| Re: "Forget a living wage, people make whatever they’re worth," by Ken McPhee, Letters, October 6-12, 2005.
Letter writer Ken McPhee seems to be suffering under the delusion that everyone, regardless of socioeconomic background, could easily obtain a college degree and get ahead in life. In Ken's world, the system operates at full employment – it is simply a matter of laziness or lack of motivation on the part of those unable to secure a decent wage or finance a post-secondary education.
Ken is "sick of subsidizing people who make poor choices and expect someone else to bail them out." Personally, I always find it funny how people can have no problem with billion-dollar taxpayer bailouts of bloated corporations, yet they take issue when the slightest bit of parity is given to the poor.
Ken believes that people earn what they deserve. The two billion people living on less than $2 a day are simply lazy. The system is fine and dandy. We can forget about all the people who earn 28 cents a day, while the minimum daily food requirement lies at around 50 cents.
Ken then proceeds to go on a tirade against what he views as a tendency for the poor to blame their lack of financial security on government, business and, in Ken's words, their "folks."
Hey Ken, heredity and environment are found to jointly influence behaviour. While it may be uncomfortable for you to admit, a person's "folks" can and do have a lasting impact on their development. As for government and business, I'm sure we wouldn't be able to find any perceived personal assaults or legitimate grievances there, huh?
Ken believes that people who are stuck in the trap of minimum wage are the same people who spend their extra (extra?) $3 an hour on "booze and smokes." This is a typical elitist talking point: If you give the wealthy money, they will do something worthwhile; if you give money to the poor, they'll get lazy. This argument is hardly new. It is found in the earliest aristocratic patois. It is fascism personified.
If Ken wants to be left on his own so much, that's fine. There are some of us, however, who believe we are in this together and have a vested interest in the outcome of each other’s lives. You cannot throw up a wall between yourself and the world.
The ugly – and I'm sure, for Ken, the scary, reality is that we share the same collective fate. We should try to see ourselves in someone else's shoes. Instead of attacking, how about reaching out?
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