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I don't think you need to live in poverty to have empathy for their plight....
My observation is that the disdain and lack of empathy for the poor is driven by a cultural phenomenon. Of course it has always existed but it is ever so more prevalent today. I personally am very concerned with where our country is headed culturally and socially in part because the self-centered obsession with "the individual".
Just look at this forum.... the vast majority of the posts along these lines equates poor with lazy and freeloading the welfare system. They ignore the fact that the majority of the poor are indeed... working poor (many don't even collect welfare)
That is exactly why the "poor" aren't poor! They get everything provided to them free, i.e., in-kind. They get some cash for s**ts-and-grins, but most of what they get is in-kind and is not reflected in income.less they Housing, food stamps, Medicaid, cell phone, electricity and gas, etc. The cash value of their in-kind income is over $50,000 a year. Generally. Theres a lot of variation depending on kids, place of residence, etc.
A millionaire starting a business probably would be poor from an income point of view. He has assets, but he can't eat them, can't drive them, can't vacation on them. His assets are tied up in his business and his income is what the business throws off. Which could be very little at first and in many case stays very little.
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Before Obamacare, the childless poor got little or nothing, now they get Medicaid in some states. Food stamps were limited to 3 months every 36 months. Only a few states offer cash and that's not enough to rent a room. If they live with other people they don't qualify for a free phone (only one phone per household, plus if they live with others, everyone's income is counted and the total income is too high to qualify). It is extremely difficult for the childless poor to get subsidized housing. I was not able to even get on the waiting list for Section 8.
Pop out a kid and the world is your oyster, but the childless get little or nothing.
When I was poor, I lived in a storage building - uninsulated - in Texas - in the summer time. My husband and I shared a twin bed that was in there.
When I was poor, I ate Miracle Whip sandwiches - and sometimes I only had one slice of bread, not two.
When I was poor, I went literally five years without buying a soda or eating out - anywhere. By "eating out," I am including buying fast food at a convenience store. I didn't have the money to spend on junk food.
When I was poor, I didn't have a telephone, or cable TV, let alone the internet. I had a tiny TV with "rabbit ears" and tinfoil on them, and I could get two channels.
When I was poor, I didn't have a car. I walked everywhere or hitched rides.
That will teach you how to live within your means.
And someone messaged me and asked if this was all really true (not a rude message, just asking for clarification and telling me that if it really is true, she hopes I'm living high on the hog now!), and to clarify - EVERY BIT OF THIS IS TRUE and yes - I learned from the mistakes that landed me in that state of poverty, dug myself out, worked my arse off, and now I am living a very comfortable life.
And I still shop at Goodwill and love to find a good bargain on things!
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 02-25-2015 at 10:24 AM..
^^^ Yep, mom was single, got a job as a secretary, we lived on tuna, franks and beans, she got her work clothes at Goodwill. When she remarried and they bought their first house she rode her bike to work and dad rode a scooter.
Also keep in mind that it's much, much easier to become well off if you live within your means.
I disagree with that. I know way more "well off" people in personal debt than people on the lower end of the wage scale.
It is much easier to live within your means if you make a moderate income (imo). When you are "well to do," others have perceptions of you, and as a result, (again imo) you tend to live beyond your means, so that you project your status through outward symbols, like expensive cars and nicer homes than those of lesser means.
Living within your means is the best advice anyone can ever give another. It means pay off your debts and don't create new ones. It means learning to focus on needs and not desires. It means growing up and getting over the need for immediate gratification that we all suffer from in this day and age of easy credit and no down payments!
My parents didn't live on "MasterCharge" or "BankAmericard" credit. My mom sold her wedding china to pay for my dad to go to college. He worked full time and it took him 6 years to finish (I was born 2 years before he graduated). They had no debt when he graduated and his degree allowed him to earn a better living. We lived on fried baloney, potato soup and powdered milk for many years as our family of 6 lived on my dad's monthly salary of about $500 a month. Their house payment was $200 a month.
I remember my mom showing me these really beautiful homes in our town that were for sale when we first moved to the town and my father refused to "go into debt" that would require them to pay even $20 dollars more a month for a house payment. When my mom passed away and her house was sold, it had increased in value 6 times over. The houses my dad refused to buy had increased 36 times! A bad investment for sure, but my parents never feared that they would lose their home and my mom lived comfortably in retirement, even after my dad passed away.
As my dad's salary increased over the years, my parents traveled more and made home improvements and even purchased NEW cars....but they never lived beyond their means.
THAT should be everyone's goal. Yes, it really is hard! But when I listen to Dave Ramsey and a caller says that they paid off 80K in debt on a 35K salary in 2 years, I know it is not an unrealistic idea, it just takes determination and the willingness to defer all those trappings of a comfortable lifestyle in the short term to guarantee financial freedom in the future!
The banks love it !
A 20 year mortgage once was the standard and then it became a 30 year. Car loans used to be 3 years and now 5 to 7 years are becoming normal.
It's getting harder and harder to own anything outright.
Pretty soon it will be all about leases and rents being paid to the "Lords of the Manors" as you'll never be able to escape the economic bondage.
Not if you don't think you HAVE to buy a new car. We own 2 used luxury cars (2006's), an Airstream Motorhome ('73) and an Airstream trailer ('74)...ALL PAID FOR. And have a 15 year mortgage..
None of this would be possible if we hadn't buckled down and lived on "rice and beans" and shopped at Goodwill and took no vacations for a couple years to pay off ALL of our debt (other than our mortgage).
Ownership is easy when you save up for things and pay cash for them!
Exactly! Pay off your debt and it is easy to do. Paying of debt is the hard part...it takes determination, deprivation and vision. Not enough people have the strength to do the hard work that leads to the easier part.
When I was poor, I lived in a storage building - uninsulated - in Texas - in the summer time. My husband and I shared a twin bed that was in there.
When I was poor, I ate Miracle Whip sandwiches - and sometimes I only had one slice of bread, not two.
When I was poor, I went literally five years without buying a soda or eating out - anywhere. By "eating out," I am including buying fast food at a convenience store. I didn't have the money to spend on junk food.
When I was poor, I didn't have a telephone, or cable TV, let alone the internet. I had a tiny TV with "rabbit ears" and tinfoil on them, and I could get two channels.
When I was poor, I didn't have a car. I walked everywhere or hitched rides.
That will teach you how to live within your means.
Living in a storage building? That isn't even legal.
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