We really need to stop listening to politicians. They speak with intent to get votes. With this intent in mind, they will say what ever they want.

Moreover, most people have enough common sense to make good decisions. Where we get in trouble is when the news media starts pulling on our heartstrings by focusing on social interest stories.

The stories I am talking about are social security, crime and punishment, teenage pregnancies, illegal drugs, political corruption, education, healthcare, gangs, police abuse, military injustice, and more.

Now they are important problems and deserve serious attention. However, all these stories get is lip service. One political party denounces these social ills and promises to spend money to solve the problem. The other political party sympathizes but does not spend money because their support comes from people who do not want to encourage dependency on government programs.

I myself do not see a need to encourage government dependency. In my life, I have been hardcore hardship. The worse case I am can think of right now is a homeless man who had maggots eating his feet.

Now, I will be honest with you and admit that I do not see how in a country as rich as America any body can live on the streets with no access to housing, healthcare, and employment.

However, I can also admit my circumstance and conditions in life are the result of the decisions I have made. Because of this fact, I see that all of us are living the circumstances created by our decisions.

I find it strange how people who have never been poor or lived around poor people actually try to define poverty.

I write on this subject today because the war of words between politicians influences people’s actions.

I know many people who use statements such as “the government has to help us”. Many of these people are healthy and able to work.

I see a country that is in political turmoil over the poor. In the election of 2004, some of the issues were the War in Iraq, the economy, and healthcare for the elderly. Two of these issues directly relate to the poor.

Now, to me, 94% of people who want to work working, is a good thing. That is how I interpret 6% unemployment.

The cost of living, which includes healthcare, is an issue for all of us. We cannot drop out of high school, make babies, and complain that we cannot find a way to earn enough.

We cannot also spend everything we earn and voice the same complaint. Personal responsibility is something we all nee to practice.

I live in El Paso, Texas. My impressions of why people are poor in this area are varied. For one, I see many people who believe they are entitled to assistance. These are people I hear say “the government has to help us”.

There is also part of the El Paso culture that practices “anti” attitude. These people are against every thing. They also feel like cooperating is something wrong. In addition, they practice self-abuse with alcohol, drugs, and sexual promiscuity. They will not work, study, or contribute.

Then there are the people who left Mexico, for what ever reason. Their poverty has to do with language, education, and competition. For the most part, they did not study while they were in Mexico. At a very early age, they began to work. Now they are in a country where they do not speak the language and they have no employable skills useful in the American economy. In addition, this population is big. When those few jobs appear, that they could get, there many applicants.

Moreover, when election time comes around, certain politicians come here and start talking about how the poor are being denied the right to life because of a greedy corporate system. This corporate system is sometimes described as exploiting workers by not paying them enough and not providing opportunities and healthcare.

In addition, they hold society responsible. Uncaring citizens, who are well off and do not give back to the community, are apparently to blame for the conditions of the poor. I do not consider myself responsible for any ones hardship. This is because I know life is hard and hard work is necessary to meet the demands of life.

Most of our problems I think are due to our dreams. We are just generally dissatisfied with life because we want more. I call this not appreciating what we have in life.

A person earning minimum wage gets to keep 700 a month. You can rent an apartment in this city for three hundred. That leaves 400 for utilities, groceries, transportation, and healthcare. Actually, a person earning minimum wage better not get sick.

In addition, employers do not respect their workers. I have worked for companies that cannot understand why people cannot work ten hours, go home to sleep four hours, and then return to work another ten hours.

However, these are the conditions people who can only work in minimum wage jobs face. This is why it is always a good idea to get a high school education, a college education, and work at finding a work environment that makes you happy.

Most of us have this opportunity, including the poor. In addition, we should demand successful social programs. To me a successful social program is one that works at curing an environment that leads people to poverty.

In my opinion, politicians giving lip services to the conditions of the poor cause poverty. People listen to what they say and expect to get help. These people also stop working for themselves.

Then poverty is politicized and values such as personal responsibility, hard work and sacrifice, vision and innovation, and self-respect and personal pride are erased from the conversation of how to succeed in life.

The new conversation is that people are victims and need to be saved by government.