In many of the calls for compassion and aid to Hawai'i's large homeless population, there is an undercurrent of disdain that has emerged for the middle class, a kind of "you folks, you have it easy" attitude that used to be reserved only for the very wealthy who got their money through inheritance or on the backs of laborers rather than by their own sweat and ingenuity.

It is as if the middle class doesn't have the right to question homeless people's personal responsibility for their homelessness because somehow, the thinking goes, if you have a house, you got a pass. You got it easy.

But in 2006, there is very little that is easy about being middle class in Hawai'i.

Those who are neither privileged nor underprivileged bear a special burden. The basic cable, economy car, back-of-the-plane, standard deduction, full-fare public school lunch bunch doesn't get any handouts or vouchers. The working class has to work for everything, and here in paradise, the price for everything is sky high.

Paying rent is hard. Carrying a mortgage is hard. Going to work every day, regardless if you're sick or tired or bored or uninspired, is hard. But if you want to pay your rent or your mortgage or your doctor bill or your car insurance, you do it. You drag yourself to your loathsome job every day because nobody else is going to do it for you.

But that "nobody else" mantra seems to be the rule only if you're middle class. For too many homeless, there's a sense of entitlement, a belief that their personal problems must be miraculously fixed by some benefactor willing to give and give without rules or restrictions.

Yes, the "more fortunate" who live in hot little houses, work frustrating little jobs and pay out the veins for taxes and public services absolutely have an obligation to help the poor and afflicted. And most are willing to help with programs to get homeless people out of their situation.

But it is not our kuleana to help them stay in their situation.

The folks who were camping at Ala Moana Beach Park had the audacity to write letters to the city demanding a "safe haven" be set up for them at Magic Island where they could set up their camps, store things in lockers and bathe in specially built accommodations.

The working, bill-paying, max-taxed middle class absolutely has every right to demand answers from those who have their hands out looking for charity and their backs turned to opportunities to work for a better life.

The goal should be to end homelessness. Politicians certainly want that. Folks who live in houses want that, too. The hard question is, do the homeless want to end homelessness, and are they able and willing to do what it takes? Living on the beach might be hard, but working to pay for your life isn't easy.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.