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The Invisible Pooro |
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I believe that the wealthy Americans have moved farther away from the poor
then in past generations. James Fallows in ”The Invisible Poor” clearly shows
how the new technology millionaires awareness of the poor has diminished greatly.
I believe that this is due to several reasons the most important being the
young age in which wealth and success are reached.
The technology millionaires are much younger then previous generations of
millionaires and thus are removed much earlier one. They find success very easy
and can not see why others can’t obtain the same wealth as they have.
They also limit their circle of friends to those with similar interests or
backgrounds. They have limited time and only spend what free time they have (beyond
family and work obligations) with those who they are comfortable with.
This comfort is generated by their common threads such as education, similar
employment or social activities. When the rich stay within this circle they no
longer are exposed to the poor and thus they forget that they exist. When they
are exposed to the poorer people it makes them uncomfortable (like when the
cleaning lady was around) instead of dealing with it or helping they choose to
avoid the situation. Figuring if you avoid it then you’re not admitting that it
exists, thus not having to deal with them.
I believe that since the article was written times have changed somewhat with
the collapse of the stock market in a sense. Many people losing their jobs in
the high tech world may bring some of them back to reality and acknowledge
those less fortunate. They are now looking for jobs and finding that their
skills were limited to the high tech industry. Many are now taking lower paying
jobs to get by. They have discovered that the wealth of stock options are now
worth allot less. Making many of them near poverty themselves. Many thought
that this ride would last forever and didn’t liquidate any of their stocks in
the fear of missing the big kill.
We as a society need to be more aware of the poor and to help them help
themselves through training and education. Many opportunities are opened up
when one becomes educated and sees what’s out there for them. Thus closing the
gap between the rich and very poor over time.