Looking down that lot, aspects emerge that can never help anyone:
- Abuse, including attacks based on childish slang of people not holding the attacker's views.
- Dogma based on ignorance: an idea that most of those who are out of work, chose their situation. Most did not, and very likely any State benefits only just cover a meagre existence. Also political dogma - some Americans seem to imagine that if a country tries to help its citizens, it must be "Communist"; almost as if the ironically-title House UnAmerican Activities Committee is still operating.
- Competition & Snobbery: The idea that, "I have a decent, well-paid career therefore am a winner worth something; anyone in mundane work is beneath my dignity; anyone unemployed is a worthless scrounger."
- Rug-pulling. If you live in a city based almost entirely on one or two major commercial or State employers and they close, even the highest-paid staff are suddenly redundant. Those people may have more savings than the "shop-floor" staff, or own surplus luxuries they might be able to sell at well below purchase-price (perhaps above if the luxury is a bucolic second-home); but they are all in the same boat, and it is important to realise people tend to live up to their earnings. The difference between the earnings-bands is that higher ones do allow better savings or higher extravagance: we all need food but no-one needs a top-range car, yacht or membership of an exclusive golf-club. It also affects local businesses like shops and taxi firms, as losing a major employer usually results in the whole town languishing. The last paragraph's "worthless scrounger" might have been last month's precision-engineering company middle-manager, government scientist or the High Street grocer the engineer and scientist had bought their food from.
- Lack of opportunity: If there is no work in your area, except perhaps cleaning toilets for a pittance, how can you earn anything? You certainly cannot afford to move to somewhere offering lots of employment. The cost-of-living there is likely higher than back home, and there are few vacancies anyway. Even people who do earn good salaries can find it impossible to buy a home in such places, but rents there are high too, so many are unable to save the deposit on buying their own home - home-ownership being another mark of personal success.
- Party-politics. You will find that in any multi-party nation, but really, sorting out national problems in society at large should be a cross-party matter. Merely calling each names or always blaming the other lot, never really solves anything in the long run. I do NOT advocate one-party systems, NOR rather wooly coalitions; but serious problems must be met with serious cross-floor discussion and agreement on long-term strategies rather than mere point-scoring between elections only four or five years apart. The partisanship will slant the general approach by majority, but the whole matter still needs a lot of constructive consensus.
........
If there is a disproportionately higher rate of poverty within the USA compared to similarly rich nations; then really, only America itself can put that right; but it will need a serious, consensual approach to determine what is going worng and how to put it right.
