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Has anyone thought that if someone owned all kinds of electronic toys, jacuzzis, and so on when they weren't "poor", that perhaps their spending habits could have contributed to their "poor" state? That was money that could have been saved in an emergency fund, if one was so precariously perched on the cliff of bankruptcy, rather than spent on luxuries.
I think our priorities are really screwed up. People are clearly demonstrating that they don't understand the difference between wants and needs.
Has anyone thought that if someone owned all kinds of electronic toys, jacuzzis, and so on when they weren't "poor", that perhaps their spending habits could have contributed to their "poor" state? That was money that could have been saved in an emergency fund, if one was so precariously perched on the cliff of bankruptcy, rather than spent on luxuries.
I think our priorities are really screwed up. People are clearly demonstrating that they don't understand the difference between wants and needs.
You don't need an emergency fund in America..you have the government that will come help you out when you become poor overnight.
Who do you know that still owns a VCR today? A stereo system?
Why is internet access ranked so much lower than television?
The ranks of this country's poor are filled with retired people, who have assets, if you can call a twenty-year-old television an asset, and low annual incomes.
My 90-year-old grandfather has a cell phone because I bought it for him. He lives in what used to be a fairly safe inner-ring suburb and likes to go walking by himself.
Agree that most "older" tech such as VCRs, stereo systems and TVs can be found at landfills for FREE. I had someone give me 2 TVs 3 weeks ago. One has a DVD player in it! But the owner got 2 new flat screens, so I said - WTH - I will just split my cable and run it to the bedrooms and have TV in there. I don't have anything but basic cable so works for me!
And I had someone give me a dehumidifier recently . . . and my own son handed me a cell phone when he upgraded a few months ago.
I agree - many things could be items that were given to folks when other people upgraded to newer technology. I gave my 81 y/o parents 2 computers last year and I went out and bought them a window A/C and plan to buy them another window A/C next year if my siblings don't step up and do it.
No one is saying that folks in low income levels should live a wretched life. I think the concern is when people have gamed the system in order to purchase a middleclass lifestyle when they are not paying taxes - PLUS are getting bennies they should be PAYING FOR like the rest of us.
Smells like trolls are back in the CD forum attempting to characterize the poor as the rich, man, this is truly BS and it's getting old. Wealth is and has always been a relative thing, same with poverty, you'd think some folks are pissed because the US poor populace isn't eating grass or living in the sewer. Get over it and concentrate on your own circumstances and forget the Reagan mantra of the "welfare Cadillac" for the BS it was and still is........
I had to laugh when that poster said you were demonizing folks for having a fridge, lol. What a total distortion of what has been said on this forum.
First of all, as HappyTexan said . . . who the hell considers kitchen appliances a luxury? And on top of that, HUD requires working appliances, water, heat or they won't pay the landlord.
So exactly what are those "luxury items" owned by the poor; An old used Xbox probably worth $15 dollars at a rummage sale? An old window AC unit? What?
When a so called poor person has their basic needs covered by entitlement programs and has enough undistributed income to buy luxury items, it is a slap in the face to tax payers. When I hear the POTUS wants to raise taxes only for the rich, it is blatant wealth redistribution.
Smells like trolls are back in the CD forum attempting to characterize the poor as the rich, man, this is truly BS and it's getting old. Wealth is and has always been a relative thing, same with poverty, you'd think some folks are pissed because the US poor populace isn't eating grass or living in the sewer. Get over it and concentrate on your own circumstances and forget the Reagan mantra of the "welfare Cadillac" for the BS it was and still is........
Thank the Dept of Energy for putting out statistics.
That would be YOUR government.
So exactly what are those "luxury items" owned by the poor; An old used Xbox probably worth $15 dollars at a rummage sale? An old window AC unit? What?
Why are you asking me about that? I haven't referred to "luxuries" once on this thread except to agree that kitchen appliances, wh/ can be bought at bargain prices when used and still working, are NOT a luxury.
You need to find the right person to argue with . . . see my post above - #533 and then go figure out who it is you want to get contentious with - cause it ain't me.
My thoughts remain that the elderly of this nation, who I firmly believe make up a significant portion of this nation's poor, are suffering because our nation's economic difficulties have wiped out a lot of the wealth they put aside during their working years and left their pensions in tatters, leaving them to survive on Social Security, which isn't exactly luxurious living.
When a so called poor person has their basic needs covered by entitlement programs and has enough undistributed income to buy luxury items, it is a slap in the face to tax payers. When I hear the POTUS wants to raise taxes only for the rich, it is blatant wealth redistribution.
When I see concrete proof that this is the case, I will agree with you.
The only people I know of that did this are the Wall Street Executives.
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