Wealthiest Americans say the poor have it easy

[gwb-trading]

Wealthiest Americans say the poor have it easy
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/09/news/economy/wealthy-view-of-poor/index.html

The nation's wealthiest think that the poor have it pretty easy.'

A survey by the Pew Research Center found that 54% of those with the greatest financial security believe that "poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return."

Only 36% of the wealthiest say "poor people have hard lives because government benefits don't go far enough to help them live decently."

Those struggling the most financially believe that the poor need more help by more than a two-to-one margin.

The two groups also hold opposite views about the role of government. More than 60% of the well-to-do say that government can't afford to do more for the needy, while 60% of those struggling say the government should do more -- even if that means taking on more debt.

The wealthy and the poor also disagree on corporate profits. The rich say most corporations make a "fair and reasonable amount of profit," while 65% of the poor believe corporations make "far too much."

There's more common ground between the two groups when it comes to immigration. About 65% of the rich say immigrants strengthen the country with their hard work and talent, while 27% say immigrants are a burden on the country. Most poor people surveyed agree that immigrants have a positive impact on the U.S., but by a smaller margin, just 51%, while 44% of low-income respondents said immigrants have a negative impact.

 

[loyek590]

Wealthiest Americans say the poor have it easy
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/09/news/economy/wealthy-view-of-poor/index.html

The nation's wealthiest think that the poor have it pretty easy.'

A survey by the Pew Research Center found that 54% of those with the greatest financial security believe that "poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return."

Only 36% of the wealthiest say "poor people have hard lives because government benefits don't go far enough to help them live decently."

Those struggling the most financially believe that the poor need more help by more than a two-to-one margin.

The two groups also hold opposite views about the role of government. More than 60% of the well-to-do say that government can't afford to do more for the needy, while 60% of those struggling say the government should do more -- even if that means taking on more debt.

The wealthy and the poor also disagree on corporate profits. The rich say most corporations make a "fair and reasonable amount of profit," while 65% of the poor believe corporations make "far too much."

There's more common ground between the two groups when it comes to immigration. About 65% of the rich say immigrants strengthen the country with their hard work and talent, while 27% say immigrants are a burden on the country. Most poor people surveyed agree that immigrants have a positive impact on the U.S., but by a smaller margin, just 51%, while 44% of low-income respondents said immigrants have a negative impact.

??? was that the question? "Excuse me sir, do you believe the poor have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return? Yes or No?"

 

[gwb-trading]

??? was that the question? "Excuse me sir, do you believe the poor have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return? Yes or No?"

In most U.S. states - an individual who is not working can get more in benefits than my daughter with a Masters degree gets in compensation for teaching public school in North Carolina. Are you saying this is the proper allocation of social benefits from the government and that tax payers should support it?

 

[loyek590]

In most U.S. states - an individual who is not working can get more in benefits than my daughter with a Masters degree gets in compensation for teaching in North Carolina. Are you saying this is the proper allocation of social benefits from the government and that tax payers should support it?

same here, I have a daughter with a masters working on a phd, teaching at a midwestern university. I think she gets food stamps. I would say neither your or my daughter or anybody who receives gov benefits has it "easy."

and for that matter, it aint that "easy" being rich. You could lose it all any day.

 

[gwb-trading]

same here, I have a daughter with a masters working on a phd, teaching at a midwestern university. I think she gets food stamps. I would say nether your or my daughter or anybody who receives gov benefits has it "easy."

and for that matter, it aint that "easy" being rich. You could lose it all any day.

I recognize the need for social benefit programs, and unlike some others on this forum I generally support them. However I do believe there is a significant amount of mismanagement, fraud, and other issues that need to be addressed to make the programs more effective. There is also a need to combine the management of all the programs under a single entity - instead of having Section 8 ran by HUD, Food Stamps run by another organization, Welfare ran by yet another government organization, Medicaid.... , etc.

 

[loyek590]

I recognize the need for social benefit programs, and unlike some others on this forum I generally support them. However I do believe there is a significant amount of mismanagement, fraud, and other issues that need to be addressed to make the programs more effective. There is also a need to combine the management of all the programs under a single entity - instead of having Section 8 ran by HUD, Food Stamps run by another organization, Welfare ran by yet another government organization, Medicaid.... , etc.

couldn't agree more. Say what you want about medicare and social security, they sort of work because there is no means testing. As soon as you add means testing to help (or target) the poor, you add a whole layer of bureaucracy who gets paid with tax dollars to make sure we don't accidently help someone too much.

People laugh at me when I call myself a libertarian but I advocate food stamps for all, from me to Warren Buffet. It would cost a fortune, but at least it would be efficient just due to eliminating the cost of means testing. Plus, no one would be hungry.

Or take it a step further and just go with Milton Friedman's idea, just give everybody money. Social Security from cradle to grave. Tie it to inflation, and then just ignore complaints "It's still not enough!"

 

[TGregg]

I recognize the need for social benefit programs, and unlike some others on this forum I generally support them. However I do believe there is a significant amount of mismanagement, fraud, and other issues that need to be addressed to make the programs more effective. There is also a need to combine the management of all the programs under a single entity - instead of having Section 8 ran by HUD, Food Stamps run by another organization, Welfare ran by yet another government organization, Medicaid.... , etc.

Social safety net? Sure. Drug tested, birth controlled, work required - even if it's just 8 hours of picking up trash. But that is horribly rayciss, doncha know?

 

[loyek590]

Social safety net? Sure. Drug tested, birth controlled, work required - even if it's just 8 hours of picking up trash. But that is horribly rayciss, doncha know?

more whites are on foodstamps than blacks or Hispanics. Sorry if that messes up your rant

 

[gwb-trading]

more whites are on foodstamps than blacks or Hispanics. Sorry if that messes up your rant

The real question to ask is what percentage of the population by race is receiving food stamps.... and what percentage of U.S. population is each particular race. Is the race over or under represented in the food stamp benefit program?

The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...cs-and-demographics-of-food-stamp-recipients/

Food Stamps Charts
http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-charts

 

[loyek590]

The real question to ask is what percentage of the population by race is receiving food stamps.... and what percentage of U.S. population is each particular race. Is the race over or under represented in the food stamp benefit program?

The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...cs-and-demographics-of-food-stamp-recipients/

Food Stamps Charts
http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-charts

oh, now you are cracking me up. Is your problem my tax dollars going to the poor? Or is it, some races get more per capita, and that's just not fair, they must be culturally predisposed toward laziness, and that is just not the American way. If we were just paying for poor whites, that would be ok, because everybody knows, whites are not lazy, and if they are poor it is just because they have fallen on hard times. And if you give them a helping hand, they will soon be on their culturally predisposed path towards tax paying prosperity.