I am sorry to hear about your domestic situation, Med. I hope your step-daughter gets her head on straight.
When your whole party line is fuck poor people, what are you going to do for an encore? What are your talking points going to be for the future?
I will respond to your question because, on many points, I am a 'Rightie.'
The poor do not need me to fuck them over. The poor do a magnificent job of fucking themselves with absolutely no assistance from me. There is no mystery to living within your means. Just do it. How can the Right be held responsible for faulty decisions individuals make which result in a cycle of poverty?
Progressives fuck the poor by encouraging an entitlement mentality. Such self-imposed dependency helps no one in the long run. If you depend on the government for your well-being, guess where you will find yourself when the levees break? You will find yourself on a rooftop as the flood waters threaten, waiting to be rescued, desperately hoping the good guys reach you before the bad guys arrive. This world is fraught with risk and every levee will break eventually. Better to be ready for it.
And poor is a relative term. Poor people in the U.S. have it pretty damn good. In fact, the average poor American would be considered rich throughout much of the world. A significant number of poor Americans are
FAT! Think about it.
Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, liberal activists, and politicians.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm
Talking points:
1) Rely on yourself. Nobody else really gives a shit about your well-being, nor should they.
2) Live within your means. If you do not make enough salary required to meet your basic needs, your definition of 'basic needs' requires revision. A plasma television is not a basic need. Raise your salary or reduce your basic needs.
3) Get an education. It's free to you thanks to people like me. Once the free public education is completed, continue your education as far as you can. A higher education is not free, but it is highly subsidized and opportunities abound. After educating yourself get a job, any job. Work as hard as you can in that job. Keep that job until you get a better paying job with more lucrative opportunities.
4) Stay out of debt if possible. Some debt is unavoidable, but consumer debt is completely avoidable. Ruin your credit rating and you just fuck yourself.
5) Save 15% of every paycheck. Get in the habit of doing that and you will always have options.
6) Don't have children until you can afford to raise them. Supporting your kids is not my responsibility.