By the way, mississippitom, being poor doesn't necessarily mean the person in question is on welfare. There are many, many "working poor" who are working very hard, often at more than one job, who live paycheck to paycheck and don't have any financial cusion at all, and who barely survive on what they do have. These are the people who make it possible for the rest of the country to buy goods cheaply at places like Walmart and McDonalds, and who do the jobs that no one else is willing to do. This country depends on these people, and they don't deserve anyone's contempt. It's quite an insult to these people to suggest that they have not done all they could to better their situation.