Are poor people in America, stupid/lazy?

in a country where there is welfare, free h.s., democracy, freedom of speech, medicaid etc. what is the excuse of a poor American?
why is it that so many immigrants come here from europe and asia, hold spots in top universities and take in good jobs. these immigrants came from countries who couldnt give them democracy, medicaid etc, thats why they left. if the immigrants can make it without those luxuries, why cant americans with those luxuries?

TedT..that may be true for some. but lots of immigrants come here with NOTHING and do well.
and if their parents were rich in their country, how do u account for the fact that their parents did well in a country with less resources than in america..land of the free.
also if they were rich in their country, why would they come here?

Anyone can do anything they set their minds to.

Unfortunately in the last 30 years, we've seen an increase in poverty, an increase in divorce (though the last couple years has seen that improve) an increase in drug use, and an increase in the number of unwanted children.

You combine this with our governements welfare state, where it's simply easier to not work and collect unemployement, welfare, disability and food stamps, and you end up with a very precarious culture.

Many people no longer feel they have to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. In the 50's you didn't see parents on drugs with 6 kids, half of whom didn't have the same parents. You didn't see fully capable Mother's & Fathers who chose to not work because they could scrape by on what the government dole's out.

They were responsible in those times. They had the number of kids they could afford to properly care for, and they (generally) had the same parents.

In short, the Government along with the free love & drug culture of the 60's, has fostered this mentality that creates a selfishness in people and allows them to function without feeling responsible for their actions, and specifically, of taking responsibility for their own success.

Anyone can achieve anything they set their mind to. They don't need higher education, they don't need money, they don't need wealthy parents. They just need the right attitude, and its the lack of the right attitude that largely creates what you describe.

There are of course many poor people who aren't lazy who do work hard, they've just made poor choices and feel like they have to live with those choices instead of doing something about it.

No, They are just poor.

Every poor person I have ever met was a very hard working person.

people are sheeple. the vast majority of people stay in the class they were born into.
dont tell me you were born middle class and are now rollin in the bucks
The immigrants that come here from europe and asia probably remain in the same class here that they were where they came from

First of all welfare is no picnic and makes you jump through a lot of hoops just to get not quite enough to eat on and it only lasts 2 years.

Unemployment only lasts 6 months.

Some areas in the country have too few jobs even if you wanted one you are up against 50 to 100 people for that job.

Much of our manufacturing jobs have gone overseas to cheaper labor markets resulting in even less jobs.

The people that had these manufacturing jobs don't generally have any technical skills so they have a hard time getting a job out of a manufacturing plant.

Furthermore with the loss of their job they can't afford to go back to school.

Medicaid is a joke as there are few doctors that even accept it because the government is not very good about paying the bill.

Don't get me wrong, we do have our share of stupid and lazy poor people that just will not work as well.

Those migrants that come in to study at university have probably studied at good schools in their own countries and have then come to your country with the support of wealthy parents back home. They are certainly not from poor families, or without some form of primary education otherwise they would not get into your universities would they?
As for your own poor not being great achievers, it has probably more to do with not having good role models and having to go to school in deprived areas with overcrowding and overworked teachers.
America should be able to do a lot better for it's people but I guess the poor don't vote so nobody cares.

Sweetestlady, what a nice name, I hope it is true. When you talk about poor people arriving in your country they will have come from a country where they had to work their guts out just to survive and when they arrive would have realised they could make as much in an hour as would have taken them all week where they came from. They arrive with a work ethic Americans could only dream about. Anyway they then both work maybe doing two or three jobs each so that they can send their kids to school and onto university.
As for the already rich ones they do it to take advantage of greater opportunities for themselves and their children. They come to Australia too for the same reasons.But quite often it is the children who come with the support of their wealthy parents back home. My daughter in law is Chinese and I know a number of people who have done one or other of the above.

If anyone can receive funds and not have to work for it,then that indicates someone with an above average intelligence! Not everyone can be rich. In fact as long as you have different classes of people no matter how well off the bottom rung is they will always be looked down upon by those above them monetarily! Why do you insist that everyone be rich and successful?

some may be stupid and some may be lazy...there are plenty of wealthy and middle class types that are stupid and lazy too. where one finds oneself in life is a product of many things but in this country at least, you have a much better chance of controlling your own destiny through education and hard work. it is about choices one makes and if you wake up one day and find yourself in a situation that is undesirable to you, you can change it, but most are content to take handouts or resign themselves to their lot in life...it doesn't have to be that way for anyone however...

Your question implies that government policies lead to individual productivity. This is a questionable assumption at best in that it assumes that government policies work for their intended goals. Welfare, free education, medicaid are ineffective government agencies and programs that do not have as their focus releaving poverty in the United States. It should come as no suprise that underfunded, understaffed, and programs that have to constantly appease different political groups do not work. That's exactly what they were designed to do.

Democracy and freedom of speech would not seem to have any direct coorelation with poverty levels. Specifically since poverty levels can fluctuate but levels of institutional liberties can remain the same overtime. The result is any connection between those is probably unsupported.

On the whole, there are reasons besides the government that help explain poverty in America.

Well, many poor people are very hard working and don't get any aid at all. They work and work just to make ends meet. However there is a population that exists solely on government aid. They seem to expect everone else to take care of them. Most Americans do not do this however. It is just that some things are out of reach if you don't have the money. I've always heard it takes money to make money and I have found that to be true.

Poor people are a victim of their environment and government as much as they are of themselves. They have access to the institutions you've mentioned, but not all things are equal. Typically, free clinics are understaffed and under-provisioned therefore the care is not as high as in higher socio-economic situations. Schools are far from being equal. In lower income areas they often lack books for the students, have too few teachers and administrators, have buildings that are insufficient to their needs, and have too many children just trying to get through the day. Discipline is a constant issue and more time is spent trying to manage the class than to teach the class. Furthermore, often these children either lack the facilities when they go home or lack the time to do their homework or study. They may have to go to work to help support the family. But, the problem that truly perpetuates the cycle is simple complacency. They come to think that there is nothing better for them. This is their life. So they simply accept that they will be poor and do not take advantage of the limited resources that are available to them. And, unfortunately the government does very little to break the cycle. The poor in America are not their primary concern and very seldom thought of.

Do you think that the people who pick our fruit, scrub our toilets, build our roads are going to retire early? Time for an econ class.

For people to be very wealthy, the system relies on people being poor. Its the nature of the system.

EDIT: you completely missed the point. You asked if poor people are stupid and lazy, not immigrants.
Free high school? Go to an inner city Detroit High School and tell me its better than the average school in Europe and Asia.
Being poor in America means you wont starve, might be malnourished, but you wont starve, and you will most likely have health care adequate enough to keep you dying from small pox. That doesnt mean you have the wherewithall and means to do better than someone who had the means to get here and the drive to do something better. People grow up here unable even to leave their neighborhood, let alone the country.

I think lazy has a lot to do with it. It's hard to ween yourself from Government programs which provide everything for you and ask for nothing in return.

Stupidity may be partially to blame as well seeing as our public educational system is and has been in shambles for some time.

Mostly though I think it's due to a lack of motivation. This land is a place full of opportunity for those who wish to work hard and muddle through to one day have their dream life. It takes commitment and dedication, two traits which are hard to find in some.

I've been to China, India, and Cameroon and I can tell you our poor aren't poor at all. The poor people in America live like royalty.

**** Edit
But just like middle class there are subcategories of "poor" people. So are there poor people who do nothing to better their situations and there are poor people who work 18 hours a day to try and have a better life. I assume you're addressing the former.

Some are but lets face it not everyone can go to college. I have no problem with the government helping people get by as long as they are working. Have a problem with people who can work not working. Then again could be worse could have kids that grow up to be Paris Hilton.

Yes, a lot of people are poor because they're just plain lazy. Some are poor because they spend their money on things they want and then they don't have enough money to pay bills causing them to owe more (like late fees) which gets them farther behind. Some hard working people are poor because they make minimum wages and everything else is going up except their salary which reminds me, why are companys so proud of the millions of dollars in profits they make each year? they could well afford to pay more in wages if they were not so greedy and the CEO's would still be filthy rich making high salaries so why do they have to get paid so many (millions) of dollars each year? If it's the owner of the business, then he deserves his salary. Some are poor because of sickness and and if they have insurance it still don't cover all of the expenses plus all of the regular bills still have to be paid. And some hard working people are poor because they have lazy relatives always getting in trouble and mooching off of them. I could go on but I'll stop. I think you get the picture.

You cannot have rich people without poor people.

Are rich people greedy?