Why is there such hostility toward the rich?

Question

Why do liberals always view rich people as being "evil", for sacrificing and working hard for their money? (if not the individual personally, then a family member) Why must the rich pay for the laziness of the poor? Many people give of themselves and don't want the government to FORCE them to do it...is that so wrong?

Don't liberals think hard work is a good thing? Why are there "class" wars? Why must everthing be "middle class" this and "upper class" that, or "lower class" whatever?

Why can't people be held responsible for their decisions in life?

Before I get a "you can't help if you're handicapped" statement, may I remind you that mentally and physically handicapped people can work, and many do.

Single mothers should, and do, get temporary assistance from the government, and have to repay it when finished with it.

So, why all the hostility toward the rich?

Kberto...it's called personal responsibility...if you don't like being poor, there is something you can do about it other than complaining.

FOLKS!!!!!! Don't you get it! My point is personal responsibility! Why should we support, as Alex P.H.D. said, the bum getting drunk and begging for money?

And what's wrong with a person puting a wall around their house? They bought the land, didn't they? I'm sure they know that there are folks out there who like to rob rich people! Do they not have a right to defend themselves and their family?

And poor people are poor because they either lack the inteligence and education to get a better job. If you don't want to do a labor job for small wages, make yourself more employable!

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Middleclassandnotquiet...I never mentioned your name...and I've never mentioned anything about wanting war...you're assuming thing now.

And just to let you know, I'm not rich, either. Just feel that if I were to become rich, I shouldn't have to pay for someone who doesn't want to work. :D

Voice of Reason...go do some research...there are many posts on Y! Answers as well as some of the poor liberals that I know (most of my family) that view rich people as being evil for not sharing...again...do your research...you are wrong!

Answer 1

Because many on the left think the rich should be punished for being successful. Take from the rich and give to the poor is the mentality when everyone has the same opportunity to be successful.

Answer 2

Well, you're making a lot of assumptions here. I'm liberal. I've worked for over 30 years, have a college degree I paid for, was a single mother(abusive marriage) never received any government assistance, bet I didn't take 7 sick days in all those years-so I'm not lazy, don't & didn't rely on the government but yet that's what you say? That's pretty mean and hurtful if you ask me. My next question is why do you want a war?

That said, I managed without assistance but lived on the edge for years when my son was young. But I personally know how close people can come to losing what little they have. It seems those in the upper income brackets(and those that THINK they can get in the upper income brackets) show little kindness even for those struggling to be good citizens. Try to walk in their shoes. They can't imagine the life you lead, struggling to keep up with the Joneses, leasing the latest model of SUV, paying for the "right" schools-I know you must feel like a hamster on a wheel. But it's not the liberals fault-its the American way to always want more...

Answer 3

Well you can always see for yourself what happens when the middle class dissapears by making a visit to Jakarta Indonesia. The rich are rich and the poor are poor. There is not middle class.
The poor will , because of lack of opportnity and ability, allways remain poor.

It is through black an white glasses that republicans view the world. Things "should" be this way or that. The reality is there are going to be homeless, there are going to be poor, there are going to be those a lot less fortunate than the "rich".

If everyone was rich who would there be to do the manual labor to get them rich in the first place?

You cant ignore the poor and the homeless, but you can help give them the tools of opportunity.

The middle class is eroding away in this country and what we see in jakarta well see here but with better roads....

Answer 4

You do not understand how connected we are, you think we are all individuals. We are one unit. You will not understand this until you have had a broken heart. The rich are evil, as they hoard for themselves leaving the poor to die and starve.... Yes you could do the same thing,,,,,, go to the country club and hide there from all of the poor people and injustices in the world... but your heart knows better and the only way to be so incompassionate is to shut the heart down, to feel nothing except greed....... and love for a few around you......

Being one unit means that,,,, wealth being hoarded by "hard work" does not come out of thin air, it comes from the backs of others.... the blood, sweat and tears of people..... and you being smart and cold enough to manipulate it from others is evil....it is the darkness,,,,,,,,

Answer 5

Personal responsibility is very important, but then it should apply to everybody. The central driver of capitalism is the profit motive, which is inherently an exploitative act, since you are making a profit by:
* Selling an item for more than the sum of its components and labour;
* Purchasing labour at a rate less than its actual worth.

Now, in theory, that should work out ok, as long as everybody starts on a relatively equal footing. I exploit you one day, you exploit me the next, everybody is happy.

The problem is that we don't start out on equal footing. Rich countries stack the deck against poor countries with protectionist policies, rich people stack the deck with better education and networking opportunities, greater access to capital, greater access to the political process through campaign funding and lobbying. You get the idea.

That, my dear, is why we believe rich people need to take some personal responsibility.

Answer 6

For one thing, why do you think they work hard for their money? Is it really worth it for one man to get a severance package of 210 million for six years of no growth or stock increase in his company and another to get 2 weeks severence pay despite an exemplary record at the same company due to 'downsizing'? Isn't it better to take four hour lunches and company jets than to work a forty hour week and get a week at the shore in a rental?
Would you rather be Paris Hilton, or Rosie the Waitress? Who works harder? Neither went to any college I ever heard of so its not the benefits of education. It used to be the ceo of a company made 400 times the salary of its lowest employee, now its 4000. Do you think a janitor has it easier than a ceo? 4000 times easier? Why do conservatives think its ok for wal mart to hire people to work 39 1/2 hours so they don't qualify for health benefits, so when these working people get ill, they go late or not at all because they don't have enough money for insurance. If you have a minimum wage job, you have two or three of them in a household, you think thats not working?
Its the chance thing, it used to be the american dream to have your kids be one rung up on the ladder over you, now a working family can't afford the cost of college, thats going to cause more class struggle than you can even dream of in years to come. It used to be, rich people took chances with their own money or had ideas, or did something worhwhile. Now it seems we only see the Enron mess, or the insider traders, or the white collar theives that pass themselves off as Corporations. They didn't earn it, they didn't risk it, they are just larger scaled theives than muggers. Why do they deserve it, why can't they be realistic in their pay as we are asked to give up one benefit after another, and yet they party with hundreds of guests in Greece?
Now you know why theres so much hostility toward the rich, its not the charity of the crumbs off their table, its that they stole the table, the cloth, and they stiffed the caterers.

Answer 7

Unless you are an inventor or some type of artist, you get rich by underpaying your workers, or charging more than it's worth for your product or service.

If it's a personal choice, why aren't the coal miners in West Va rich? They work really hard.

And it's always Republicans that accuse Dems of class warfare. We should have class warfare. Just about every single problem we have is caused by Rich businessmen, of which I am one. I am the mythical rich liberal.

Answer 8

Not everyone is really intelligent. Many of the poor are just plain dumb and not everyone is lazy. Overpopulation is not brought up by politicians who want to get reelected. We give deductions for children when they should limit deductions to only 2 children.

The rich still think that trickle down economics work - as in give us a tax break and we will hire an immigrant Gardner. Wow, how nice of the rich.

Answer 9

Because some rich people have all this money and they spend it like it is nothing like they got nothing else to spend it with so they blow it on useless stuff like for instance there is a lawyer in my town who is building a wall around his land and it looks like the wall of China or something when he could be donating that money to charity instead fancy things that he doesn't need. Get my Point. We don't hate the rich we just don't think they spend their money right and they treat us liberals like we are dumb and poor when we work just as hard as they do even though some of us have made mistakes in life and quit school ( I didn't) but we know that we made them and now we have to pay for them but we still work as hard as we can.

Answer 10

It is nothing new. You probably recall the biblical thing about passing through the eye of a needle. Envy is part of it; another part is a general lack of understanding that it takes a fair amount of work to get rich and remain so. Another part, which is perhaps the most reasonable of the lot, is the fact that there is a certain amount of luck involved.