"Poverty is less a matter of having few goods than having lots of problems"

The esteemed Dr. Helen at http://drhelen.blogspot.com/ has another superb observation on human behavior.

For some reason, was not able to post my comment today, so, I will post it here.

Not sure where I stand on this.

I have known people that raised three children, owned their own mobile home, had a boat, a pick-up truck, a van, and a car. They had all the current electronic paraphenalia, and were not employed, but instead were living off welfare, SSI and workman's comp.

On the other side, I have a son who is 100% disabled with the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He is physically able to work, but when he applies for a job, and the employer learns of his disability, they will not hire him.

The field of psychology has valid arguments on all sides, as to whether or not he can be reclaimed from his disability.

But why attempt anything when we can give him money to live on, and continue his medication that he has been used to taking since his days in elementary school?