Psj 110: Intro to Poverty and Social Justice - What Do the Poor Deserve?

Selina Guevara

Dr. Amy Johnson

PSJ 110: Intro to Poverty and Social Justice

8 December 2015

                What do the Poor Deserve?

        Some people like to believe the best in other humans.  I know when I meet new friends, I like to assume that they are inherently good, honest people and give them the benefit of the doubt when trouble arises.  The United States justice system considers convicted criminals innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.   We pride ourselves on being a land of freedom and opportunity.  Why, then, do we treat those in poverty or living close to it differently?  Poverty is a universal phenomenon, with many different ways of presenting itself.  It’s not a new thing, and how we have reacted to its many forms over time has varied; but there is a common theme of attaching a stigma to those living near the poverty threshold.  We as a society have collectively stereotyped that the poor cannot be trusted as much as those who are better-off, both subconsciously and purposefully.  Throughout history and in modern day, we have shown inherent bias in making decisions about what the “poor” deserve through aid programs, public policies, and generally accepted mindsets of those living in or near poverty.  

        Flash back to the United States in the 1600’s.  This is the time period when the Elizabethan Poor Laws were created, the first major US welfare reform ever.  Around this time there were diverging notions of who cares for the poor, what they received, and how they were generally perceived by the public.  The Elizabethan Poor Laws set a foundation that essentially categorized the poor into the “deserving” and the “underserving” by providing more lenient aid to those who “deserved” it.  A series of welfare regulations were enacted in which the people who were deserving of our help would receive aid from the churches (Iceland).  

Over time there have been patterns that show there are three ways you can end up poor: being in situational poverty, being in generational poverty, or by being “undeserving.”  Situational poverty is by far the best type of poverty scenario to be in, because it initiates mostly positive reactions and is the easiest to get out of.  People in situational poverty may have dropped below the threshold because of unexpected events, such as divorce, severe health problems, or sudden loss of a job.  Many times the people in situational poverty are educated, were in the middle class at one point, and have connections that make it easier to get back on your feet.  In fact, nearly two-thirds of Americans will live in poverty at some point in their life, because of the national definition and the way situational poverty works (Badger).  

Generational poverty is a more stressful situation and more difficult to escape than situational poverty, but the public generally views it as worthy of receiving aid.  Those in generational poverty, which is also referred to as the dependency theory, tend to be viewed as living in a culture of poverty that is passed down within families.  This group of people tend to be less educated and have fewer positive networks that can allow them to obtain jobs because they are trapped in a familial cycle (Iceland).  In order to fix the problem of generational poverty, a shift in cultural orientation and plethora of resources is necessary, and since the public generally views them as deserving, they provide that to their best extent.  

Lastly, the “underserving” poor are the people in poverty who have seemingly lost their morals.  The drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves, addicts, and mothers pregnant out of wedlock in the world are all examples of those viewed as undeserving.  Even the mentally handicapped, who have traditionally been stigmatized as insane or crazy throughout time periods, can be viewed as undeserving (Iceland).  With government, private, and religious aid, the people whose morals do not align with ours are categorized as “undeserving” and denied the aid and support that they need.  There are some situations where the undeserving poor make choices that are selfish and could have prevented a downfall into poverty, but other times it is not 100% the fault of the “undeserving” person the situation they are in.  Pregnant mothers out of wedlock could have been coerced or raped, prostitutes could have no better options for trying to make a living, and addicts may want to escape but physically cannot.  Every person’s story of falling into poverty is unique and different, yet society stigmatizes and categorizes these people without taking that into consideration.  

The Elizabethan Poor Laws may have been explicitly discriminatory in the 1600’s, yet even in modern day we still carry subconscious biases towards the poor.  There are certain American theories and values that prevent us from feeling compassion or reaching out to those in need.  The "Bootstraps" mentality, that poor people can just help themselves and pick themselves up by their bootstraps, has been widely accepted, but people don’t realize that not everyone in poverty is wearing those metaphorical boots.  Impoverished people will need more than just working hard to get themselves up, they need outside support as well.  The "American Dream" mentality encompasses that America is a land of endless opportunities to prosper if you are willing to work hard and look for them.  This mentality boils down to the idea of saying the poor have no excuse for being poor, simply because they live in America.  People who believe in this are ignorant to the structural and societal blocks in climbing the social ladder out of poverty in America.  The "Protestant Work Ethic" states that everyone should work hard to earn what they receive; so what did the poor do in order to earn welfare?  Even if you work hard, that does not guarantee that you will successfully escape poverty.  Lastly, the "Meritocracy" mentality suggests that everyone will prosper based on their merits (Iceland).  Therefore, people who are in poverty are unsuccessful because they have no merits, have nothing to contribute to society, and should not receive any sort of aid. This theory is invalid because it is another generalization and a way to scapegoat the problems of the poor on themselves simply because it is easier.  

There are other reasons, more rooted in selfishness than the incompetency of the poor, which explain why outsiders make decisions about what the poor deserve.  Like in the movie Titanic, people are hesitant to help because of the "lifeboat ethics" mindset.  People are so focused on their personal struggle and helping themselves that they cannot help the poor people around them.  It is believed that one must focus on themselves and the people already on the raft, and not risk drowning themselves by saving the people in the water.  "Social Darwinism" suggests that some people are simply better, and has the mindset of survival of the fittest.  If poor people are struggling, then they deserve to be down there and not succeed because they are not fit to dominate in society (Iceland). Those in the upper classes decide what the poor deserve while first looking out for their own survival and well-being.