Evolving Folks Project

We live in a society where remnants of “Social Darwinist” ideologies still linger in United States. These notions are very true regarding stereotypes and public imagination surrounding both the rich and the poor people. The country’s wealthiest people are called job creators, brilliant, hard-working, and deserving of their wealth.

In contrast, a common view is that the homeless are lazy, addicted, or unintelligent, and those receiving benefits are mooching off the system. Also, us millennials are broke and can’t buy a house because we buy too much avocado toast and Starbucks coffee. At least that’s what Chase Bank thinks. This goes even further if poor people exhibit the same behaviors and strategies as the rich. If a poor and working-class person does something, they’re ghetto and ratchet. If you’re rich and do the same thing, then you’re resourceful and a smart businessperson.

In reality, this is total hypocrisy. But the wealthy have had a complex and well-oiled media machine to justify their wealth and privilege since the founding of this nation. This increases in times of high wealth inequality, and we’ve reached that point in the United States. In 2024 alone, the number of homeless people increased by 18%. I contend that the wealth lost by middle—and working-class people during the 2007 housing crisis has never fully recovered. Add the current housing crisis and it gets worse when you add race into the equation.

Here are three things that rich people do that are classy, but when poor people do them, they’re tacky.

Getting money from the government

Being on government assistance programs like WIC or SNAP can lead to working-class or low-income families being unfairly labeled as lazy. It’s poor people wanting a government handout while sitting on their asses, not working. It’s not true at all. Conservative politicians refer to federal social programs like Social Security, SNAP, Medicare, or Medicaid as entitlement programs. Even though taxpayer dollars fund these programs, it’s our money, just like the stimulus checks of 2020. It’s not free money, and I don’t mind helping a struggling family have money to feed their children through taxation. The government could raise the minimum wage or install a universal basic income. Or pass the PROAct to allow workers to unionize with fewer barriers. But the corporate interest wouldn’t want that. Plus, it’s easier to demonize the working class.

Now, if rich people get money from the government, they’re smart business people. In reality, rich people get free money from the government all the time. Look no further than the 2007 to 09 Bank Bailouts, where corporations and wealthy individuals whose unsavory business practices caused the economic collapse of 2007 got help from the government. Obama extended the Bush bailouts instead of jailing the white-collar criminals, as they did in Iceland.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the CaresAct created a massive tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, no different from the Bush tax cuts of the early 2000s. Handouts to benefit the wealthy. The Defense Budget is a boon for defense contractors and the CEOs of weapons companies. The Pentagon continues to fail audit after audit. Losing track of billions of dollars. If a working person failed audit after audit for their business, Uncle Sam would send the IRS to lock them up quickly. Finally, local and state governments has made it law for us to buy private insurance for our cars and home. If not, you get fined or risk jail time. The government is forcing you to buy insurance from private businesses, not state funded insurance. Then, the insurance can deny your claim for frivolous reasons, all while raking in billions every year. It’s why some people held the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione as a folk hero online and in real life. People across the political spectrum in the United States know that insurance is a scam most the time. I know from personal experience. State Farm or other insurance companies like Traveler’s Insurance aren’t a good neighbor when you need them. More like an asshole middle man taking your money for services, and when it’s a customers time of need they do everything in their power to not cover you.

Out-of-wedlock children and multiple baby mamas

T.V. talk show host Maury Povich made his career with his tabloid show, rolling out countless working-class guests with his infamous paternity tests. Multiple generations of daytime television viewers still recognize Maury’s well-known phrase, “You are not the father, or you are the father.” Poor and working-class people who have kids out of wedlock are irresponsible and careless. Former President Obama spent his entire tenure as president chastising black men as deadbeat dads for allegedly not taking care of their children or having multiple baby mamas or side chicks. Another moral failing attributed to the poor is the high rate of teen pregnancy amongst them.

No one is surprised when high-profile figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump have numerous partners and children. Trump paid an adult film star hush money to keep quiet during his 2016 presidential run. Former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol Palin, was an unwed teen mother. These same elites will have the nerve to preach the need for traditional family values. Some, like Trump, even become heroes in the Christian Right Wing movement despite their messy personal lives. Musk has multiple children with various women, and my question is, what woman would willingly want to bang a weirdo asshole like Musk? It must be his billions, just like Trump. These are not men known for their sparkling and charming personalities. But men like them get a pass because they’re billionaires. Despite their friendships with individuals such as deceased child sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein, a disgraced billionaire.

Teen pregnancies have declined tremendously since the 90s, and young people are engaging in safer sex practices. These mythologies, however, concentrate on the moral and sexual shortcomings of the impoverished. Such policies empower the right wing to regulate women and restrict abortion. Also, while criticizing working-class men for being negligent fathers, remember that some wealthy elites, such as Musk, have children who reject them. It’s a projection, entirely.

The final thing is violence

During the Obama era, Chicago became the new code word for black-on-black crime. Targeted at poor and working-class black people and our supposed cultural failings as a group of people. In reality, most violent crime in the United States takes place between people of the same race because of Americans living in a still very segregated society. Also, violent crime in the United States is down. Still, if you go to a GOP or DNC convention, and you’d think the country was Fury Road or Gotham City.

Yet, on the flip side, the Dole Fruit company can lobby the government to launch a violent coup in Latin America to ensure it remains atop the banana market in the global economy. This is one example of how the powerful elite will use violence through the government to ensure their corporation maintains its grip on the so-called free market.

Yes, these are all examples of how Social Darwinist ideologies refuse to die in our culture. Ultimately, we need social welfare programs, higher wages, and the right to unionize our workplaces. No matter your economic background, people are people. People of all backgrounds can do stupid shit. We can be hard-working sometimes and lazy at other times. But it’s not right to scapegoat poor people. That’s why I say “eat the rich” because some of the wealthiest people in the world have a tacky demeanor. And tackiness taste delightful.