Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on what makes people poor

Quote of the Week   —   Posted on May 28, 2013

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving [pushing] them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, I observed in different countries that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And on the contrary the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves and became richer.”
~ Benjamin Franklin, 1766

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath [a Renaissance man; a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas.], Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass ‘armonica’. He facilitated many civic organizations, including a fire department and a university. (from wikipedia)