Commander Cream #9

Deserving poor and undeserving poor? I feel as though I have been trust back into Victorian England. There are certainly poor people I feel more sympathy for than others: victims of domestic abuse, those who cannot afford treatment for mental illness, etc. But do some deserve help while others do not? I really cannot judge. Frankly, I don’t want the responsibility of trying to determine who’s stained with what sin and how much suffering it takes before we provide assistance.

Call it a case of fastidiousness. Call it a case of scruples. Call it whatever you like, but I have to admit that I hate how our society treats the poverty-stricken. I feel as though the poor are dismissed in our society: as though success comes naturally to all those who seek it. To be honest, I don’t believe that success inevitably comes to those who work for it. I have worked for minimum wage. I have worked multiple jobs. Neither are particularly gratifying. But if I lacked the opportunity to increase my knowledge and skills, then I would be looking at both merely to stay above the poverty line. I am fortunate. Not everyone is. And if you don’t have those opportunities, it’s hard to make money. It’s hard to be a “success.”

Realistically, what can we as a society do? Can private charities solve the problem? I sincerely doubt it. That leaves individuals and the government as the remaining players. I’m cynical. I don’t trust individuals, even myself, to solve the problem. Unfortunately, I have a decided aversion to large government run programs. So how would I solve the problem? Obviously I wouldn’t. I have no head for political theories and no ability to assess different policy options. I leave that to those political science majors among us. With that power in their hands, may God/Goddess/Whatever have mercy on us all.