If a person wants money then they need to work for it .
There have to be jobs in the first place. Low paying jobs are okay if they are easily accessible, but you can't reasonably expect a person to travel for hours for only a few bucks. What's the point going to work and spending more than half of your daily wages on fares, when you are only making a few bucks?
Globalization has transferred many low-skill jobs overseas. Where there were once plenty of opportunities for the least educated to make an honest living, there are now only handouts. The usual processes involved in getting a handout aren't empowering or sympathetic to individual's circumstances, but demeaning and undignified.
Then there are those people who should be kept out of the workforce. Not everyone is suitable to hold down employment and I'd rather have them get a fortnightly payment so they stay off the streets and don't impose on unsuspecting employers.
Whilst there are extremes at both ends of a given spectrum many situations fit somewhere inbetween. There is a lot of mental and other illness amongst the most destitute and they don't get help. Government programs designed to assist such people may be well intentioned, but are largely ineffective and cumbersome bureaucracies that usually line the pockets of paid stakeholders without effectively addressing the needs of those who really need help.
We are fortunate to live in wealthy countries where we have the capacity to act in a more civilized manner than many other places where Dickensian conditions still prevail. Every government scheme that makes money available will attract a certain number of mercenary and dishonest individuals. Though, when I hear people bitch about single mothers and other equally unfortunates draining the public purse, I can only shake my head in disbelief. The last couple of years have clearly demonstrated that it isn't the druggies, pan handlers and unmarried mothers who will waste our hard-earned money and drain the public purse. For that we have highly paid, 'reputable' and well-regarded professionals. It is easy to criticize and kick those around who are already powerless and have no means of defending themselves. Yet, time and again, we see ruthless and amoral individuals walk away from their actions, which hurt thousands of people, because they are well-connected and can afford expensive lawyers; and, worst of all, people seem to think that's okay.
This attitude of 'I'm doing alright, why aren't you' I find egocentric and indicative of a general disinterest in other folk's circumstances.
Hard work of itself is no guarantee for success. All of us who are doing well have to remember that it is a 50/50 split of making an effort and being in the right place at the right time (LUCK).
There is no equality and life doesn't play out on a level field. The vast majority of wealthy and successful people come from privileged backgrounds already and have all the necessary resources at their disposal to build on. Only the tiniest number of people will rise from relative poverty and obscurity to stellar hights. 90% of middle-class people live from paycheck to paycheck wiht no real economic security at all. Yet, the kind of (judgemental and uncharitable) attitudes that are reflected in many of the posts here emanate from this socio-economic group.
Please try to empathise and understand that evey bum on the street has a story. Many of them didn't start off like that, nor are they necessarily uneducated. They often have problems that can not be fixed via the 'one size fits all' approach that is formulated by people with little insight or genuine interest in their circumstances.
In my humble opinion the hallmark of a sophisticated civilization isn't defined by its economic and military prowess, technological advances or amazing architecture alone. The way people treat and care for each other is a far better indicator of sophistcation and progress. Access to resources and opportunities are a great determinant for that as well. Giving handouts and browbeating people from a great height isn't.
Jesus didn't hang around the Bill Gateses and Britney Spears of his time. He kept company with bums, lepers and prostitutes. All the types of people that respectable citizens wouldn't even urinate on if they were lying in a ditch. I may be an atheis, but I understand the underlying principles behind that.
Now, I am not writing this to brow-beat anyone. Everyone is entitled to interprete their own experiences and react to situations individually. Sometimes people don't react to an act of kindness in a way that would be seen as appropriate or reasonable. Other people's lives and the way they see the world can be so different to our own, that we are left scratching our heads in disbelief. Though, it is always good to remember that it could be us. The lives that we live are very fragile and we are only ever a hair's breadth away from destitution ourselves.
I take absolutely nothing for granted and appreciate every moment of the privileged and comfortable life that I am allowed to lead.
Regards
Olav
