CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      FOOD & BEVERAGE
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Beauty
        • Home
        • Pets
        • Kitchen
        • Fitness
        • I'm Looking For
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        BEST PICKS
        • Best VPNs
        • Best Gaming PCs
        • Best Air Fryers
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE

        Republicans to the Poor: “You Built That!"

        According to a new survey, a majority of Republicans agree that individual behavior—and not circumstances—are responsible for poverty.

        Jamelle Bouie

        Updated Jul. 12, 2017 12:20PM ET / Published Jan. 23, 2014 1:15PM ET 

        Getty

        Life is not a Horatio Alger novel, and whether you’re poor or rich has a lot—if not everything—to do with circumstances beyond your control, from the wealth and education of your parents, to the circumstances of your environment, the policies of your government, and the broad structure of your environment.

        But don’t tell that to Republican voters.

        According to a new survey on inequality and public opinion from the Pew Research Center, Republicans are more likely than anyone else to have an Alger-style view of class and mobility. Fifty-seven percent say that “working harder than others” has more to do with a person being rich than anything else, despite the clear fact that “hard work” isn’t rewarded equally. When asked about inherited advantages, however, only 32 percent say they play a big part.

        On the other side of things, 51 percent of Republicans say that a “lack of effort” is mainly to blame if a person is poor. That poverty has something to do with circumstances is dismissed; just 32 percent say that things “beyond control” are to blame for people being poor.

        You won’t be surprised to learn that Democrats hold the opposite view. Just 27 percent say that wealth is the product of hard work and effort; 63 percent say that previous advantages are the key to the upper class, a view that jibes with research on economic mobility in the United States. Overall, if you’re born near the bottom—or stationed at the top—you’re likely to stay there. That’s not to say that movement can’t happen, but it’s not common.

        This poll offers useful context for conservative rhetoric. When Mitt Romney disparages the “47 percent” or when GOP lawmakers show insensitivity to the poor, they are—in one way or another—expressing the views of their constituents, who are skeptical that government can help the poor, and view class status in terms of personal responsibility.

        Indeed, it also explains the GOP’s focus on marriage and culture as explanations for disadvantage. After all, if behavior causes poverty, than the obvious solution is to encourage better behavior. In this view, new programs—or greater funding for existing ones—would only exacerbate “dependency.”

        The ugly aspect to this narrative, of course, is the idea that impoverished communities deserve the blame for their own immiseration. It’s “cultural pathology” that explains the disadvantage of inner-city African Americans, not the policies that isolated communities and robbed them of opportunity.

        In any case, it’s not hard to sum up the views of many Republican voters on wealth and inequality. If you have a high income, you built that, and if you don’t, you built that too.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • World
        • Innovation
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons:
        • Coupons:
        • Vistaprint Coupons
        • Samsung Promo Coupons
        • Home Depot Coupons
        • Office Depot Coupons
        • eBay Coupons
        • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC