No Compassion for the Poor

By Brent Sexton

12^th Grade

According to the 2002 Census, nearly thirty-five million people are in poverty. Many people feel compassion and empathy for the poor but should they? In Lawrence Reed’s testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, he argued that people should not feel compassionate for the poor. There’s plenty of evidence out there suggesting poor people should not be felt sorry for. [Below I’ve presented] evidence [to back up what I believe is Reed’s contention].

The standards set by the Census Bureau for being poor are not very low standards at all. The living conditions aren’t as terrible as the average American might think. According to the Census Bureau forty-six percent of “poor” people own their own homes. The average household in poverty contains three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. Seventy-six percent of “poor” households have at least one air conditioner. When we think of poor people’s living conditions, most would assume that everything is overcrowded and the poor have inadequate spacing. However, that is quite the opposite. Only six percent of “poor” people reside in overcrowded dwellings. The average impecunious person in the U.S. has more living space than non poor people living in Paris, Athens, and Vienna. Ninety-seven percent of indigent households have colored television sets. By the way the Census Bureau indicates, the down and out aren’t really down and out at all.

In Lawrence Reed’s testimony to the Economic Club of Detroit, he denounces the welfare system because of the detrimental affects it has on society. First of all, welfare breaks up families. Families are the foundation of America. … Reed also states that the welfare system has cost the taxpayers dearly. Who are the people paying the majority of the taxes? The middle income families are paying them and the money is going right out of their pocket and into the [pockets of] people benefiting from welfare. Not everybody is benefiting from the welfare system but those who really need the money are getting a bad name from those who take advantage of the system. Reed implies that the [welfare systems needs to be reformed] because it has been eating at “….the nation’s economy and moral fiber for decades…” Numerous examples can be made of people who take advantage of the welfare system. Until the government decides to toughen…standards, the money of hard working middle class people will continue to be wasted.

The government is to blame for this problem. As Lawrence Reed put it, “Government has nothing to give anybody except what it first takes from somebody, and a government that’s big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you’ve got.” Obviously, the government is the most powerful thing in America. If the government is powerful enough to take away your home, raise taxes and such, then why are the people deemed “poor” benefiting so much from the welfare system? Not all of them are on welfare, but there are a lot of people out there taking advantage of the system when they could just as well be working and helping out the nation’s economy. The people taking advantage of the system aren’t the ones to blame though. The government is and, [I believe] the politicians are the ones who control the government. Does it seem odd that most of the government’s policies are set up to benefit the politicians themselves? Most people don’t take the time to realize how the government is set up and who benefits from what and who gets the short end of things. Today’s government is basically your average Joe taking money from the next average Joe. There’s no doubt the economy is full of money, it’s just that the money doesn’t flow into the right hands. If the poor keep taking from the people higher up on the ladder then won’t those being taken from one day be deemed poor? Everybody is taking from everybody. [I suspect that] the poor take from the middle class who take from the rich, who get their money from the politicians.

[To reiterate,] there’s an abundance of evidence [to] show poor people aren’t that bad off. Most don’t even live in a state that would be deemed “bad” or “horrible” which is the common stereotype of being poor. The average poor American has a color T.V. and an air conditioner. Talk about living in tough conditions. The qualifications for being poor need to be redefined, and that’s what I perceived from most of Reed’s testimony to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. In short, Reed was not arguing compassion for the poor.

Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading

Question 1 – Why does Machan use “steal” in his statement: “Private property solves this problem, but was abandoned a long time ago when taxes reached the point where we can steal our way to being provided with all sorts of things we desire, never mind thinking about paying for them or long-range budgeting”?

Answer – In the world today people can find ways to get the government to pay for almost anything. It’s so easy it’s just like stealing. People are “stealing” unnecessary money from the government.

Question 2 – Machan said: “For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it.” Give two examples of this from your personal experience.

Answer – One of my friends has a decent house but he and his family never take care of it. People take for granted their automobiles. I know a lady who thinks as long as she puts gas in her car it will keep running.

Question 3 – Do you agree with Machan that “…everybody is more inclined to neglect the duty which he expects another to fulfill; as in families many attendants are often less useful than a few.”? Give an objective example of this.

Answer – If a husband expects his wife to always do the laundry and always cook and one night she doesn’t do either, will he starve and have no clean clothes?

Question 4 – State Kershner’s First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?

Answer – When a self-governing people confer upon their government the power to take from some and give to others, the process will not stop until the last bone of the last taxpayer is picked bare. I agree. People created the government and they use it to their advantage which puts the nation at high debt.

Question 5 – What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?

Answer – Entertainment.

Question 6 – Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.

Answer – The cause. After the value of money went down people had to spend more money to get things that were now more valuable because of the cheapened money.

Question 7 – How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome’s economy?

Answer – It fell apart. The penalty of death scared peopled out of trading, buying, and selling. Killing people for breaking money crimes is out of line.

Question 8 – Lee claims that individuals could be “entirely independent of others” except for what? Explain.

Answer – Scarcity, because we live in a world containing scarcity we must interact with each other which eliminates independence.

Question 9 – Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.

Answer – If there were no rules everyone would be forced to a lower standard of living which includes poverty. With rules people would be happier and wealthier because there are rules to protect people from themselves.

Question 10 – Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?

Answer – It creates honesty between people. It also makes people happy because they have the freedom and liberty to do what they want on their private property.

Question 11 – Argue both pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and aid for the poor.

Answer – Poor people, according to Reed, should receive aid because the government forced them out of a job or taxes are taking their money. He also said these poor people are taking advantage of the welfare system.

Question 12 – “If people are free, they will not earn equal incomes; conversely, show me a people who have equal incomes and I will show you a people who are not free.” Explain in your own words Mr. Reed’s meaning.

Answer – If people have the same incomes most people aren’t getting paid enough because some people should make more than others because of their qualifications and higher intelligence. Being paid the same as a worker of lesser value denies you many freedoms.

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