Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Am I missing something here? I hear of plenty of people who:
- Have no job (maybe they're trying very hard to look for one but that's not the point.)
- Have no savings (maybe they can't find a job and depleted it all.)
- Have no assets at all like stocks to generate income.
- Have no financial help from any friends or family.
And yet, they manage to put a roof over their head, feed themselves, pump gas for their cars, etc.
How do they manage it?
Some are homeless and live on the streets, some live in homeless shelters, some live with friends or family, and some live in low income apts. (which rents go by income, so if they have little to no income they pay no rent). As far as food they get food stamps and eat at any of the churches or groups that serve free meals, or dumpster dive. Some fast food places actually will give food away at the very end of the night before they close. In the cities you often see some of the homeless holding signs up asking for food or money. Unfortunately many times they actually spend the money or liquor or drugs, Many do not have a car, so that saves on gas, insurance, repairs, and they rely on walking or reduced cost bus passes. Some are looking for work and some are not. With the economy as it is right now, jobs are hard to come by, even minimum wage ones. Most town and cities have organizations that offer free used clothes and in the winter "coats for kids", or if they have a little money there are places like Goodwill that sell used clothes cheap.
"There seem to be a lot of folks taking advantage of the fact that the banks are often taking over a year to foreclose " our metro area county is taking 2 years now, the courts are that backed up. I have heard this from a real estate professional in the area. So yes, you could stay in your house for 2 years before getting kicked out.
How is this taking advantage of a bank that has already made tons of money from all the interest the homeowner has paid them?
Especially if it's only been a few years, it's nearly all interest that has been paid out. Most people put down some kind of down payment. They get none of that back. The bank will sell the place and pocket the profits. They made good money from interest payments. They're not losing anything.
You know the craziest thing about that is that the poverty line in the US is $22,000 a year for family of four. twenty-two fricking k. Its an absurdly low threshold. I cant imagine how anyone, much less a family of four, can subside on that kind of income - and yet, appallingly 1:7 people are in that bucket. If you draw the line at 40k, which is still hardly likely comfortable for a family of four, I can only imagine what the figure might be. 1 in 5? 1 in 4? To say nothing of the health insurance issues in the US.... not only does the us have far fewer government sponsored programs than other countries, but we also have one of the lowest savings rates in the world. I continue to be disconcertingly baffled at how the average person manages to retire, much less make it day to day.
What are your biggest expenses? Mine is rent... a family living below or even above the poverty level qualifies for Section 8 housing vouchers. $22k for a family here would be considered extremely low income, so their rent would be capped at $500 a month, about half the rent or $6000 in benefits. They'd also qualify for food stamps, the average benefit is over $1000 a year per person, so for a family of four that's another $4000 a year. We're already up to $32k. They're also not paying for health insurance, and get EITC which is another $4000.
Now, compare that to the benefits of a family making $40k:
They are considered "lower" income, rents capped at $1050, which is market rate for the area. No subsidy.
They don't qualify for food stamps.
They don't get EITC.
I'm guess although not sure that they don't qualify for government funded health insurance, so just ignore that benefit entirely.
The family earning $22k gets an additional $14,000 a year in welfare benefits. The family earning $40k a year gets nothing in welfare benefits. That's how they survive. They're in fact surviving off $36k, which isn't all that different than $40k. If you add in childcare to the mix, you can see how it's much better off to be a one-income household earning $22k a year than a two-income household earning $40k a year. Unless you can earn a fairly significant amount over $40k, there's no point. Whether you're making $11/hour and $20/hour, your actual standard of living is the same due to welfare.
When people say family and friends will help that never worked in my case, I have lost jobs over the years when single and lived in my truck and ate nothing for days and family helped with a firm NO!!
I never did anything bad to get that answer and we were brought up going to church and doing things right for less fortunate. Family was not rich but average income was 6 figures for all except me of course.
My parents have passed on now and I miss them and love them, but when my MoM passed suddenly 3 yrs ago, wife and I had an income of less than 12000.00 and no help. Family would not help us to see Mom 300 miles away and relied on wife's co workers making minimum wage to donate money and a vehicle to see her.
It still bothers me and went to counciling for a long time and that helped. So I don't rely on anyone but myself and I help strangers when I can but my family won't get anything if they ever need help!!!
How is this taking advantage of a bank that has already made tons of money from all the interest the homeowner has paid them?
Especially if it's only been a few years, it's nearly all interest that has been paid out. Most people put down some kind of down payment. They get none of that back. The bank will sell the place and pocket the profits. They made good money from interest payments. They're not losing anything.
Lots of irrational anger and not very much objectivity there. First, think about the down payment; it did not go to the bank, but to the seller. The down payment simply reduces the amount which the bank is financing.
Second, the "profits" which you claim the bank will pocket from the sale of foreclosed properties: There is not a profit, but a loss to the banks on most foreclosure sales because of the decline in real estate values. The sale price is often for less than what was owed. The banks are indeed losing a bundle, even if it was partly their own fault for making loans that they shouldn't have made.
What are your biggest expenses? Mine is rent... a family living below or even above the poverty level qualifies for Section 8 housing vouchers. $22k for a family here would be considered extremely low income, so their rent would be capped at $500 a month, about half the rent or $6000 in benefits. They'd also qualify for food stamps, the average benefit is over $1000 a year per person, so for a family of four that's another $4000 a year. We're already up to $32k. They're also not paying for health insurance, and get EITC which is another $4000.
Millions of people "qualify" for Section 8 vouchers and can't get an actual voucher. Heck, I qualify for a voucher and can't even get on the waiting list.
I got cancer at 23 and while I was working a job that pays way more than minimum wage and had insurance, it's been over a year and my debt keeps going up. I had a full tuition scholarship to college and worked to pay for the other things - so I did not have much in savings when I got sick just 4 months into my first job. Friends were also all 22 or 23 and none lived close by, my parents lived 1000 miles away and were not emotionally or financially able to help, and my extended family lived locally and didn't lift a finger. After the American Cancer Society couldn't find rides for me to get to chemo 3 times (all times calling me late at night the night before or first thing in the morning before I needed to get to an 8AM appointment), I ended up getting a car. Had anyone helped me with rides to the grocery store, pharmacy, hospital, etc, I wouldn't have that huge expense.
Now my parents are dealing with my dad's diagnosis of early onset-Alzheimers at 55. He has displayed symptoms for the past 4 or 5 years but we always attributed it to depression, and he wouldn't go to the doctor anyway. Because he has been unemployed for so long, in conjunction with a few years of unemployment in the early 00s, he no longer qualifies for SSDI. My mom makes too much for Medicaid and they are more than 10 years away from Medicare - and my father will likely pass before then. My parents live far from family or friends and are living off of my mom's salary of less than $20,000. Half of her income goes to health insurance and the deductible, and we just found out that just ONE of my dad's diabetes medications costs more than $200 a month. I don't know what is going to happen to them, and it also completely eliminates my last safety net in case I relapse and cannot work for 6 months to a year.
There are so few resources in this country if you are anything more than destitute working minimum wage.
What are your biggest expenses? Mine is rent... a family living below or even above the poverty level qualifies for Section 8 housing vouchers. $22k for a family here would be considered extremely low income, so their rent would be capped at $500 a month, about half the rent or $6000 in benefits. They'd also qualify for food stamps, the average benefit is over $1000 a year per person, so for a family of four that's another $4000 a year. We're already up to $32k. They're also not paying for health insurance, and get EITC which is another $4000.
Now, compare that to the benefits of a family making $40k:
They are considered "lower" income, rents capped at $1050, which is market rate for the area. No subsidy.
They don't qualify for food stamps.
They don't get EITC.
I'm guess although not sure that they don't qualify for government funded health insurance, so just ignore that benefit entirely.
The family earning $22k gets an additional $14,000 a year in welfare benefits. The family earning $40k a year gets nothing in welfare benefits. That's how they survive. They're in fact surviving off $36k, which isn't all that different than $40k. If you add in childcare to the mix, you can see how it's much better off to be a one-income household earning $22k a year than a two-income household earning $40k a year. Unless you can earn a fairly significant amount over $40k, there's no point. Whether you're making $11/hour and $20/hour, your actual standard of living is the same due to welfare.
That makes sense...I'm not well versed in this stuff, but it has to be this way. I don't understand how a guy working at 7/11 with two kids and a wife affords a car, apartment etc when the wife does not work...now it makes sense.
And yes, section 8 vouchers aren't readily available to most...the waiting list in Florida is actually closed at the moment. However, there are 3 other programs to assist with housing they call it affordable housing, low income housing and a third one I can't remember. Affordable housing is dirt cheap rent in very nice communities where they are required by the state to provide a computer lab with internet access, a gym, a security officer and some medical assistance such as flu shots, immunizations and physicals for kids. So yes, while I have to pay $900 for a one bedroom, these people get it for $550, plus food stamps and other assistance.
This hasn't bothered me until lately, when I've been looking for a place to live and I have to pay upwards of $1000 to live where my car won't get stolen and neighbors won't be up all night partying or doing drugs. As a single person making decent money, I get financially raped left and right with taxes, high rent etc. I wouldn't rather live the other way, but I do wonder why they need the newest cell phones and go to fast food 5 times a week - because I've been to McD's and BK and it aint cheap, I don't think $7 for a meal is cheap!
My greatest fear is getting laid off somewhere down the line and not being able to get a job. Although I am the type of person that will do whatever it takes, it still makes me nervous.
Medical is even more daunting. You shouldn't have to file for bankrupcy or slowly die because you have a medical situation. Why can't we be a country that takes care of each other? Why not take $5 from people's checks every month - everyone's checks and put into a fund for huge medical emergencies, then when it happens to you, you draw on it.
The family earning $22k gets an additional $14,000 a year in welfare benefits. The family earning $40k a year gets nothing in welfare benefits. That's how they survive. They're in fact surviving off $36k, which isn't all that different than $40k.
Assuming your figures are accurate, which I have no reason to believe they are not - id consider this additional evidence that the poverty line should be at $40K not $22. Whether or not you extend these benefits to those at $40 is another question (or its a never ending cycle) - but for the purposes of calculation, would appear to make sense.
Ugh that sounds absolutely awful. My heart goes out to you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
