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What difference does it make if someone does not have 400 dollars for the ER? They can not turn you away and in many states can not force you to pay the bill what ever it is. In my neck of the woods you go to the ER with no money no insurance, the social workers are right there on staff and the taxpayers end up paying the bill, or the hospital ends up passing the costs onto those that can pay their bills.
What difference does it make if someone does not have 400 dollars for the ER? They can not turn you away and in many states can not force you to pay the bill what ever it is. In my neck of the woods you go to the ER with no money no insurance, the social workers are right there on staff and the taxpayers end up paying the bill, or the hospital ends up passing the costs onto those that can pay their bills.
The emergency room bill isn't the point. The point is that nearly half of Americans don't have enough money saved to cover an unexpected $400 bill. And that is a very scary statistic. It means that nearly half of Americans are one paycheck away from financial ruin. That should be something that concerns everyone.
Smartphones are not a necessity, but I can easily give you another example. 70% of cars are purchased with loans, and the average loan is just under $500 right now. So when people are standing at the car lot, they can "afford" a payment of $500 a month.
A variation and thus irony of this thread theme and the typical car payment is that X % of people could not afford to pay a $500 car repair bill.
Nearly half of those born in the US are born into poverty. What makes you think any of them will be able to save $400 to pay any type of emergency bill whatsoever?
Nearly half of those born in the US are born into poverty. What makes you think any of them will be able to save $400 to pay any type of emergency bill whatsoever?
Wage stagnation for the past 40+ years has led to a concentration of wealth at the very top, and that, in turn, has resulted in an increasingly poorer population. This is one of Bernie Sanders' key issues.
When I was growing up a family of 7 in the 70's, we had one car (eventually got a second one for mom), one phone line and free TV via an antenna on the roof. When I wanted a bike, I went outside, informed my friends and we would cobble one together using spare parts. We never ate out and when we went away on vacation it was camping in a popup camper and we loved it!
My parents bought their 1900 sq ft 1920's Dutch colonial house in a very close suburb of Boston in 1966 for $15,000. My father made in the range of 6,000/year.
This was a firmly middle class existence in Boston in 1975 and we were very comfortable
Today, that same family of 7 would have three or perhaps even four cars in the driveway, one cell phone for each child at at least $50 a month each, and cable TV along with internet and a landline at between $150 to $250/month.
...and that same house goes for $500,000
I am currently financially stable but it's definitely difficult, everywhere I turn, someone has their hand in my pocket. Every week there is another couple of hundred dollars leaving for one reason or another.
The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 60's depicted an upper middle class family lifestyle. It was essentially a 4 room ranch in what was then, an upper middle class suburb of NYC occupied by a TV executive writer, his wife and child. As children watching the endless reruns we marveled at how we perceived the rich lived on this show.
Go back to the 50's and you see Lucy and her entertainer husband living in a tiny 4 room rental in NYC.
Then there was Jackie Gleason, a NYC bus driver and wife in a 2 room apartment.
Wally and the Beave shared a bedroom in what was a 2 bedroom upscale home where June, always in a perfect shirtwaist dress and heels, had milk and cookies on the counter.
^^^This is the reason so many Americans are up to their eyeballs in debt.^^^ People who "gotta have it now" or "my neighbor has one so I want one" are doomed to the poor house, especially if they fill those urges with credit cards. I truly do feel bad for people like you, desert.
What in the hell are you talking about?
Where did I say that I was up to my eyeballs in debt? Yeah, I have debt, but so do you.
My point is that I don't "hate to spend money" like the poster I was responding to said. I work for a living, and I deserve to enjoy the fruits of my work. I'm not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow. I want to LIVE! And I don't mean merely existing either.
I don't even know what you're talking about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilyflower3191981
in all fairness, the poster said
"They're poor because they either don't make much or they spend more than they earn regardless of how much they make."
I think he was right about it.
That poster was just being a sanctimonious jerk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4
Right, and I don't want no stinking job getting in the way of my free time either!
Huh?
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