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So I really wanted the new little Caesars bacon pizza today (it's not that great), and had to drive into a poverty stricken area to get to the pizzeria.
This took me back to my youth as I grew up in a similar area. And it sucked, so I did everything I could to ensure I would not be stuck there. Stayed away from drugs and the bad crowd, studied hard, and joined the military (allowed me to repay my moral debt from growing up on food stamps and Medicaid, while also giving me an out and a great technical education).
I know it's not all choice. Not everyone can join the military, or go to college, but theses down trodden areas out number the nice ones in my city, and multigenerational poverty is real, but why?
Why settle? And for what? Dollar Generals, tire shops, and dusty lots coupled with crime, drugs, and crappy schools.
Even if you didn't mean to, there's an implication that if you still live in poverty-stricken areas that it must be because you do drugs, didn't study in school, etc. There are many who have done none of what you listed and still end up living in poor areas.
Not everyone settles. It's hard. Some have parents who they have to take care of, which prevents them from going to school. Some went to school, got a degree and then found down the line that their job was being outsourced/insourced. These people sometimes have to start over, which for some, means going back to poor areas in order to survive. I wish those who work at dollar generals, tire shops, dusty lots, etc., would get more respect in society. They often work the longest hours and so hard and get so little respect for it.
Most people stay in the social class they were born in (you said multigenerational poverty is real and wanted to know why). Well if you work at one of those places you listed, most likely you'll be earning minimum wage. It's hard to pull yourself up by your boot straps on minimum wage. Think of how long it would take before you save enough money to go to school (that's right...probably never). That's why most students get loans. Many of the jobs that pay minimum wage don't have a lot of opportunities for meaningful advancement within the company. I say meaningful because for some there tends to be a ceiling and beyond that ceiling, it is almost impossible to get a promotion that will land you solid middle class wages (not working 60-70 hours a week for it).
I mentioned school in the previous paragraph because I feel that for many, university is a must if you want to be middle-class. It's not like back in the days where you could get a good job with decent wages/benefits with only a high school degree. Also consider that many don't have the option of going to school. How would rent,auto payments, etc., get paid?
And what's this, "allowed me to repay my moral debt from growing up on food stamps and Medicaid, while also giving me an out and a great technical education?"
You had a moral debt to repay? You make it sound as if being on food stamps/medicaid is immoral.
??? The burger flipper with student loan debt and a roof over his head can afford to rent, so why shouldn't he own equivalent housing? i.e. if you can afford to rent x (where you pay the operating cost of x plus a profit to the landlord), how can you not afford to buy x?
You are assuming that the cash flow needs of owning don't exceed those of renting, even after accounting for the necessity of repair reserves and the down payment.
In areas where is the other way, they have no money to rent.
Sadly this is true in some cases. I do agree with you that zoning laws are harsh; however, until they're changed, one should be pursuing other ways of affording their housing.
You CHOOSE to NOT buy more "stuff" than your income allows, you've made a choice NOT to be poor.
You CHOOSE to NOT forgo an education or training because you understand its importance - you've made a choice NOT to be poor.
You CHOOSE to NOT have ANY children you can't afford - You've made a choice NOT to be poor...
But what is its stuff you can't 'choose'?
What if you didn't buy past your income, just that your income wasn't plush and might never be? What if you did get the education then couldn't use it for unforseen circumstances until its outdated? You still tried, but there is no guarentee. What if you didn't have a minivan full of kids, just one? But your still technically 'poor' because of health issues which you neither asked for or prompted? You can 'choose' all you want but it doesn't mean that in the bigger picture your choice will buy you want you want. One of the leading causes of poverty is simply health issues.
Technically I am 'poor'. But I don't consider myself and I have the things I want and use and don't fill my life with 'stuff' just because we're supposed to have it. The health issues voided my initial plans but I had learned to look at life from what you have not from the pov of what you don't, and certainly not from the pov of what your 'supposed' to have. Happiness isn't something you buy, but find in satisfying the things which enrich you with other than money.
I fell bad for people who's only measure of happiness and success is how many spaces their bank balance fills.
What if you didn't buy past your income, just that your income wasn't plush and might never be? What if you did get the education then couldn't use it for unforseen circumstances until its outdated? You still tried, but there is no guarentee. What if you didn't have a minivan full of kids, just one? But your still technically 'poor' because of health issues which you neither asked for or prompted? You can 'choose' all you want but it doesn't mean that in the bigger picture your choice will buy you want you want. One of the leading causes of poverty is simply health issues.
Technically I am 'poor'. But I don't consider myself and I have the things I want and use and don't fill my life with 'stuff' just because we're supposed to have it. The health issues voided my initial plans but I had learned to look at life from what you have not from the pov of what you don't, and certainly not from the pov of what your 'supposed' to have. Happiness isn't something you buy, but find in satisfying the things which enrich you with other than money.
I fell bad for people who's only measure of happiness and success is how many spaces their bank balance fills.
If you were uninsured or underinsured for health, life, or disability, then you couldn't afford the kids.
Which is useless to a person who can afford only 400 sq ft of house and 2,500 sq ft land.
Ok, but again this conversation was not about people making minimum wage, it was about a "high paying blue collar job" (go back along the post trail).
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