This is a pretty good column by Ezra. I'll add that almost nobody except the mentally ill and drug addicted "chooses" to be poor, to have income such that they qualify for what scant benefits our government might offer up, and obviously for those people their capacity to choose sensibly has been curtailed.
Yes I'm sure there are people who keep their incomes slightly deflated so they can keep their Medicaid or food stamp eligibility, but they're not choosing to be poor - they'll be poor regardless - they're just choosing to have just a bit less income so that the government will pay for their kids' doctor visits.
The missing empathy in Our Galtian Overlords is astounding. I'm increasingly convinced of my "too much lead exposure" theory of these assholes.
