On Being Poor

“I wish there was no money so no one was poor and everyone had what they need,” Joey said.

In light of my son's recent comment, I have decided I will write a book for children.

The definition of "poor" itself is telling.

poor

/po͝or,pôr/

adjective

adjective: poor; comparative adjective: poorer; superlative adjective: poorest

1.

lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

"people who were too poor to afford a telephone"synonyms: poverty-stricken, penniless, moneyless, impoverished, low-income, necessitous, impecunious, indigent, needy, destitute, pauperized, unable to make ends meet, without a sou; insolvent, in debt, without a cent (to one's name); informal(flat) broke, hard up, cleaned out, strapped; formal penurious "a poor family"

antonyms: rich, wealthy

(of a place) inhabited by people without sufficient money.

"a poor area with run-down movie theaters and overcrowded schools"

2.

worse than is usual, expected, or desirable; of a low or inferior standard or quality.

"her work was poor"synonyms: substandard, below par, bad, faulty, imperfect, inferior; appalling, abysmal, atrocious, awful, terrible, dreadful, unsatisfactory, second-rate, third-rate, tinpot, shoddy, crude, lamentable, deplorable, inadequate, unacceptable; informal, crummy, lame, dismal, bum, rotten "poor workmanship"

When kids grow up feeling ashamed, they are dis-empowered from rebelling against the very systems that keep them in poverty.

When wealthy kids are socialized to feel morally superior, they lose their natural ability for empathy and grow up unwilling to cross class lines to work towards a society that works for all. 

When kids are encouraged via media that being rich is the ultimate goal in life, they lose their moral compass and grow into adults who are willing to profit at the expense of others.