Are poor getting what they deserve?

[OldWiseGuy]

I remind myself of that quite often.

As far as the poor.
Some get educated and break out.
Some lazy ones choose to stay that way.

The ones that have no choice due to mental illness or physical disabilities we need to help.

M-Bob

Good point, but how do we help them.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

That depends on the interpretation of “getting” in your OP.

Take your pick of meanings.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

But I'm curious as to what I would 'deserve', both positively and negatively, that I am not already receiving. What is meant by this? Do I deserve to be poor and in extreme, never-ending pain all my life due to the circumstances of my birth? That is indeed how it is in a lot of the world, so that's another thing I have to be grateful for (I mean, I am typing on a computer right now from inside my own apartment, rather than begging on the street; that is awesome, and I do thank God for it every single day), but the OP is oddly open-ended.

I like your attitude.

Your handicaps are not your fault, therefore you don't deserve them. On the other side what do you feel you deserve in the way of help because of your disabilities, and from whom should it come?

 

[dzheremi]

I like your attitude.

Your handicaps are not your fault, therefore you don't deserve them. On the other side what do you feel you deserve in the way of help because of your disabilities, and from whom should it come?

Hmm. Well, again, I don't feel like I deserve anything, but I will say that life is better now that I can go to the doctor if I need to (constantly being rejected for preexisting conditions is very discouraging and kind of scary), and businesses and public buildings are not allowed to discriminate against me on account of my disability. Those are both examples of things that help people who need them, not based on some kind of weird concept of personal merit or something. It's weird, because nobody ever says things like "Does this person (or this type of person) deserve to go to the doctor?" or "Do they deserve to be allowed to enter buildings and participate in society?", but in reality at least for me that is what questions like the OP boil down to. I don't think people who are not disabled would necessarily think of things that are that basic, but that's why I say they're needs, rather than rewards or something.

As far as who it should come from, I guess whoever stands to benefit from enabling the millions of disabled people in this society to contribute to the betterment of it in whichever way they can. That's why I mentioned two government-mandated things, as obviously it benefits the government that at least some portion of this particular population reach the level where they can work (or get back to work, as the case may be) and contribute to the economy as good taxpayers like everyone else. Think about it on an individual level, as well: if a business owner or hiring manager hires someone with a disability, they obviously do so with the knowledge that this employee will probably need to have some things adapted to what they can actually do (assuming of course that the disability is either visible and/or disclosed). Sometimes it's as simple as getting them a nice office chair, or making sure they do not have to do certain kinds of work, or can do that work with some changes to the way it is done in the company overall. Whatever makes them most productive and happy in their work, same as any employee. These things are, in a sense, a kind of 'operating cost' related to hiring a disabled person. So the company pays them however they do by virtue of having made the decision to hire the person.

On a society-wide level, I suppose it's society in general that pays for these things, but then that is also true of every kind of person. I don't know any individual in any state who is an island unto themselves, though many claim to be. Even the modern day anchorites living in caves and deserts in places like Egypt and Syria still gather together to celebrate the liturgy. Humans were made to be together, and it is a testament to most western societies that the most vulnerable among us, even though they may live more difficult lives than those who were luckier by accident of birth (and I am in no way looking for any pity here; there are literally millions, probably hundreds of millions, of people who have it way worse than me, also through no fault of their own), are not simply left to die or shut away in institutions, as was common up until a few decades ago. For example, I myself was born in 1982 and the doctors told my mother not to bother bringing me home because I was just going to die anyway. She didn't listen to them, but it was and in some sense is still not uncommon to hear of disabled people being treated as something disposable and less than human. Whatever...I have a masters degree, and I didn't get it by listening to people who told me about all the things I can't do. So I think also a lot of assistance needs to come from you, internally, in terms of your attitude and internal drive. You can't just sit there and be a sad, self-pitying sponge; you have to at least want something better, and be willing to try to go get it.

As the great Jimmy Cliff once advised:

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Good point, but how do we help them.

For the poor that don't want to work.
A little free food.

For the truly disabled.
Some food and cheap housing.
Water and electricity.
Medical.

M-Bob

 

[OldWiseGuy]

For the poor that don't want to work.
A little free food.

For the truly disabled.
Some food and cheap housing.
Water and electricity.
Medical.

M-Bob

That should be doable. I can see a subdivision of those tiny houses.

 

[Dave-W]

No one deserves eternal torment. And no one will be receiving it.

According to the scriptures the exact opposite is true.

 

[ananda]

What do the poor deserve?

The poor deserve equal justice, where laws do not favor and empower the rich.

 

[JackRT]

What do the poor deserve?

The poor deserve equal opportunity
* at health care
* at education
* at jobs
* at social acceptance
* at legal representation
* at voting rights
And they should not really have to fight for what they deserve.

 

[Dave-W]

For the poor that don't want to work.
A little free food.

For the truly disabled.
Some food and cheap housing.
Water and electricity.
Medical.

M-Bob

Supplied by the Church or the government?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Supplied by the Church or the government?

Government as usual.
Democrats like that.
Everything for free.
M-Bob

 

[Bro. Dave Gardner]

According to the scriptures the exact opposite is true.

Literally millions disagree with your interpretation.

 

[Dave-W]

Literally millions disagree with your interpretation.

I am sure they do.

 

[Tolworth John]

What do the poor deserve?

Deserve according to whom?

Under the judeochristian morality that is no longer promoted by todays society.
They deserved to be treated fairly, in the same way as rich members of society.
In fact the rich were to be generous in helping the poor.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Deserve according to whom?

You.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The poor deserve equal opportunity
* at health care
* at education
* at jobs
* at social acceptance
* at legal representation
* at voting rights
And they should not really have to fight for what they deserve.

I think we do a pretty good job of caring for the poor. One of the problems is that poor are not made up of the same people from year to year. Needs are fluid and ever changing so it's hard to get a handle on the problem.

 

[dlamberth]

I think we do a pretty good job of caring for the poor. One of the problems is that poor are not made up of the same people from year to year. Needs are fluid and ever changing so it's hard to get a handle on the problem.

I think just finding ways to help those in need is what it's all about. Other than that it's real easy to over think it.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I think just finding ways to help those in need is what it's all about. Other than that it's real easy to over think it.

It's overthought alright.

 

[gaara4158]

No one gets what they deserve. The question you should be asking is whether the poor have enough.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

No one gets what they deserve. The question you should be asking is whether the poor have enough.

The poor are well provided for in America. It's their presence that bothers people. People see long lines outside of a soup kitchen and wring their hands, not realizing that those folks are about get a nice free hot meal.

My daughter is a counter-culturalist (hippy) and she dresses very nicely from clothing bought for pennies at Goodwill.