Wealth discrimination

Often, people admire the rich, and shun the poor.  This is a form of discrimination that happens in society.  To avoid this discrimination, most appear middle-class.

Even so, there are struggles.  Some of the poor end up poorer as they take up debts to act middle class.

Barbara Ehrenreich wrote that "it is expensive to be poor".  She notes that in the USA, President Johnson started a war against poverty 50 years ago.  “Better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities” would be the ways the nation accomplishes this.

However, the ideal was not easy to accomplish.  A war in Vietnam took the USA's attention away from this project.  People were prone to addiction.  People have children, and single mothers were an economic drain.  People who stayed home and collecting benefits for their children made the poverty cycle worse, when their children lacked the motivation to work from seeing the examples of their parents.  That caused society to label these people negatively.  But, as Ehrenreich points out, "poverty is not a character failing or a lack of motivation. Poverty is a shortage of money.".

Ehrenreich points out that some entry level jobs that women in poverty find are really a trap.  They cannot advance from these jobs, the pay is abysmal, and the jobs do not allow you the freedom to run your schedule.  I know some garment factory workers in Cambodia who can attest to this.

Another one from Ehrenreich relates to accommodation. One needs to live somewhere where one can access one's workplace within a reasonable amount of time.  Many move to the city for this reason.  This makes rent in the city expensive.  Those who do not earn enough to rent in the city are forced to stay in motels, which cost more money.  It doesn't make sense.

So generally, unless some help is given, the poor end up getting poorer, while the rich live on, unaware of their circumstances.  Do you think so?

A recent discussion on Australian radio relates to the present unemployment situation.  Apparently, the government needs to review the budget, as the trend is towards higher unemployment.  As people demand higher wages, employers find it hard to pay.  Inflation pushes up the wages.  But as business looks for off-shore resources to outsource to, and because of an aging population, this causes fewer employed people to support an increasing number of retirees and unsuccessful job seekers.  How will the economy survive?

What do you think?  Is there a way out of this problem?  How does one escape poverty?  Can the rich help?  How?  Do they want to?  How are governments to create sustainable employment?