Seems to be the majority vote. I'm probably going to jump ship once Quill is a thing, though.

justmoneylaundringthings

Well. I guess I know one guy who's got plenty of cash, but he gets it through illegal means, so he doesn't have traditional money problems.

Uh. I have a few friends, online, who're better off, but not in real life, no.

'Course it's not just poor people, but I've never been anything but poor so I can't really speak for any other station in life.

To an extent you're kinda right, 2M47BB70. It's more of uh, "Shit man, we might be fucked but look at how stupid this fucker is!". Some of it is sadistic, some of it is to feel better than others, but I feel like a lot of it is. Well. Seeing someone else's misery lets you stop thinking about yours. It frames it in the light of, "Man it could be way worse.", and it does let you feel good about yourself. Still, those shows are aimed at lowest common denominator, and bored middle class housewives, really.

I know it's been posted a few times, but does anyone have a link to learning resources for what RPG runs on?

I forgot to mention the part where poverty ties into prejudice, oops. Well. Uh. It does.

As dumb as it sounds, poverty is big business. Products, services, tax breaks, charity loopholes, it all makes money. Poor people are also often willing to work below minimum wage because they have no choice, it's a gold mine for off the books work. Not to mention it gives the media a way to scare the middle class. "Don't work hard enough? Take a look at the project you might end up in.". It breeds crime too, because people run out of options. You get to a stage where nobody cares about you, nobody cares about your family, you have bills, people who need to eat, responsibility, but no cash. You need that money? You get that money. And that's big business too. Prisons, jails, police, "self defense" training, taser sales, etc.

Prejudice is business. Prejudice makes money. White dude in the suburbs buys a shotgun 'cause his TV preacher said the "blacks" are starting a war? $$$$ for Prejudice. Lawsuits over wrongful terminations for sexuality? $$$$. Security systems aimed to keep those pesky minorities out, because you happen to live in a wealthy white neighborhood? $$$$ Hood rats holding jumps because nobody will hire them, give them a chance, or care because they're too poor? $$$$. Hell even TV shows designed around displaying one side or the other of any given prejudice cash in. Fear, hatred, panic, they all turn into straight cash.