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He's right. The "poor" in this country have shelter, running water, electricity, a refrigerator, color television (and you'd be hard pressed to find a home with kids that doesn't have a game console connected to it), a sewer or septic system, free food from the government, free health care from the government, a cell phone (also free from the government in many cases), and often they have a car or other vehicle.
The "poor" in this country are much, much better off than the majority of the world's population. I shake my head, ashamed by the results of the educational system in this country, when some bozo tries to claim that the U.S. is, or is becoming, a third world country. Those people have NO CONCEPT of what it actually means to be "poor".
Just saw some "poor" today, in sleeping bags covered by plastic down by the river. Mostly young unemployed men who find it difficult to find anything that could lift them our of their plight. If you really had any idea of what some people in this nation put up with daily you'd be a tad red faced I'd imagine. The OP was setting up a straw man with his example of the Ca couple, yes we all know 160 grand a year isn't poor,DUUUUHHHH.
Just saw some "poor" today, in sleeping bags covered by plastic down by the river. Mostly young unemployed men who find it difficult to find anything that could lift them our of their plight. If you really had any idea of what some people in this nation put up with daily you'd be a tad red faced I'd imagine. The OP was setting up a straw man with his example of the Ca couple, yes we all know 160 grand a year isn't poor,DUUUUHHHH.
The unemployed and underemployed do have serious problems, yes.
Just saw some "poor" today, in sleeping bags covered by plastic down by the river. Mostly young unemployed men who find it difficult to find anything that could lift them our of their plight. If you really had any idea of what some people in this nation put up with daily you'd be a tad red faced I'd imagine. The OP was setting up a straw man with his example of the Ca couple, yes we all know 160 grand a year isn't poor,DUUUUHHHH.
Seems their plight isn't bad enough for them to induce change.
There are places in the world where people have no food or water. If you're homeless in America there are food banks or a good assortment of dumpster food near a restaurant.
Where I come from, televisions are still the size of a small computer monitor, people either walk or use public transport, 3-5 people live in a house or an apartment much less than 1000 sq ft, red meat on the table is a small side dish, and kids get 1 holiday present from the family.
Poor people, like I was, could get hospitalized without being bankrupt, but that's about the only luxury us poor people had and that was taken out of our small incomes by taxes.
Therefore, when I hear about complaining about high taxes in New York, or that the middle class is being destroyed, I have the urge to tell people to shut the **** up.
A poster from California claimed that his and his wife's income was a mere 80k each, and he thought he was low-middle class due to all the taxation.
No you *insert expletive here*, your wealth is what people from Siberia, a place where winter is 8 months long, only dream of.
How people live in Siberia is irrelevant. We aren't in Siberia.
If you don't like it when people don't want to pay high taxes, then too bad for you. You're entitled to your opinion, and they are in entitled to theirs. You're not special.
People wanting more for themselves is a good thing. That's how we got airplanes and telephones and antibiotics. People invent things that other people will find valuable so that they can profit from it. People provide services that other people find valuable so that they can profit from it. If liberals could grasp this simple fact of life then we would all be better off.
You're free to feel morally superior in your poverty or history of poverty. Enjoy yourself.
Where I come from, televisions are still the size of a small computer monitor, people either walk or use public transport, 3-5 people live in a house or an apartment much less than 1000 sq ft, red meat on the table is a small side dish, and kids get 1 holiday present from the family.
Poor people, like I was, could get hospitalized without being bankrupt, but that's about the only luxury us poor people had and that was taken out of our small incomes by taxes.
Therefore, when I hear about complaining about high taxes in New York, or that the middle class is being destroyed, I have the urge to tell people to shut the **** up.
A poster from California claimed that his and his wife's income was a mere 80k each, and he thought he was low-middle class due to all the taxation.
No you *insert expletive here*, your wealth is what people from Siberia, a place where winter is 8 months long, only dream of.
It is a matter of numbers and percentiles and such. All such categorizations - rich, poor, middle class - are defined as part of the bell curve.
Then there is that "point of view" thing. To someone making 10,000 a year, EVERYONE above that level is "rich".
Do you follow baseball? Study Bill James. It is ALL about the numbers.
Where I come from, televisions are still the size of a small computer monitor, people either walk or use public transport, 3-5 people live in a house or an apartment much less than 1000 sq ft, red meat on the table is a small side dish, and kids get 1 holiday present from the family.
Poor people, like I was, could get hospitalized without being bankrupt, but that's about the only luxury us poor people had and that was taken out of our small incomes by taxes.
Therefore, when I hear about complaining about high taxes in New York, or that the middle class is being destroyed, I have the urge to tell people to shut the **** up.
A poster from California claimed that his and his wife's income was a mere 80k each, and he thought he was low-middle class due to all the taxation.
No you *insert expletive here*, your wealth is what people from Siberia, a place where winter is 8 months long, only dream of.
So then we should lower our standard of living in the USA so you won't think we're a bunch of *insert expletive here*?
PS: I have the urge to tell people like you to shut the **** up.
So then we should lower our standard of living in the USA so you won't think we're a bunch of *insert expletive here*?
PS: I have the urge to tell people like you to shut the **** up.
I really think thats the goal...Make us as much like the rest of the world as they can.... Do they realize there are wicked rich people in other countrys as well? They don't seem to be doing any crying about that?
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,140,525 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil306
And who are you to tell me what my need is? Just because you are content with a small television, amongst other things, does not mean I am. I enjoy the things I have in life and yes, I work for them. I work anywhere from 80-120 hours a week, every single week.
My income is mine and is really none of your business.
This needs to be mentioned over and over. Our income would be 1/2 of what it is now if we worked 40 hours a week. Last week was over 100 hours. And... those arguing that any thing over necessities makes you rich, have no clue sometimes what a families necessities really are. In our line of work, our NECESSARY travel expenses eat up a huge part of the income. So our income is deceptive. It's the bottom line that counts.. and that puts us squarely in the lower-middle class on a net level, even though it most probably looks like we're upper middle class as far a total gross salary.
Some people just haven't got a clue that not everyone falls into nice little "rich or poor" categories....
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Am I the one of the few who sees the middle class as rich?
