Conversation

Poll: There are 4 people in a room. One of them has made the following statement: “The poor deserve their condition because they make bad choices and don’t take responsibility for their own lives.” Which of these 4 is most likely to have said it? MC = middle-class below
  • The born-rich person
    12.5%
  • Born MC, stayed MC
    22.9%
  • Born poor, made it rich
    27.1%
  • Born MC, made it rich
    37.4%
1,299 votesFinal results
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Replying to and
It depends on the community they’re from, which is often a proxy for race. Immigrant communities where many people have gone from poor->at least MC will tend to believe that such transitions are easy & possible. Black communities where they’ve seen systemic racism, not so much.
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Replying to and
To some extent, one root of Trumpism is poor White communities now firmly believing in systemic factors keeping them down. They’re told that it’s immigrants, or Democratic policies privileging Black people, etc.