The poor deserve our compassion & respect; well that’s what we’re told.  They are people too, and most of us are only a few steps away from being poor ourselves.  I’m not referring strictly to those who are poor and consistently homeless, because those people have been shown to have mental health issues.

There are so many instances of people, just like you and I, suffering a few events of bad luck in quick succession and ending up poor.  

And once they’re poor, the burden of poor-ness is too great to bear; a hole to large to climb out of without assistance.

So how could it possibly be immoral to be poor when the circumstances leading up to it are usually out of one’s control. I mean, nobody actually wants to be poor; do they?

The only reason being poor can be immoral is if it were made illegal.

Let’s digress:

Generally, what is deemed bad for society is made illegal, like theft, abuse, speeding, setting someone on fire then pissing on them to put it out.  All of these actions have negative consequences for society and hence, have appropriate punishments to prevent their occurrence.

Being poor has negative consequences for society also, be it economic, political and even societal morale.  With repercussions so dire, one would imagine it be incumbent for any government or ruling elite to enact laws preventing its constituents from being poor.

Imagine you are getting poor; everything from no interest loans, to financial education, to one off hardship payments can be implemented to prevent you from ending up poor. However, once those measures have been exhausted, you go to poor people’s jail.  Which means, you stay exactly where you are, except you now have relinquished your finances to an administrator who will manage you back to financial health.

Of course the investment that is made in you will be recouped by virtue of your non-poorness & administrative fees.

In light of all the measures provided, society would deem it immoral to be poor and empathy would not be required as compassion has taken action.  In an increasingly meritocratic world, it would literally be a crime not to learn from your mistakes...