Poverty

[tskstorm]

Part of a Sociology project I'm supposed to get people to answer a short questionnaire. If anyone is interested in helping me out it shouldn't take very long, ans based on peoples answers could start a good debate.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people?

2. Are poor people all alcoholics?

3. Are poor people all drug abusers?

4. How old are poor people?

5. Do they live in city or suburbs?

6. Are more poor people male or female?

7. Are poor people lazy?

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids?

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor?

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor?

11. Are all poor people unkept?

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive?

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor?

14. Do the poor pay taxes?

15. Do all poor people steal?

Thanks in advanced

[Happiness]

Part of a Sociology project I'm supposed to get people to answer a short questionnaire. If anyone is interested in helping me out it shouldn't take very long, ans based on peoples answers could start a good debate.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? All races

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? no

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? no

4. How old are poor people? all ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? both

6. Are more poor people male or female? female

7. Are poor people lazy? no

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? no

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? partially

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? no

11. Are all poor people unkept? no

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? no

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? depends on the culture

14. Do the poor pay taxes? some do

15. Do all poor people steal? no

Thanks in advanced

[emtannie]

I will base some of this on my own experience, having lived on the street at one time.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? Human

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? No

4. How old are poor people? All ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? Both

6. Are more poor people male or female? I don't know - my guess is male, because people seem more willing to help women for some reason.

7. Are poor people lazy? Some are. Some are caught in a circumstance that they are trying to get out of.

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? No, some have no children.

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? No. Circumstances are a big reason for being poor. Loss of a job, mental health issues, recessionary times all contribute.

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? Not really, although it is very hard to make ends meet on minimum wage. Minimum wage works if several people get together and share housing and other expenses, but for one person to provide food, shelter, clothing and utilities on that wage is not possible.

11. Are all poor people unkept? No

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? No it is not.

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Yes it is possible; difficult, but possible. I lived on the street at one time, and now I own my own home and vehicles.

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Some do. The working poor pay taxes. I know when I worked minimum wage, my weekly earnings weren't enough to have a lot of taxes taken off, but working more thn one job meant that at year end, I had made enough that I had to pay taxes.

15. Do all poor people steal? I don't think so; however, when I lived on the street, I stole money from the fountains at the mall to buy food.

[uglyEMT]

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? Human

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? No

4. How old are poor people? All Ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? Both

6. Are more poor people male or female? Same

7. Are poor people lazy? Not All

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? Amounts Vary. Some Have None, Some Have One, Some Have Multiple

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? No

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? No

11. Are all poor people unkept? No

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? No

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Yes

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Some Do. (Working Poor Do)

15. Do all poor people steal? No

[HERBIE1]

Tskstorm- I'm not sure what you will do with the data, but unless this is a truly anonymous survey, I think most of the answers will be PC.

Clearly this is supposed to bring out any biases folks have. I would be fascinated to learn the demographics(age, location, sex, race,ethnicity) of folks who respond to a survey such as this.

I'll try to answer these questions honestly, based on my experiences of working in this area for over 25 years. Clearly this is unscientific, I'm not using official census data, just anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. I will also refrain from giving a simple yes or no answer since I think it is impossible to give an accurate answer in that manner. I also do not like the universal descriptor "all", since that leaves you with a false choice. I will also define "poor" as someone who can probably qualify for and collect government assistance, meaning not just someone who is homeless.

Again- answers are based on this area and my experiences-

1. What race are poor people? All races, but predominantly black here.

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No, although a significant percentage seem to have substance abuse problems of some type.

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? See above.

4. How old are poor people? All ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? Both, but the poor have far higher concentrations in urban areas- more social services to help them.

6. Are more poor people male or female? Both, but for different reasons. Women often have dependent kids to support and take care of.

7. Are poor people lazy? No. Leaving substance abuse issues aside, it's more like a mindset that has been programmed into them. Bad choices, bad influences, no support, etc.

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? Generally numerous, but not as many as 10 or so years ago.

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? Yes, in large part.

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? NO.

11. Are all poor people unkept? No.

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? YES. In fact, in many cases, it's why people remain poor.

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Yes- anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Predominantly sales taxes.

15. Do all poor people steal? No.

Edited May 11, 2010 by HERBIE1

[DartmouthDave]

Part of a Sociology project I'm supposed to get people to answer a short questionnaire. If anyone is interested in helping me out it shouldn't take very long, ans based on peoples answers could start a good debate.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? All

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? No

4. How old are poor people? All ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? Both

6. Are more poor people male or female? Female

7. Are poor people lazy? Some are

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? No

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? Yes

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? No

11. Are all poor people unkept? No

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? Survive...yes Comfortably..no

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Yes

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Sales Tax mostly

15. Do all poor people steal? No

Thanks in advanced

[tskstorm]

Tskstorm- I'm not sure what you will do with the data, but unless this is a truly anonymous survey, I think most of the answers will be PC.

Clearly this is supposed to bring out any biases folks have. I would be fascinated to learn the demographics(age, location, sex, race,ethnicity) of folks who respond to a survey such as this.

I'll try to answer these questions honestly, based on my experiences of working in this area for over 25 years. Clearly this is unscientific, I'm not using official census data, just anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. I will also refrain from giving a simple yes or no answer since I think it is impossible to give an accurate answer in that manner. I also do not like the universal descriptor "all", since that leaves you with a false choice. I will also define "poor" as someone who can probably qualify for and collect government assistance, meaning not just someone who is homeless.

Truthfully I have to write a paper about how people view the poor. The professor asked us to create and have people answer a questionnaire so we know how people view them to base our papers on. I think its all a load of bull. That's the price I pay for taking a sociology course! Any answers given are supposed to give me an idea of peoples biases or the myths they think about the poor, I already had a great concept of this however I'm trying my best to do whats asked. These answers will never be seen by anyone except me, well and the forum, but I mean they will not be used in the paper or seen by the professor or anyone else.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Part of a Sociology project I'm supposed to get people to answer a short questionnaire. If anyone is interested in helping me out it shouldn't take very long, ans based on peoples answers could start a good debate.

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? Perception is that they are black but in my area it's mainly white families who are poor. Not many black people in my neck of the woord

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? public perception is yes but my experience - NO

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? public perception is Yes, but in my experience a great many of them are homeless or poor based on their drug use

4. How old are poor people? all ages but mainly 24-40

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? they live all over

6. Are more poor people male or female? more males than females but I don't think that's across the board

7. Are poor people lazy? Public perception YEP yep yep but my understanding is that they are not. But I do say I have the perception that many are lazy

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? my initial response is numerous but that might be a perception issue again

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? nope

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? nope but the libs would have you think that.

11. Are all poor people unkept? no but if they are too poor to buy clothes then their clothes will be unkempt.

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? If we allow the current administration and government free reign, it will be but for now it is not.

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? yes it is. I have friends who have moved upward. Of course it's easy to move down in class when you are homeless.

14. Do the poor pay taxes? nope or at least not much in taxes.

15. Do all poor people steal? I say no but public perception is yes they do.

I don't believe in being politically correct, threadbashing here or not. I have a distinct visual of what a poor person is and what they are not. Is it based on familial and life experiences - you betcha. Is it based on fact - yep that too. I have a visual of a poor person but it's probably not the same as others have.

You can move out of homelessness and being poor but it's a very very difficult journey. With the perception the public has of homeless peole and poor people, it's a miracle that anyone who is poor and homeless get above their situation. But the publics perception of homeless and poor is not one easily changed.

I strongly recommend a book called "Same kind of Different, As Me" by Denver Moore and Ron Hall This book changed some of my perceptions and long held beliefs of homeless and poor. You can find it at any barnes and noble/borders or at any christian book store.

Thanks in advanced

[tskstorm]

Thanks ruff, I'll check it out

[Lone Star]

Poverty Questionnaire

1. What race are poor people? All races

2. Are poor people all alcoholics? No

3. Are poor people all drug abusers? No

4. How old are poor people? Poverty strikes at all ages

5. Do they live in city or suburbs? All areas

6. Are more poor people male or female? Poverty affects both genders equally

7. Are poor people lazy? Mixed response. General perception says 'yes', but I've also known some that are hard working, but due to being 'unskilled' and low minimum wages; they're below the 'poverty line' set by the government.

8. Do all poor people have one or numerous kids? I've seen examples of both

9. Is lack of education a reason for being poor? No

10. Is low minimum wage to blame for being poor? In part. Declining job market is also another factor

11. Are all poor people unkept? Not all.

12. Is government assistance enough for poor people to survive? Social Assistance wasn't intended to replace actively seeking a job and working.

13. Is social mobility (moving up or down in class) possible for the poor? Not as much as for those of higher means. Most of the 'poor' tend to be unskilled labor.

14. Do the poor pay taxes? Yes, but usually they're not paying property tax, due to being unable to afford to purchase their own homes.

15. Do all poor people steal? No

Thanks in advanced

Having grown up (at least part time) in the 'poverty range', I know first hand that it affects all ages. I'm not an alcoholic, I don't use drugs and I'm not a thief...even though I grew up 'poor'. I'm not uneducated (graduated high school and currently attending college), I've worked most of my life as 'unskilled labor', and am currently trying to change that. Yeah, 45 years old may be considered 'late', but I've always been working, trying to 'get ahead' enough to be able to do what I'm doing now.

Because of being 'unskilled labor' and low wages, I've worked two jobs (sometimes 3) to just make ends meet.

Granted, I've never had the 'top of the line' possessions, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have them because I was 'too lazy' to get them. It means that I placed higher emphasis on keeping a roof over my head, food on the table and at least most of the bills paid rather than have all the 'bling' that life offers. I've always known that it's difficult to be 'materialistic' when you can't afford the 'materials'. It's a bitch trying to support 'champagne taste' on a 'peanut butter budget'.

I not only pay property tax, I pay income tax and sales tax ....just like the 'rich folks' do. I just don't happen to have 'cool things' like health insurance, life insurance or dental insurance.

My father used to work for General Motors. He used to make comments like, "I paid more in taxes than you made all year!". This was while I was working more than one job. I never have 'topped' what he's made yet. This was one of the reasons I went to college. Now that I've 'opened the door' to be able to go to college, I plan on getting as much 'higher education' as I can, so that I can 'move up' in life.

Unfortunately, society places too much emphasis on appearances and stereotypes. These questions are a prime example of that. I may not have the latest 'designer clothing', but what I DO have is neat, clean and not full of holes.

I'm not 'well off' by any means, but there are people out there that are even worse off than I am.

I also believe that the 'social assistance programs' are abused, and reform is imperative. I further believe that illegals in this country should not qualify (but that's for another thread).