One of the more pervasive conservative talking points is the idea that government perpetuates poverty by giving handouts. To quote a recent Times Free Press commentary by a local Republican, “A dependent class finding sustenance from government is politically advantageous to some; it’s destructive to those seeking to be independent, pursuing competition and success.”
In other words, if one works hard, good things will come to you. Mooch off the government, and you are destined to fail. Such a sentiment would be true in a society where upward mobility could be achieved on an equal playing field. The problem is that we may be equal in rights, but not in the circumstances in which we are born.
I am once again reminded of my stepsister who passed away last January. Judy worked hard all her life, but never had health care, a mutual fund, a pension or more than a few dollars in the bank. She died relatively young, having never owned her own home; her life lived from one paycheck to another. Though we were related by the marriage of her mother to my father, our lives could not have been more different. I was in college when our parents married. Judy was working for minimum wage.
Our respective mothers determined our individual fates. Judy’s mother never went past the second grade and was indifferent toward education. My mother was self-taught, but she believed that my future could only be secured through learning. I remember her soft voice reading with me from the Children’s Classics before I was 5. I had a relatively high IQ. Judy’s was low average. I went to college on a full scholarship, while Judy barely graduated from high school.
Even though my mother was only in my life for 11 years, her influence laid the foundation for my future. Without an education, I could never have become a Marine officer, which in turn gave me economic security and lifelong health care. I also could not speak for Judy and others like her in this commentary. Judy, on the other hand, received no encouragement to better herself. Her mother asked my father once in reference to me, “How long is he going to go to school?” Consequently, Judy inherited her mother’s life of barely scrapping by.