The poor, what are they good for?

Many countries have maintained an upper class by using the lower class and leaving it to remain in poverty.  I see the poor as a stepping point to the middle and upper class, and by offering jobs and better living conditions, the middle class becomes larger while reducing poverty.  This would seem great for the economy, but apparently the rich would rather have an army of minimum wage slaves to do their menial tasks such as crop picking or assembly. 

I see widespread low wage employment as a means to short economic gain, but an effort to decrease poverty and increase standard of living as a better long term economic gain that benefits more people rather than leaving the riches to only the top percent of the people.

>>1 You must remember that the Upper class couldnt give a shit about any 'Lower class' in regards to economic and social wellbeing. It would be appaling for the leading Aristocracy not to have a cheap serbian gardener, and likewise for that cheap serb to  be able to gain enough wealth to fall out of that Lower class peasant sterotype.

>>1
The poor is very vital to any economy.These menial tasks you speak of is what make the country run efficiently,believe it or not.If there were no poor,there might be sewers overflowing onto the streets no fruit for you to buy in the store and so on.So they must keep some people poor and under educated to do these tasks because none with a good education will want to do these jobs.Poor, uneducated people can only get crap jobs.

maybe when noone wants to do menial tasks, people will find a way to automate them.

But no one could be a middle class fruit seller or sewer cleaner?  I mean, with a good wage and a middle class house, as long as the pay was good?

The rich stay rich by keeping the majority poor. This concept is  part of the theory of revoultion. Where the dictator will try to keep his people from having money, because when they have money they can get better education, and with better education they can make more money, and with enough education they can question the dictator as to "Why the fuck do I have to listen to your bullshit?" Saddam Hussein's rule was the easiest and most recent example, until the US interupted, obviously.

Our economy needs poor people just like it needs rich people. Or would we all rather live in some communist hive society? Yes there are tons of minimum wage jobs out there for anyone willing to do them. The 'middle class' are just poor people that are a little better off. Rich people will pay as little as possible because they can and its easier to manipulate them. The poorer we are, the less educated we become, and therefore less likly to question the rich in whatever they do.

>>5
If the guy picking apples demanded a middle-class wage, then that would make the apples that much more expensive, and the rich would have to pry open their rusty wallet to buy their food.  There would be much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Simplistic solution: Cut amount of workers in menial jobs by half, increase pay, tell FAT PEOPLE TO STOP STUFFING THEIR FACES SO MUCH!!!

Unemployment goes up, inflation goes up

POOR
HUH
GOOD GOD Y'ALL
WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR
ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN'
SING IT AGAIN

People need to stay home more and have sex.

>>8
rofl

What defines soul? At what point in evolution did an ape have a soul and it's parents not? Clearly this can't just happen and there is a continuous measurement of how soulful a being is. I think that those who are intelligent are more deserving of luxuries as it is put to better use and those who are stupid should be enslaved and bred to be stupider so their sufferring matters less and less.

>>8

This is America, that third task you ask for is impossible, unless you tell people that the devil created food and if you eat it, you might become a gay black liberal who supports abortion.

But once you destroy the entire conservative voter block by starvation, who would be there to dig our ditches?

"no longer svelte, they gotta punch new holes in the bible belt"