Poor in Northeast PA (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: bankruptcy, school, income)

[BLUEDIAMOND64]

By the way, SWB, I did not mean "the young guy" sarcastically as some would love to take it out of context. I think it is great that you see the picture clearly being as young as you are...I think that is great!!

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by rockky

My frustration is seeing women who have many children, collect welfare for these kids, have tons of opportunities offered to them by the government, but they never lift a finger to take care of themselves or the children they continue to produce. Yet they seem to have more 'toys' and drive better cars than I do. Those of us who are on limited, fixed incomes pay for this life style!

And this would be my SIL. She has a Bachelor's but refuses to work anywhere long term. She is living with a guy who is still legally married to someone else and has two older kids he never supported. SIL has a baby who is not yet one but is pregnant again with twins due in March. Yet her hand is always out, asking for more. Stiff one landlord and move out in the middle of the night to the next place...

Meanwhile, my husband and I each work full-time and have side jobs just to get by. We don't have a new home, new cars, etc. And then SIL would call up begging us to help her, year after year. We finally changed our phone number and cut off contact. Enough is enough.

[KBlasi]

So many interesting discussions happening at the same time in this one thread!

I think education is important. The more the better. We should never stop learning. I just want to issue a bit of a warning. Our area is behind the times. From my experience, when it comes to job vacancies experience is king.

Here's my story. I worked up at Bank of America for three years. I applied for a promotion. I was working on my resume with my boss, who was one of the people that would be making the decision. She told me that I should put my education at the bottom of the resume because it matters the least.

What?!? I was working for a national bank. I was working next to people with high school degrees or less. I had a flippin' bachelors in Economics! You better believe I was going to toot that horn.

I interviewed and stressed the importance of self education and the benefits my education and degree brought me. No promotion for me. I later found out that the executive that was making the decision felt insulted when I stressed the importance of my education because she herself didn't have a degree. I left.

I still work in a profession that unfortunately doesn't require a degree. I say "unfortunately" because I am a Mortgage Professional. It's a shame more people in my field didn't move forward with their education. I don't need my degree, but I love my work and enjoy helping people, so it all worked out.

Sure this is only one story, but I believe our area is backwards with education requirements. It seems that employers have settled with the fact that getting educated employees is very difficult. Many kids that go away to school from here generally don't come back. Employers are stuck picking from the pickings that are here and begin relying on work experience to differentiate between job applicants.

[Chefkey]

I have known many people that have gone through Culinary School and can't cook to save their lives. I have worked along side some really great Chefs who have gone to school and the pay scale was exactly the same as mine even though I did not go to Culinary School. Maybe in certain job markets having a degree makes a difference but if you can cook you can, if you can't you just can't. Employers are going to pay the people that can regardless of a degree.

[FightinPhils]

I have sympathy for the poor who are truly trying, and for the children of these families....but for a lesson on the local poor, take a walk by a local welfare office and notice how many people coming out of that office are SMOKING. More of them are smokers than not, even people with children.....the people who always have their hands out claiming they can't feed their kids, can also somehow find the money to blow $40 a week or more on cartons of cigarettes. That makes me furious! many of them also find money for other non-necessities like beer, cell phones, cable/satellite TV, etc. Or the people in line at the supermarket whipping out their PA Access card to pay for soda and junkfood.

I feel for the truly deserving people who are doing the best they can...but I do not feel sympathy towards someone who is applying for a welfare check and food stamps, and then goes outside to light up a Marlboro that they paid $4/pack for. All the while, their kids aren;t even properly dressed for the weather. These types at least need to stop breeding!

[brandre]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

Please read the article in this link:

Family out to escape cash stranglehold | Wilkes-Barre News | timesleader.com - The Times Leader


Does anyone else think this family shouldn't be getting charity? They havent paid a mortgage payment in a year and now are filing Bankruptcy to keep the house. They got a mortgage they couldn't afford and are using the system to stay in the house for a year or two for free. The dad wants a new drill for Christmas, how about he asks for the money so he can make a mortgage payment.
The icing on the cake, he had a better, HIGHER paying job, but quit it because it was too stressfull......what? are you kidding me? the family is about to be homeless and your job is too stressful.
Maybe I am becoming too cynical as I get older, but these parents don't deserve any charity.

I'm 64, have bought three houses for my family - when we got married, and twice when we relocated. The first house was less than 1.8 years salary, the second 1.5 and the third 1.5. Had I lost my job it would have been bad but my mortgage payment with taxes and insurance was never more than 1 week of pay and we would have had a chance to keep going.

I am seeing people buy at 4 times their yearly income, with house payments more than 2 weeks of pay. If you have to take a downsalary job you are screwed.

The housing boom and bust has been fueled by this kind of buying. The congress is all kinds of fussing about the mortgage markets but WHERE WERE THEY? I knew before 2000 it was headed this way based on what few mortgages I saw. But congress sat letting it happen. They could have put restrictions on mortgages but they didn't.

The FED kept the interest rate too low to make it look good. Clinton poured printed GOBS of money that was printed to cover bank runs on Y2K if something went wrong into the circulation in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and stopped it late in the summer 2000. This is one of the reasons why the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the American. Clinton did the same thing the traitor Bobbie Lee did with the confederacy... Printed money that wasn't worth anything.

Add the Congress fiddling (with interns) while things went sour, Clinton getting it off while making it look good, people wanting what they can't afford, Greenspan wanting to look good and the mortgage SALES industry wanting to make big bucks and you have a synergy that provides the seeds of a disaster.

[tsedeski]

smoking?..........how about those who are getting entitlements but somehow have the cash to splurge on 'bling". I laugh everytime I see a $40K+ vehicle complete with the 21" wheels sitting in front of a Secion 8 rental property.

But its not just entitlement receivers. Too often you see examples of people making flat out stupid financial decisions such as having teh nice new car while you still renting. I have seen cars parked in front of homes that are worth MORE than the home.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by tsedeski

smoking?..........how about those who are getting entitlements but somehow have the cash to splurge on 'bling". I laugh everytime I see a $40K+ vehicle complete with the 21" wheels sitting in front of a Secion 8 rental property.

Those are the types that have a little side business going on. There should be mandatory random drug testing for all people who receive public assistance.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by conorsdad

Those are the types that have a little side business going on. There should be mandatory random drug testing for all people who receive public assistance.

That is a great idea that the ACLU would throw a fit about

[BLUEDIAMOND64]

Originally Posted by KBlasi

So many interesting discussions happening at the same time in this one thread!

I think education is important. The more the better. We should never stop learning. I just want to issue a bit of a warning. Our area is behind the times. From my experience, when it comes to job vacancies experience is king.

Here's my story. I worked up at Bank of America for three years. I applied for a promotion. I was working on my resume with my boss, who was one of the people that would be making the decision. She told me that I should put my education at the bottom of the resume because it matters the least.

What?!? I was working for a national bank. I was working next to people with high school degrees or less. I had a flippin' bachelors in Economics! You better believe I was going to toot that horn.

I interviewed and stressed the importance of self education and the benefits my education and degree brought me. No promotion for me. I later found out that the executive that was making the decision felt insulted when I stressed the importance of my education because she herself didn't have a degree. I left.

I still work in a profession that unfortunately doesn't require a degree. I say "unfortunately" because I am a Mortgage Professional. It's a shame more people in my field didn't move forward with their education. I don't need my degree, but I love my work and enjoy helping people, so it all worked out.

Sure this is only one story, but I believe our area is backwards with education requirements. It seems that employers have settled with the fact that getting educated employees is very difficult. Many kids that go away to school from here generally don't come back. Employers are stuck picking from the pickings that are here and begin relying on work experience to differentiate between job applicants.

K - Enjoyed reading your post.
Try getting a job as a psychologist with out a degree or a teaching job. You can not even be a teacher's aide in PA without college credit. I am not saying that a degree is a must for everyone. I have a cousin who is a millionaire and did not like school - the exception to the rule.

I believe in an education and my education is something that no one will ever take away from me. And those who knock education are just envious. There are opportunities out there for bettering oneself - it all depends on how bad you want it.

The Hat