Reply personal responsibility is a crock: here is why

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They say capitalism is a rising tide that lifts all boats.

I would distinguish here. An efficient and productive society is the rising tide that lifts all boats. Competition is an efficient optimizer, and capitalism rewards triumph in competition. As such mostly capitalistic societies have historically been more efficient and productive than other systems.

For people who are concerned about income inequality (the common complaint to this line of reasoning), its worth comparing real wealth over time in the U.S. The top 80-100% quintile are much wealthier now than 30 years ago, as are the 60-80% quintile. The 40-60% quintile are significantly wealthier than 30 years ago, but the effect is a bit less. The 20-40% quintile are a little bit wealthier. The 0-20% quintile are about the same. They're poor now, but they were just as poor 30 years ago, everyone else is wealthier than they used to be, and this accounts for inflation. This is because U.S. society has gotten more productive and efficient over the past 30 years.

Historically in economically free countries this has held up pretty well. In this sense capitalism works in that it improves society and over time everyone benefits.

The question becomes, can we do better? In some sense the answer is yes. We don't have a purely capitalistic society because we recognize pure capitalism has some bad side effects. Historically, no one has outperformed the "mostly capitalistic" society and most attempts to do so have been pretty disastrous.

The bolded part is a complete lie. What happens if you can't compete? Let's be honest with each other. I will tell you. More then likely they will end up homeless, in an institution, in prison or they will commit suicide.

Going back to personal responsibility which is the original topic personal responsibility types would say it is my fault no matter what the extenuating circumstances are. With conservative types there are no extenuating or mitigating circumstances.

If I fail in life is it truthfully due to negative decisions I made or do other factors count as well. Conservative types say no excuses are allowed but what if one's excuses are legitmate.

I could not make it in capitalist America yet I am employed right now in communist china. So, what of it Antrax? What were the benefits that I received from Capitalist America vs Communist China?

If capitalisms worked on literally everyone, then we wouldn't have Social security and all the disabled people in the world would be working in capitalist countries. Even the poor would stop being poor. But Capitalism keeps people poor too.

Let's say you are poor but you want to have a better life and earn more money. But you need to build skill and practice. But however to do that, you need free time to do it but you are always working. You need money so you work all the time and work more than 40 hours a week, you work more than one job, you rarely have a day off. But to do to school or to take courses to learn skill, you need money and you need money to pay for your classes and pay for what it required for it but you don't have the money because it all goes to your rent and bills. You don't make enough to even save for it too. So you stay poor. this is capitalism. You need money to build skill and take college courses to learn how but you also need to work to pay to live and eat so you never get out of this low class.

America's poor generally have adequate shelter, food, clothing and medical care.

Likely, they have a car, phone, tv set, internet access, playstation/xbox, home appliances.

Life is better for them than billions of other humans on the planet.

Where is your proof of this?

Not always the case.

True with a lot of working class people though.

Part of this is due to government regulation from the last two centuries.

We outsource things like child labour now, they're not allowed in the UK and USA and children must go to school in those countries.

Agreed with a lot of the working class people.

Yet, conservatives want all these regs gone and they want "personal responsibility."

No, this is the Poverty Cycle.

Capitalism is not the "Bogey-Man" you may think it is.  It is defined as "an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market."  Nowhere in this definition does it say, "Keep poor people poor", yet a lot of people like to blame Capitalism for all the evils they face in being poor, rather than blame themselves for their own lack of personal initiative and responsibility.

In America, poor people get free medical care. I paid $20,000 this year for medical care, so that's a pretty good deal.

Poor people have access to various food aid, welfare aid, housing aid, dependent welfare.

They can still work part time and collect those programs.

My niece lives (crams into) free housing with her disabled mom, siblings, and her kid. They get all sorts of welfare aid.

Of course, as said earlier by LG, poor people are not going to stare at walls, they're going buy tvs, phones, playstation/xboxs, internet access.

They should forget about TV and video games, and use their time and money to attend vocational classes instead.

They are promoting an ideology, of course they will have some catchy slogans based on an oversimplified element of truth.

How will that contribute to relaxation after an exhausting day of work?

How will setting "Relaxation" as one's highest priority get that person out of poverty?

Oh do tell us how to go to school while being able to pay your bills. Is the state just going to hand you a free house and pay for all your utilities and your school while you study?

Phones and internet have pretty much become a necessity now. You now need those for employment and school. Heck even schools in my area are giving parents hotspots so their kids can do remote learning because not everyone has the stuff for remote learning and high speed internet.

BTW phones and internet have gotten damn cheap now and plans and why do you think so many people have slow speed internet or limited data? Because that is all they can afford.

And gaming systems are cheap too if you buy used ones and older ones, not the latest. If you work your ass off and save money like everyone else, you buy one so you have something to do when you are not working and not busy. If it's not gaming systems, you are buying books or buying coloring books or whatever you enjoy.

It's pretty classist for anyone to say poor people are not allowed to do anything in their spare time. Me and my husband once bought his parents a bunch of movies so they had something to do at home and what if some a**hole told them "oh you should be studying and working than watching VHS tapes on a 90's TV set" when in fact they are disabled and can't work? And my MIL did go to school and she did have a good pay job until she got sick and couldn't work anymore. They even lost their house because they couldn't sell it after they had it up on the market for so long.