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I like the floater analogy. I've used "coasting" to describe that type, but it's the same idea.
To think of it a different way, imagine you're thrown into a Quantum Leap type scenario, where you're dropped into the life of a minimum wager. Yes, it would suck, but how long would it take you, knowing what you know now, to get out of that poverty life?
My guess is not very long, if you frequent forums like this.
the drive , motivation and focus is incredibly hard . most folks will not be able to pull it off nor will they want to . it is easier just to be poor . i often wonder if my family life with my parents was different and without that low end life , would i have ever been motivated enough to do what i did .
Our economic system/economy is designed right now so that most people will live in poverty
About 15% of Americans live under the poverty rate, so unless you have your own personal definition of what poverty is your statement doesn't make sense.
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You can't save your way out of poverty because even if you manage to squeeze some money out to save aside every month, it will soon get eaten by unexpected car repairs, dental bills, unforseen illness, rising rents... That's why social policy favoring rent control, subsidized housing, living wages, inexpensive public transportation, single payer healthcare, free college education, etc. is what alleviates poverty, not shame and myths about 'hard work,' and blaming the poor for not having the right 'mindset.'
Ironically this is a good example of the mindset mathjak was referring to.
there was an event in my life as a teenager that was life changing .
my best friend from the projects got arrested . he got arrested for something he didn't do .
i knew he didn't do what he was arrested for because both he and i opted out of going with the guys that night and had nothing to do with the crime they committed .
the life changing event for me was he was going to plea bargain the case down because his family was just over the limit for legal aid and he couldn't afford a lawyer .
he was going to plead guilty to something he didn't do rather then risk a jury trial because he HAD NO CHOICE
i realized having choices in life is about what having money means . nothing else mattered but the ability to have choices .
at the last minute a relative came up with the dough and his lawyer got the charges dismissed .
it was that day i decided i will never be poor , it will never be an option .
One of the biggest myths in our society is that the reason poor people are poor is because they spend their money on drugs, Clothes, technology. That if they just pocketed that 120 dollars on an Xbox they wouldn't be living in trailer parks/project lol.
News flash, you are never saving anything of significance on 9 dollars an hour, I don't care how "conservative" you are with money. For the record when I say significant I mean that will change your economic reality in a big way long term.
For the record, I don't want to turn this into a MW raising debate because it's not about that.
I saved enough making less to buy a home... at age 22 in the heart of the SF Bay area...
I don't have a cell, no cable, no Xbox, always drove cars I bought for well under a $1000 and do all my own work... vacation was putting on a new roof or painting the house... splurging was bringing home a Pizza from take and bake... maybe never smoking and drinking helped too?
No flat screens or new appliances... my appliances including my TV were all free for simply hauling them away... and in excellent condition I might add.
I still amazed at people I know working entry level jobs that spend $2,000 a year for cell and cable... boggles the mind and then add on a new car payment and wonder why they are living paycheck to paycheck.
I sometimes check my old hometown jail roster, and I see the same people I've known for years who didn't get out of town when they had the chance and now it's too late.
Had I stayed with them I'd be right beside them. Instead I left because I didn't want to spend my life doing under the table odd jobs and selling drugs to scratch out an existence.
One of the biggest myths in our society is that the reason poor people are poor is because they spend their money on drugs, Clothes, technology. That if they just pocketed that 120 dollars on an Xbox they wouldn't be living in trailer parks/project lol.
News flash, you are never saving anything of significance on 9 dollars an hour, I don't care how "conservative" you are with money. For the record when I say significant I mean that will change your economic reality in a big way long term.
For the record, I don't want to turn this into a MW raising debate because it's not about that.
This may have been possible at some point in US history - for *some people* - but, it sure as hell is NOT TRUE NOW.
Poor people buy things such as Xbox, flat screen TVs, beer, clothes - or whatever you want to begrudge them - because they have to "make it through the night". The metaphoric "night" that is grinding poverty.
I am not a techy, showy person. Hell, I don't even have a smart phone, and I don't care. I don't smoke. I don't use drugs. But I can have empathy for poor people who need these things to carry them through the devastation of a life of poverty.
Ask yourself - would I trade my life for the life of a poor person? No way. I do not judge them.
It's Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for what I have.
One of the biggest myths in our society is that the reason poor people are poor is because they spend their money on drugs, Clothes, technology. That if they just pocketed that 120 dollars on an Xbox they wouldn't be living in trailer parks/project lol.
News flash, you are never saving anything of significance on 9 dollars an hour, I don't care how "conservative" you are with money. For the record when I say significant I mean that will change your economic reality in a big way long term.
For the record, I don't want to turn this into a MW raising debate because it's not about that.
Not a myth. You used a bad example in order to make a point. You have to do more than save money to be wealthy.
I believe that some people are so out of touch with money that if they were given a million dollars it'd be gone in a year.
I've often said about wealth distribution, if you divided all of the money in America equally, it wouldn't take very long at all before the former rich would again be wealth, and the former poor would once again be poor..
Just a fact of life...
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