[Aloofi]

Originally posted by Krsqk:
I think you should revise your statement to something like, "It's impossible to determine anyone's loyalty to their country until it's tested." Especially since you just acknowledged that poor people are not necessarily any more patriotic than rich people.

Well, then we end up with the conclusion that the Middle class is the one the have to stick with the nation.
Poor people in the west would be non-professionals making minimum wage or/and living on welfare.
So, since these people doesn't have a good job to lose , or a house, or any of those "hard to sell in an emergency" kind of properties that the middle class have, then these poor people don't feel as attached to a country like the middle class do, and thus are less loyal to their country.

In conclusion:
1- Rich people transfer their money, undersale their propertires or in any case can affort to lose some property, but they will make it out.

2- Poor people don't have nothing to lose, nor property to sell. So they make it out probably as refugee crossing the borders.

3- Middle class, depend of a job, have small properties like houses to sell, which they can't afford to undersale, depend on employment that is avaliable if the national economy is doing well, have invested in mutal funds that will not cross the borders, and on 401k, national bonds, have checking and saving accounts in national banks that in case of recession will declare bankruptcy, etc.

So basicly, the middle class is the only one that by nature is patriotic.

Of course, there are exceptions in all cases.