Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Where Is the Wealth of Nations?

[Jack Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

> An attitude I've noticed is that often people who are rich, or well off, 
> think that people who aren't did something to deserve their position.

"Deserve" is an incorrect word and implies that there is some great
arbiter up there that hands out fate and dollars to people. I think that
is what many statists (e.g. some Democrats) believe when they talk about
"income re-distribution" and "giving people money" with tax cuts. 

>  As if everyone that is poor does drugs, spends money foolishly, makes no 
> effort to develop job skills, etc. An attitude that totally ignores that 
> sometimes things are beyond our control.

Most things are completely within peoples' control. Sure, there can be
things that happen that are unpredicted, such as getting leukemia. But
all of the things that you mention are completely within peoples' power
to change. Sure, you can end up getting yourself in a real pickle if you
make a whole long string of bad choices, but they are just that- choices
that YOU made! Nobody is making you do drugs. Nobody is making you spend
money foolishly. Nobody is preventing you from developing job skills.
Nobody is making you have children out of wedlock as a teenager (and if
the aforementioned are not true in your case, then the person making you
do that should be arrested.) There are multiple opportunities to improve
yourself and many are free. You can go to school without paying anything
out of pocket. If you are low-income, then the school and government
will pay some if not all of your bill just because of that, and you're
able to get loans to pay for the rest, pretty much no-questions-asked. 

> I'd say this attitude is popular among Republicans. I hear it a lot on 
> right-wing radio talk shows as an excuse as to why we shouldn't develop 
> better social programs. I hear it a lot among geeks too - regardless to 
> political affiliation.

This attitude is simply the counter to the "oh, nothing is your fault,
we'll make those evil people that are successful care of it for you"
statist view espoused by most every other media outlet other than talk
radio. Geeks tend to be rather logic-driven and can see the relationship
between decisions and outcomes and are thus not surprised when bad
decisions lead to bad outcomes. Decision-outcome mapping is the basis of
almost every software algorithm out there.

--Jack


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