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Lets try my point one final time (even though I have repeated it several dozen of times)
My point is that there are multiple causes why people can't save and that there are also proposed solutions from both sides of the aisle. Pretending that irresponsible spending it the only cause guarantees the other causes will never be addressed (because according to the argument they do not play into it).
And I will repeat this one final time
What is the main cause : Studies show that #1 reason (by far) for inability to save is big ticket living expenses (housing, health care, education, child care etc).
Once the problems / sources have been identified, the next step is to address them, but as long as people pretend that irresponsible people are the ONLY problem there is no hope for a solution.
I have not read all 67 pages of this thread, nor do I have time to, so thank you for reposting - that is how these long threads work - people come and go, join in the middle, the end, etc.
No one is denying that there are systemic issues such as the high cost of housing, which often contributes to SOME of the problem. Equally, SOME of the problem is poor personal choice. Like we said, there are MANY reasons, one of them being poor personal choices and lack of financial responsibility.
If you don't know anyone like that, great. Many of us know numerous people like that, who continue to make poor choices, then play the victim card when they just can't seem to make it. Can't afford to live in LA like we couldn't, move to another state that is less expensive, save, buy a house, build equity and work your way up.
Want to stay in an expensive life, fine, do so, but don't expect others to pay for it.
The title of this tread states that 40% of people don't have $400. We are giving you our views of the issue, and you are just saying, no, no. So, it would be nice to hear your argument as to the problem, rather than just a no, no. What is the main cause of this, and what are the solutions?
Simple question.
Yes. And my "crime," in the eyes of liberals, is that I asked what percent don't have savings because they barely can cover the grocery bill vs what percent don't have savings because they go on cruises, have the latest iPhone and other electronic gadgets, a 55" flatscreen TV, and whatnot - implying that SOME people are in this predicament due to their own responsible choices. Liberals HATE that.
You just said you agreed with the poster who said some people should be made to wear a barrel so they can feel superior - and specifically called me out by name as how I believe. (Look back a couple of pages.) And again, all I've done is point out that many people don't have $400 in the bank NOT because they are poor but because they bought luxury items when then had no savings.
The economy is doing well. People, on the other hand, are terrible at planning. It isn't the fault of Republicans, Democrats, or alien space bats that 40% of Americans have no savings. For the most part, it's their own fault because they don't budget correctly. You could, possibly, blame it upon our education system which focuses on making sure that students pass tests rather than teaching them the basics of finance. That's about as far as government blame goes, though.
exactly.
it's how we get "Wal-Mart must make more than 3%, because they make billions of dollars" and the political tripe that "pharmaceutical companies made 2 billion in profits last year, imagine how much lower drug prices could be", while bemoaning the inability of many to save 1% of their annual income.
it's how we get people thinking Wal-Mart should immediately pay all workers $5 more/hour, when to do so would cut their profit by a minimum of 60%.
there's waaaaay too many people that it's impossible to discuss financial issues with because they simply don't understand them.
Yes. And my "crime," in the eyes of liberals, is that I asked what percent don't have savings because they barely can cover the grocery bill vs what percent don't have savings because they go on cruises, have the latest iPhone and other electronic gadgets, a 55" flatscreen TV, and whatnot - implying that SOME people are in this predicament due to their own responsible choices. Liberals HATE that.
Not being a liberal I cannot speak for them, but you have spent days offering only ONE cause the for problem, and that is the such people have $1000 iPhones, and spend their money on luxuries, and only now you have moved the goal posts to say it is only SOME people who do that, which is something everyone else has been telling you all along. Now you claim they hate they own argument
I am glad you finally opened your eyes and realized there are indeed many causes.
Generally, calling and talking to a real person helps a LOT.
Yes, and that's what happened with the person I knew who couldn't pay her $700 doctor bill. She called him up, crying about how she earns very little and doesn't have the money, and he not only lowered it but put her on a monthly payment plan. (I know because she stupidly told me the whole story.) But what the doctor DOES NOT know is that she went to Scotland for 10 days on a vacation a few months earlier. She also has an iPhone. Also bought a late-model car with every available option.
Now, take me. I just had a $600 doctor bill, plus another $325 for the pathology (it was nothing.....), so I will have to pay $925 this month IN ADDITION to the $900 premium (zoomed up under Obamacare). And WHY am I able to pay it? Because I did not go to Scotland when I don't have money saved, I have a $79 Samsung, and I did NOT buy every available option* on my last car purchase. Should I have just bought all sorts of luxuries and flown to Europe and whatever figuring that if I get a doctor's bill I can't pay, I'll just negotiate it down. If everybody did that, the doctor would have to raise his fee on the "full payers" who are responsible savers. (Come to think of it, maybe that's why my doctor charged $600 for a 10-minute appointment! Had to make up for the people who didn't pay.)
*I did buy all the safety features, though. Don't want to scrimp there when lives may be at stake.
Not being a liberal I cannot speak for them, but you have spent days offering only ONE cause the for problem, and that is the such people have $1000 iPhones, and spend their money on luxuries, and only now you have moved the goal posts to say it is only SOME people who do that, which is something everyone else has been telling you all along. Now you claim they hate they own argument
I am glad you finally opened your eyes and realized there are indeed many causes.
What do you mean "finally"? I quoted you from my VERY FIRST post in this thread, in which I acknowledged other causes. I said that from the outset. You didn't see it because I ALSO brought up a cause liberals don't like: that a significant percentage of people are in their predicaments because of their own irresponsible choices and spending habits.
Please admit that you were wrong, and that right from the start I acknowledged different causes, thus I did not move any "goal posts."
What do you do when you have a bill for $500 and you only have $300?
Do you just pay $200, save $100 and pray no one would notice you were $300 short?
Credit card and then pay it off before the interest starts accruing. I did that a lot in college. My first two years I was not very good with money and month to month or worse. Last two I got a better job, the extra $5 an hour helped and I also got better at not spending everything I had so if I needed a new battery or set of tires I didn't need to rob Peter to pay Paul. Much better way to live imo. Give it a try.
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