Chris Christie: "Poverty Is Difficult To Talk About"

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IMO, isn't this "Republican slang" for "I don't care about those who live in poverty?"

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-chris ... tion-2016/

Nah. He knows his stuff. He also knows, the second he calls poor and inemplyed people anything but freeloaders, he'll be Trump-ed out of the race.
It's not a difficult thing to talk about, unless you're trying to become president for the billionaire's support group GOP.

Poverty is difficult to talk about only if you have never directly experienced it.

Poverty in the West is no big deal (yes, I'm in "poverty" by the standards they use).

The big deal is say people that are mentally ill and can't ask for help, such as the many homeless that are and can't.

I've always thought that he was one of the more promising of the Right leaning presidential candidates.

I wonder if he realized how he really sounded when he said he's campaigned in places that make him "uncomfortable," like "Black Churches," and Barrios." Perhaps a bit of a Freudian slip?

Hell, I'd be uncomfortable in a Church full of Africans. The unfamiliar can make you uncomfortable.

Nothing wrong with admitting that.

(Poor and disabled people make others uncomfortable too. I see it plenty of times when people try to interact with me.)

Even when one cares about people living in poverty, it is extremely difficult to talk about it.

The problems are vast and complicated. There is no one overarching reason why people end up in poverty, and there is no easy solution. Many things can be done, but no one thing is going to fix it. A multi-faceted approach is needed, and every aspect requires manpower and money. Which avenues of approach will be the best way to spend limited time and funds?

These are all extremely difficult questions, and whenever one attempts to start answering them, he or she will be criticized from every direction by people who say he or she is focusing on the wrong things or not giving enough attention to something else.

I do not envy those who are in these kinds of decision-making positions, especially when it comes to such a broad issue such as "poverty."

But for the governor of the state to admit such a thing, true or not, can very well be political suicide, especially when that governor belongs to a party that says we are all better off color blind.

Then you have people that just talk on and on about the plight of the poor, and how no one helps them; all whilst not helping them.

Sadly, people have weaponized the poor, the minorities, the underprivileged, the disabled, and all in the name of say, getting votes or making themselves feel better.

Which ends up with polarizing dialogue to such an extent that nothing gets done.

Frankly, I think a lot of people are trying to help the poor. It is just that the need is so great, and I don't think the problem will ever be *fully* solved. Plenty is being DONE. Is it enough? Not yet. But that doesn't mean no one cares or no one is helping or nothing is being done.

Change takes time. In politics, it also requires a lot of compromise because people disagree on how to BEST help people. Do *some* not want to help at all? Yes, unfortunately that's true. But I do think *most* want to help in some way.

Food stamps, subsidized housing, homeless shelters, welfare and disability income, subsidized health insurance, etc. are all FORMS of help! This is not a question of whether or not people are helping.

At one point in my life, my husband, kids, and I were living below the poverty line of income. We had housing, thankfully. But when I bought my food with food stamps and my son had dental surgery that I didn't have to pay for because health insurance was provided by the state, and one Christmas gifts were provided by a local charity group, and a Thanksgiving meal-in-a-box was delivered to our house, and occasionally people from church brought us a delivery of groceries and personal hygiene products, I wasn't thinking "I'm not getting any help!"

It's easy to talk about poverty; but no one seems to be listening.

Is that why he thinks people are in poverty because they are not working? Plenty of poor people work. Some even work three jobs for god's sake to make ends meet. When you have never been truly poor, you have no idea what you are talking about. No one wants to be poor.

Yes the old myth that people in poverty are simply refusing to work and being lazy. Lol increase tax on earned income to try to make people work more to not be in poverty? wouldn't that more translate to working people keeping even less of the earnings they already make working their ass off? But with the current right wing platform what do you expect?...if he talks reasonably about poverty he'll probably lose any chance he may have of the republican nomination.

I bet it's easier for Chris Christie to talk about generalized poverty than it is to talk about nutrition, healthy eating habits, and childhood hunger.

Weaponized poor?