Poverty pimp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poverty pimp is a derogatory label used to convey the accusation that an individual or group is benefiting unduly by acting as an intermediary on behalf of the poor. Those who use this appellation suggest that "poverty pimps" profit from their attempts to alleviate the misfortune of others, and therefore do not really wish the poverty to be eliminated permanently as it is not in their own interest for this to happen, and that if profit was eliminated as a factor, great steps in the alleviation of poverty would begin to truly occur.
The most frequent targets of this accusation are groups receiving government funding.
Another meaning for the term, sometimes used, is an individual or group that solicits private charity for the poor.
[edit] Usage example
"Scoggins’s experiences with government intervention confirmed his political heritage. At age ten, he had helped his family campaign for Eisenhower in the 1956 election, carrying the basket from which they sold chicken sandwiches up and down Tulsa’s historic black business district. “You had every last thing you wanted there. Welfare was not even thought of,” Scoggins says. Businessmen represented the black community, not a “bunch of ministers or poverty pimps, like today,” Scoggins recalls." (Mac Donald, Heather. "Heralds of a Brighter Black Future" City Journal, Summer 2005 issue)
"During one particularly heated moment, [Rep. Joe] Baca called Wal-Mart executives 'poverty pimps,' arguing that they exploited the Hispanic community, then tried to make up for it by contributing to Latino organizations, according to a House Democratic aide with ties to the [Congressional Hispanic Caucus]." The Hill, 2/9/06[1]
