The poor

Undeserving
Jan 24th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Hearts are hardening against those who have least

THE poor may be always with us, but just who they are is a matter for debate. Officially, someone who gets less than 60% of the median income counts as poor, but people take a harsher view. When asked, half say that those with enough to eat and live on are not poor, even if they can't afford anything else.

Whoever the poor are, Britons care less about their plight than they did 20 years ago. According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, published on January 23rd, more now say the poor have only themselves to blame. The unemployed are particularly vilified: “laziness or lack of willpower” got them where they are today, according to three Britons in ten.

Substitute the words Canadian and Canadians for British and Britons, and read the rest here.