Actor and TV host Ben Stein says the only way to prevent people from being poor is to issue government sanctioned religion.
Stein says, “What will make the genuinely poor stop sabotaging themselves? Maybe, just maybe, if we let God back into the public forum it would help. I have seen spiritual solutions work miracles.”
He also believes that billionaires are “necessary and beneficial” to American society and anyone distressed about wealth inequality are just jealous. “They fund symphonies and ballets and schools for inner city kids. They are a bulwark against tyranny because they can afford lawyers to fight overweening government.”
Stein explains that rich people are good for democracy and poor people drag down society. “We want for there to be a high number of rich people who function as a brake on government just as the nobles did on the crown in long ago England.”
He continues, “My humble observation is that most long-term poverty is caused by self-sabotage by individuals,” he argued. “Drug use. Drunkenness. Having children without a family structure. Gambling. Poor work habits. Disastrously unfortunate appearance. Above all, and counted in the preceding list, psychological problems (very much including basic laziness) cause people to be unemployed, have poor or no work habits, and enter and stay in poverty.”