Why the hell is there a term The working poor ?

[blues90]

Just what the hell is this supposed to mean . It sounds like a lable to make it all seem acceptable .

Why not call it what it is , the screwed over worker , slave labor , anything but the working poor .

These two words should not be in the same sentence .

Who comes up with this insane drivel anyway . Always someone who probably gets paid a high salery to sit on their ass and come up with kinder , gentler terms all made up as a form of brainwashing people into believing something is acceptable when in fact it's not .

The working poor , Oh really .

Perhaps the next freak who spouts out one of these terms should be strapped to the side of the next space shuttle for the last thrill ride of their miserable sick lifes .

[Radical Activist]

1. Its a response to conservative framing.

Sadly, when a lot of the Republican talk radio crowd hears "poor" they immediately think of someone who is lazy and on welfare because they don't want to work.

[gollygee]

11. Exactly

And the fact that "working" and "poor" don't belong together is the point of it.

[katty]

2. you keep working and are still poor and often become even poorer

[TrogL]

3. I know someone working fulltime and lives in a tent

in -46 windchill.

At minimum wage, insufficient social skills to work the system, rampant paranoia and no chance of gaining credit, it's all he can afford.

[Raven]

4. At the risk of incurring your wrath, I think the term "working poor"

is appropriate and effective. To me, it stands for all the people who work two shifts or two jobs and still can't make ends meet in this country. To me, the "working poor" includes the middle class but those folks just don't want to admit it yet. Most of us are "working poor" in this country.

[blues90]

6. I think in order to get the issue right out in front

The term needs to be changed . I know what it means but I do not agree that it helps anyone because it is a blanket term used to dismiss people who do work and to work and be poor is somehow acceptable .

Lets take it a step further then and everyone who works and is poor and struggling then amkea law that allows them to wear a name tag at work that states I am one of the working poor and let their employer look like the cheap freak they are .

[TahitiNut]

12. So, should the homeless people with jobs wear a "Working Homeless" tag?

IIRC, about 13% of homeless people are employed. Totalitarian Capitalism is arriving in Amerika.

[angrycarpenter]

14. If the employer had any shame they would not be using them so.

As for a name tag, the worn out wal-mart clothing and the beat-up 20 year old car is enough to identify them to anyone.

As long as selfish sociopaths run our economy the "working poor" will be just that. A cheap labor force with no advocates, no union, and no choice but to go to work and earn peanuts the hard way.

[angrycarpenter]

5. I am sure that the term was coined by a liberal.

conservatives call them lazy people who sit on their asses waiting for the welfare check to arrive in the mail.

They have a choice between a condescending attitude and a hostile one. Neither really has any respect in it.

At least "working poor" is descriptive. I belong to the working poor demographic and I would rather have a decent income than a label.

[blues90]

9. it is descriptive but after a while it just blends in as acceptable

conditions .

[TahitiNut]

7. Here's why ...

[Matariki]

8. The term just about sums up the bulk of western history

and most people living on the planet - past and present.

[DURHAM D]

10. That is better than what the Obama supporters call them.

Obama's people call them "uneducated".

[TahitiNut]

15. Can't you leave this HORSESHIT in GD:P???

Jezus Krist on a Crutch! :grr:

[ProgressiveFool]

13. because it sounds better than "wage-slave" /nt

[sam sarrha]

16. it describes people with 3 jobs that are still below poverty level.. "a Uniquely American situation"

quote by Bush,..

[JuniperLea]

17. Cousin Ernie said it best...

Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you
Then the left one will

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

[Contrary1]

18. How about the "non-working rich"?

Our government is full of folks that would fall into that category.

But, to get back to the OP, I don't really have a problem with the term "working poor". To me, it emphasizes the fact that there are millions of people who are willing to hold lower paying jobs, if for no other reason than not to be even poorer.

[Patsy Stone]

19. I came to say the same thing

But you already bothered to type it out. :thumbsup:

[seabeyond]

20. working their ass off and still poor. should not be in same sentence,

hence the offensiveness of it. someone working should not be so poor they cannot put food on their family

[Romulox]

21. Globalization is just a smokescreen for a massive transfer of wealth

from workers to multi-national corporations.

[Squatch]

22. blues90...you are absolutely correct.

What a great freaking question.

They're poor...but they have jobs, so it all works out in the end.

[scarletwoman]

23. Why the hell am I the first person to "rec" this thread? Great point, blues90!

But it's obvious, isn't it? The "working poor" have jobs, so they should quit bitching.

Slavery is Freedom.

sw

[Squatch]

24. Good call...rec'd

[scarletwoman]

26. Thank you! I see we're still the only 2 recs. (sheesh!)

I'm damn sick of "liberals" not being willing to acknowledge the Class War.

[Yavin4]

25. People Use The Term To Counter The Frame That People Are Poor....

because they do not work. It is used to explain to the masses that working alone does not prevent poverty.

[kineneb]

27. working poor: fancy term for peasant

and there were never any well-to-do peasants.

Greetings, fellow peasants. Grab your pitchforks, we are going to rumble.

[havocmom]

28. The working poor is that class of people who support the Idle Rich

Without one, there wouldn't be the other.