this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2025
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[–] mercano@lemmy.world 144 points 13 hours ago (43 children)

Why is he so against feeding the poor?

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 69 points 13 hours ago (15 children)

I have to credit a random Redditor from 10 years back or so that had some excellent analysis I haven't seen elsewhere or since. This Redditor's thesis was that the GOP have two core concepts:

  1. Society is zero-sum. For someone to gain something, someone else must lose something.
  2. Each person has a certain class level in society and that each person should stay in their class. If you are poor, you should stay poor. If you are rich you should stay rich. Attempting to move up into a higher level class should be restricted by any means of government possible.

Looking at these two together explain nearly every GOP initiative or position. So lets apply it to your question:

Why is he so against feeding the poor?

Applying the first concept: For the poor to be fed (gain), those that are not poor have to pay (loss). The GOP in power are largely rich, so they see the poor being able to eat through SNAP as a personal loss to the GOP.

Applying the second concept: SNAP may allow someone to spend what little other non-SNAP money they have on things that would advance them into a higher social class such as:

  • more education to be able to earn more for higher skilled work
  • more efficient transportation allowing them to access higher paying jobs either farther away or at more available hours
  • specialized tools that could be used to earn higher income

So the GOP don't want the poor to be fed because they believe the poor should be poor and stuck there forever.

[–] some_designer_dude@lemmy.world 37 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

So what you’re saying is they’re sociopathic monsters?

I can’t even tell if I’m being sarcastic. One question: what did they say about the poor also seemingly voting to remain poor?

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 24 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

That conversation didn't go that way, but I think the answer to why the poor voting would vote for the GOP is addressed by the (possibly misattribution) Ronald Write quote:

“John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress

[–] vateso5074@lemmy.world 24 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Identity politics also plays into it. Pass the blame on to another demographic and promise to do something about it.

collapsed inline media

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 12 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

That cartoon is just a variation on zero-sum, isn't it? The wealthy man in the middle is trying to convince the man in the helmet on the right that he must lose if the immigrant on the left is to gain.

[–] frunch@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

I've always thought of the man in the middle in that pic as Rupert Murdoch, founder and owner of Fox News

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