of loving and aiding one's neighbors that has led to these stereotypes about the poor. Because it is far easier to assume the worst, than hope for the best.

[Radiation]

It's a good frame work that you have set up but it does need some work with the initial thesis, so you need more substance to your paper. Links to articles and statistics will help as well a citations. It needs a bit more research and hopefully JohnE or some other forumite will help us on that. Otherwise, it is a good premise.

[Sour Grapes]

Well it was a letter to the editor.  Was published, online, on the Clarion Ledger... And promptly got ripped to shreds by the same ones that make all the assumptions.

[Art Vandelay]

Being completely honest, I found it a bit too emotional. Perhaps you could focus a lot more on the economic side of things, like how lower classes are a simple necessity and it's simply impossible for everyone to be CEOs and the like, or their importance to general well being of the economy as both a source of labour and the primary source of demand for goods and services. Also, maybe throw in some stats about stuff like average working week or amount spent on booze/drugs in different social classes to make your existing points a little more substantial.

[Her3tiK]

It's a good frame work that you have set up but it does need some work with the initial thesis, so you need more substance to your paper. Links to articles and statistics will help as well a citations. It needs a bit more research and hopefully JohnE or some other forumite will help us on that. Otherwise, it is a good premise.

Seconding this. We'll definitely want to be able to back up our claims as much as possible, especially if we're trying to pass our work off as news, instead of an editorial.

[PosthumanHeresy]

I agree with what has been said, but would like to add, I know that feeling. My family is poor due to bad luck, assholes and the economy, and we're hard working as ever. Hell, part of the reason I'm doing a one meal a day diet is to lose weight, but the other is to save money.

[Sour Grapes]

Well if the nice folks, here, would help me with the facts and figures, I'll see about adding them, and polishing the article.

[JohnE]

Like others have said, it's a good start, but it needs fleshing out. I'm going to look for some sources for relevant facts. Off the top of my head, you could reference that McDonalds suggested employee budget and point out how, even though it assumes a second job AND ridiculously low estimates for some expenses, it STILL barely leaves enough to live on, let alone grow any wealth.

[Sour Grapes]

Like others have said, it's a good start, but it needs fleshing out. I'm going to look for some sources for relevant facts. Off the top of my head, you could reference that McDonalds suggested employee budget and point out how, even though it assumes a second job AND ridiculously low estimates for some expenses, it STILL barely leaves enough to live on, let alone grow any wealth.

Also need demographics on what pay grades buy the most booze.  Not sure if there would be accurate numbers for drugs.  Also break-downs of who, exactly is on the dole... 

Also, facts and figures about charities, and how well they are able to help people, compared to Government helping people.

[JohnE]

Here's what I've found so far:

(click to show/hide)

A Profile of the Working Poor
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2013

23% of the the poor, or 10.5 million people, are "working poor," i.e. people who are poor despite working, rather than because they're too lazy to work.

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Poverty in the United Stated: Frequently Asked Questions
National Poverty Center

Also, over a third of the poor are children, so you can't exactly hold that against them.

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Contrary to "Entitlement Society" Rhetoric, Over Nine Tenths of Entitlement Benefits Go to Elderly, Disabled, and Working Housholds
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

A new CBPP analysis of budget and Census data, however, shows that more than 90 percent of the benefit dollars that entitlement and other mandatory programs[1] spend go to assist people who are elderly, seriously disabled, or members of working households — not to able-bodied, working-age Americans who choose not to work.  (See Figure 1.)  This figure has changed little in the past few years.

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Many Young Adults in Poverty Have a College Degree, Report Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 15, 2013

Among Americans age 18 to 26 living in poverty, almost half (42-47% depending on the year), were enrolled in college or had been at some point. Only 11% of them had graduated, but that's probably because most of them were still enrolled and working towards it.

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NIAAA Researchers Estimate Alcohol and Drug Use, Abuse, and Dependence Among Welfare Recipients
National Institute of Health

Drug and alcohol use among welfare recipients is pretty much exactly the same as in the general population.

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Editorial: Drug testing welfare recipients nets little
USA Today

Arizona drug-tests 87,000 welfare recipients. One tests positive.

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The 4 Types of People on Welfare Nobody Talks About
Cracked

Yes, it's a Cracked article, but read #3. It does a good job of describing some of the things that make it near impossible to climb out of poverty.

[Sour Grapes]

*cuddles the kitten, scritching his ears*  You're a sweetheart.  Now I've got to get off my lazy bum and actually do something with this.  But at 4am, I'm about to waffle-fase on my keyboard.

[Sixth Monarchist]

how lower classes are a simple necessity and it's simply impossible for everyone to be CEOs and the like

The Anyone/Everyone Fallacy ("anyone can become a CEO" equalling "everyone can become a CEO"), which doesn't seem to have a name (apart from the one I just gave), but probably has a latin one. It's a variant of the fallacy of composition, maybe?