westernrvparkowner wrote:
But if someone's financial problems can be traced to life choices I take a pretty hard line....
I'm not sure how much poverty is attributable to an individual's "life choices." Probably much less than our smug selves imagine. Recent studies seem to show that luck (including the absence of bad luck) plays a greater role in success than intelligence or hard work. Folks can do everything right and be capsized by a family member's medical problems. A plant closing can destroy the economic prospects of an entire community. We can gain a little humility by remembering that most of us who receive Social Security get back far more than we paid in. As for Medicare, one week in a hospital will put you beyond the contributions of yourself plus every family member going out to about third cousin. There is simply no factual evidence that supports blaming poor people for being poor. None. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-role-of-luck-in-life-success-is-far-greater-than-we-realized/
