Question for conservatives re poverty...?

Question

One eighth of US residents are now living below the poverty line, which is defined as $19,157 annual income for a family of four. I don't know what the figures are for < $25,000 income but I'm guessing around 20%. The conservative stance on issues that affect this are as follows;

No increase in the minimum wage.
Tighten welfare benefits requirements.
Less gradation in tax brackets based on income.

Am I forgetting any? Given the above, what is the conservative plan for reducing poverty in the US? Or is this simply not a conservative priority?


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2369828&page=1

http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2006/02/13/poverty/

Thanks for all those who gave serious, thoughtful answers. I'm kinda sick of all the baiting that goes on here. I also agree that welfare is for people who, through no fault of their own, cannot support their family's basic needs. I also recognize abuse, but I differ with many who think abuse is widespread. Should we tighten income requirements when some kids don't eat dinner because some small fraction abuses the system? No, I don't think so.

Kudos to the many who work their way out of poverty. It's not easy to do, though, raising minimum wage (at least in step with the cost of living), expanding education and job training benefits to the poor, etc. seem like common sense approaches that in the end would save us all money.

Answer 1

I've worked since I was 17 y/o and supported my family of 4 without help from any gov't agency. Ever! My wife and I fall into the <$25k combined income level. I'm a conservative.

Conservatives hire a good deal of ppl b/c of the minimum wage. It's bad enough with required insurance and escalating overhead. If it goes too much higher jobs will be lost. It's not that we hire everybody, but we are willing to give jobs to those who want them! And business owners try to work within the law.

We 'conservatives", too, are paying for the benefits of welfare. Personally, I wish it could just end completely! What I see is a hand-up becoming a hand-out. Some ppl treat their welfare certificate like an heirloom! Like they deserve it, or earned it.

I must confess dis-satisfaction about the tax issue, but I'm not giving up on it! I write letters and so on to my reps in Washington.

Poverty is always on the minds of most reasonable and responsible politicians, conservatives and otherwise. Abusers merely make it that much more difficult to address in a truly egalitarian fashion.

Answer 2

1. An increase in minimum wage would not push people above the poverty line, it would simply cause higher inflation, and increase the amount that the poverty line is.

2. The conservative view on poverty is that America is a land of opportunity. Everyone has an equal opportunity to learn, gain employment, etc. That means that when people don't, it's their own fault and nothing the government can do will help them.

They are right, and I am living proof of that. I was born to poor white trash (11 kids and an income less than 14,000 a year) and I've made my way to success. If I can do it coming from that background, than anyone else can too.

3. Welfare is a self-perpetuating system, and needs overhauled to prevent welfare babies from growing and and having more welfare babies. These people are using welfare as a lifestyle, not a temporary stop-gap like it should be.

Answer 3

You know the old saying," Give a man a fish, you'll feed him for a day - Teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for life."
Unless, of course, he decides that fishing is somehow below him and cuts into too much of his personal time - and, anyway, he'll continue to get a fresh fish every day regardless.

I believe that temporary poverty can strike any one, at any time, and I believe that it is society's responsibility to temporarily help a person or family "get back on their feet."

I also honestly believe that there is absolutely no good reason that poverty often occurs in third and forth generation families.

The welfare system should be a stepping stone, not a lifestyle alternative.

I believe that in America anyone who is willing to work hard and sacrifice a little is able to fend for themselves. Think about it - if poverty is due to a lack of economic opportunity, why are so many Mexicans coming North and easily finding jobs?

We have to balance a real need for assistance with a real incentive to work. I believe this can be done - but not by liberally throwing more money at the problem !

Answer 4

To increase the minimum wage is to increase taxes. You want to pay more taxes> I pay over 500 bones in tax a month. I am tired of losing 20% of my paycheck and you want to make that number rise?

I don't want to tighten the requirements for welfare, I want them to eliminate it. Welfare breeds lazyness and only trains people to rely on the government.

There is an 88% diference in tax benifit between middle class and the top 1% of America in favor of the top 1%. That is bullshit. We do not want that kind of tax system, that is coming from a buisness man in office.

Improve the poverty line? well, you would have to do a lot of things. Fix the illegal problem, limit outsourcing, increase exports, etc. But the number one thing we would have to do is figure out how to get some Americans off the tit of the government and into the workforce. We have plenty of jobs, it's just getting people to fill them. Why work when you can get money for nothing?

Answer 5

1. Funny how no one cared when it was mostly military living down there.

2. Minimum wage is supposed to make you not want to stay at it and get a better education, better paying job.

3. A big problem is that the people that are inpoverty will not take the responsibility to stop breeding more poverty prone kids.

4. The vast majority of those I know of who fall into that bracket were the ones that played hookie in school, dropped out without a High School diploma and or had kids starting at a young age. Screw them. Maybe they need to get back to finish a ged and mayb e apply for a PELL grtant to get college.

5. If they had a job but lost it thru no fault of their own, IE crappy greedy CEO, then we should help them to get back up.

6. Reminder, minimum wage is better than no wage.

7. Final note on welfare. It should not be my tax dollars that pay for your crootchfruit. You spread em, you birthed the rugrat, if you cannot support then stop having them. If that means getting a V for guys or a tube tie for girls, so be it. I am sick of my hard earned dollars going to IMHO lazy drug using ghetto trash.

Answer 6

It isn't that it is not a priority, but that there is a recognition that thsoe approaches you mention don't work. Poverty is eliminated by work. And compensation for work is sependent on productivity.

Remember, wealth isn't fixed, nor does it grow on trees. It can grow but only through individual effort.

Increasing the minimum wage does not change the total amount of wealth in society, nor does it increase the worker's productivity. Changing tax rates can help, but only if you lower it for those who actually pay. Remember, people in poverty don't pay taxes. 96% of all taxes are paid by the top 50%. The bottom 50% pay almost nothing.

Also, giving welfare doesn't help either. All it does is shift money around.

I think instead of asking why conservatives don't care about poverty numbers is the wrong approach, because simply looking at numbers is the wrong approach. Poverty isn't something that just happens like the common cold. It has a root cause. Handing out money doesn't solve the root cause, it only makes it worse. You don't respond to the pain caused by putting your hand on a hot stove with a morphine injection. You remove your hand. You can eliminate all the poverty statistics, but it doesn't mean you are eliminating the values that lead to poverty.

If you make it easier to start and run businesses, meaning lower taxes and fewer regulations, you make more jobs. If you reduce the tax on investment returns, you get more investment in productivity-increasing technology, and hence more pay for workers. If you make it harder for people to collect welfare, you make it easier for them to decide to be more productive members of society by improving their skills, education, and work ethic.

Answer 7

increase the minimum wage and mcdonalds raises the price of hamburgers, ultimately self-defeating...increase your job value, thereby increasing your wage (get an education that will pay well) and pick a career that is needed

Many welfare recipients must have money to spend, they tend to have fairly good cars, medical care, video games, buy beer (by trading their stamps) eat steaks with stamps (opps, cards now) damn sad i say....

People in the poverty bracket pay no taxes now..in fact they get money back from the IRS that they didnt pay in...EARNED income credit...So they pay no taxes, get a check monthly, sit on the porch and eat steaks and drink beer, take drugs, have free medical care when the OD and each year get a check from the IRS...sounds like a better deal than working for a living....not one single incentive to work right?

Answer 8

Minimum wage was MEANT for beginning-level jobs for high-school students who don't need a lot of money yet, but still need to learn responsibility and important life/work skills.

Welfare was MEANT for emergency funding in case of illness or injury that makes working difficult or impossible.

The problem is that adults who should be supporting themselves but do want to work don't want hard jobs, so they get minimum-wage jobs, then whine about not making enough money.

The other problem is that adults who don't even want to work at all still feel entitiled to free everything as a human right.

Answer 9

Dude sounds pretty empty up there.....
I can guarantee you that 90% of what you call poor people have all at least one TV set - have enough money to buy beer, alcohol and drugs and rely on the monthly gov check - This country is in better shape economically that 99% of the world
Why don’t you go to let's say any country in Europe and really see what poverty is. In the US you have plenty of opportunities to raise yourself above the "poverty level" - Lastly the gov is not here for doing everything for the poor, most of them need to get up in the morning and go to work....life is not an easy journey

Answer 10

Poverty today is rich compared to poverty in the 50s. How many of those in the 50s in poverty had a car in the driveway and three TVs in the house? How many in the 50s in poverty could go to the local thrift store and buy an xbox with 5-6 games for necessity's sake.

Why are liberals so communistic by nature? Education and common sense will get anyone out of 'poverty'