Have you ever wondered why the poor stay poor?

The American Welfare system did not exist in our great country until under the tutelage of FDR in 1935 a national welfare-aid system was established.  Since its onset, the welfare system has claimed countless lives and has created multi-generational families of dependence on the government to provide for them – why? Do the poor of our country really want to remain poor?  I don’t think so.  The way the system is set-up, it is easier to stay below the poverty level because instead of encouraging recipients to find employment, it penalizes them when they do, thus making them all the more reliant on receiving those checks every month. I took a quick trip to the Census bureau to find which cities have the highest percentage of people below the poverty level, and discovered the following: City, State, % of People Below the Poverty Level 1. Detroit , MI 32.5% 2. Buffalo , NY 29.9% 3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8% 4. Cleveland , OH 27.0% 5. Miami , FL 26.9% 5. St.. Louis , MO 26.8% 7. El Paso , TX 26.4% 8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2% 9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1% 10. Newark , NJ 24.2% U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007 Now, are you wondering what do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common? Detroit , MI hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1961; Buffalo , NY hasn’t elected one since 1954; Cincinnati , OH – …since 1984; Cleveland , OH – …since 1989; Miami , FL has never had a Republican mayor; St. Louis , MO …since 1949; El Paso , TX has   never had a Republican mayor; Milwaukee , WI…since 1908; Philadelphia , PA…since 1952; Newark , NJ…since 1907. It is common knowledge that the Democratic party has gathered support of those under the poverty level, in many cases, solely because of its support of social entitlement projects that continue to emulate the “Robin Hood” philosophy, however to quote Abraham Lincoln, “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.”