What's your opinion?

Question

What's your opinion on the following statement?
Poverty is:
A. Completely the fault of the individual
B. Mainly the fault of the individual, but partially the fault of the government/society as well.
C. Partly the individual's fault, partly the government/society's fault.
D. Mainly the fault of the government/society, but partially the fault of the individual as well.
E. Completely the government/society's fault.

Also, if you have any suggestions as to what the individual (or the government or society, depending on your answer) can do to improve the poverty situation, please include that. Thanks!

I wrote "government/society" to mean "government AND/OR society." It's not meant to be grouped together (unless you believe that government and society are actually the same thing).

I initially wrote those poll in regards to the U.S., but I would like to hear your opinion in regards to worldwide poverty, if you have one.
And I'm talking about poverty among adults, and I don't believe parents are responsible for the lifestyle their children have as adults, so I only allowed for the options of individual, society or government.

Answer 1

it really depends... so I would say C...

but there are cases of A and E... clearly fools have been parted from their money... and clearly some haven't had the opportunity to even be a success...

but it's often a combination of the two...

the solution is getting the best education possible to everyone in America, especially those in poverty... give them the tools and most will do it themselves...

currently, more often than not, schools in poverty stricken areas are bad schools... and bad schools don't help students get out of poverty...

Answer 2

I'd say C.)Partly the individuals fault, partly the government/society's fault.
Only because it really depends on the country you come from... if you are in Africa, you don't have a huge option. but of course most of those people don't judge their life by what they have, as much as they do by what they do.
If your in the U.S.A then it's probably more the individuals fault, because everyone has the option of getting an education, getting scholarships, grants etc. there's several things you can do to improve your situation, it's just do you have the determination to do so. Although some people are born into homes that may require more of a struggle, it can be done. I think our government does a good job of assisting people with education and that alone is the key to succeeding in life. Well education and determination.
I think if people would quit pointing fingers at others, and start examining their self and own up to what or who they are, then those people would do better in life.

Answer 3

Thank you for asking my opinion.
My answer is "B"
Because ultimately the individual SHOULD be responsible for himself.
That being said, some of the poverty issue lay with the government. The government has in the past made it so very easy for people to qualify for free aid. By not requiring work or repayment for the free aid, the government has created a class of people who feel that they deserve free aid for life, and they refuse to pull themselves up from the life of depending on free aid.
It is also partially the fault of society in general. Our society, being an everyman for himself society, a selfish people who pretend to be caring and compassionate, will do things to keep their fellow citizens down. A good example is a company that has money to buy out smaller competitors, makes the purchase and lets go of the employees of the purchased company. No severance, no help to keep those people off the streets until they can find work. No, not everybody qualifies for unemployment benefits, and sometimes the benefits can take weeks or months to kick in. Another example would be be people who have been convicted of crimes, and served their time. Serving time is considered paying their debt to society. The slate should be wiped clean, yet our society, the compassionate one, makes it impossible or very difficult for these people to find meaningful work. They paid their debt, but our society makes them continue to pay, forever.
So, it is really a combination of the three choices, with the heaviest burden placed on the individual.

Answer 4

1/3 the individuals fault, 1/3 the Parents fault, 1/3 the Govt. fault.

The individual is given the freedom to make his/her own choices but it is up to the parents to teach the individual how to make good choices. Government only makes things worse when an individual becomes poor because by giving that person welfare (which may help in the short run) but in the long run it takes away that persons ability to make choices because the Govt is making them for the person which makes the person dependent on the Govt. and that is a big problem.

Answer 5

Non of the above. Every situation is differant. Sometimes it is the individuals fault, sometimes it is a combination of society/government and the individual, and sometimes it is nobodies fault. Maybe it's just bad luck. You can do everything right and a fire, hurricane, criminal, or whatever can take it all away, and not even leave you any bootstraps to pull your self up with.

Answer 6

You are grouping society and government in one category. I have to split that apart.
B. Mainly the part of the individual, but partially influenced by society as well.

I don't see the government as responsible for ones income level.

Answer 7

My answer is D. I choose D because humans can only deal with what is available for them in a certain area. Like people in New York have all types of high paying jobs, but people in Alabama have more like framing Jobs so people can only work with what is provided.
So if there is no paying jobs are food poverty will occur, and if there are people who are not reaching put helping hands the poverty get worse!

Answer 8

It depends on what country you are talking about.

In the US it's the fault of the individual, they have more than enough options through government programs to get their sh!t together.

If you are talking about oil rich third world back yard fenced in muslim dictatorships then it is the government's fault.

I

Answer 9

E.

But A personalises it...which is actually the point of A.

Poverty "not personalised" is a dangerous thing.

We actually had the government of another country - come into my country (we were sharing the same currency etc) and shut whole industries - to get inflation under control so the city could trade in the pound better - how is that my fault?

Economic morality is just propagander.

Answer 10

I'll answer by saying this, how many people who have already answered chose to live a life of poverty, or do you think most people living at poverty level choose it for themselves?

D.

By the way, an excellent question, thanks.