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while I agree with your conclusion, I am absolutely appalled by how these "social scientists" classify things. smoking is a necessity? thats crap.
That's utterly absurd conjecture by the article's writer and not asserted at all by the study's author.
Unfortunately, I seem to have overestimated some city-data members' knowledge base, so I'll explain the terms...
In economic terms, a luxury good is one where our spending on such item goes up as a portion of our income as our income increases. For example, ultra-speed fiber optic broadband instead of landline dial-up modem internet, organic luxury coffee shop cappuccino instead of a cup of coffee from the drip coffee maker at home, a $200,000 Hermès Birkin handbag instead of a cheap $20 imitation look-a-like from the discount store. Etc.
A necessity good is something needed for basic human existence. Think: basic food, non-designer clothing, basic shelter.
More info on the respective terms analyzed in the study:
Examples of different types of goods
Luxury good – Superfast broadband, organic luxury coffee, Netflix TV Streaming, Porsche, a foreign holiday to Bali
Necessity good – something needed for basic human existence, e.g. food, water, housing, electricity.
Normal good – ordinary broadband, ordinary tv license, Ford Focus car, holiday to somewhere close to where you live
Inferior good – Supermarket own brand coffee, bus travel, a day out at theme park.
Voluntary doesn't really matter in the case of something like the lottery.
What do lottery proceeds go towards paying for,??
It's a source of revenue for the state.
Just because some people are dumb enough to pay it voluntary is irrelevant.
Park passes are a "source of revenue for the state", too. They, like lottery tickets, are not taxes. Speeding tickets are a "source of revenue for the state", also not a tax. State bonds are a "source of revenue for the state", not a tax.
Exactly. Plenty of highly educated people are terrible money managers. And then there are those of us who realize saving $10 a week and investing it in a low cost index fund in a tax free savings vehicle will grow to over $60,000 in 30 years and they take that route instead. Who wants to blow $10 a week for 30 years and be reminded you’re a loser 1,560 times. I’d rather enjoy watching my savings grow for my entertainment.
You can choose a 5 year old iPhone for $200 or sometimes FREE with the exact same functionality. The $1000 model is going to be the newest model that should be reserved for those that can afford it (i.e. don't need to use money that is marked for other expenses)
I've had 3 consecutive iPhones that drop calls or break up, etc and are for all intents and purposes, useless in both of my houses. Of course 2 were < $100 for the phone; and one was >$300 (Pure Talk? I think) same thing - lousy signal. All three phones were "name brand." I'm back to internet landlines. I talk on a phone maybe 5X a month and there's nobody that wants to see my private parts for a potential fling, etc. So I don't need an iPhone except maybe for an emergency during travel in my car out in the boondocks.
My take? (and just a theory) You have to spill that $1000 if you want a dependable iPhone. It's a "you get what you pay for" thing. A millionaire friend of mine has a Verizon phone he paid $800 for and had Verizon set it up (took them an hour) and it works at my house. There's your proof.
Yet I see a lot of "poor people" and (unemployed HS) teenagers parading around with an iPhone that seems to work everywhere..
Did you miss the part where this bogus study considers lottery tickets to be necessities?
It doesn't. That's baseless conjecture by the article's author. I've already given an explanation of the Economics terms used in the study in this post.
That's utterly absurd conjecture by the article's writer and not asserted at all by the study's author.
Unfortunately, I seem to have overestimated some city-data members' knowledge base, so I'll explain the terms...
In economic terms, a luxury good is one where our spending on such item goes up as a portion of our income as our income increases. For example, ultra-speed fiber optic broadband instead of landline dial-up modem internet, organic luxury coffee shop cappuccino instead of a cup of coffee from the drip coffee maker at home, a $200,000 Hermès Birkin handbag instead of a cheap $20 imitation look-a-like from the discount store. Etc.
A necessity good is something needed for basic human existence. Think: basic food, non-designer clothing, basic shelter.
More info on the respective terms analyzed in the study:
Examples of different types of goods
Luxury good – Superfast broadband, organic luxury coffee, Netflix TV Streaming, Porsche, a foreign holiday to Bali
Necessity good – something needed for basic human existence, e.g. food, water, housing, electricity.
Normal good – ordinary broadband, ordinary tv license, Ford Focus car, holiday to somewhere close to where you live
Inferior good – Supermarket own brand coffee, bus travel, a day out at theme park.
i will admit to being dense... i do agree with your premise and get what they are taking about but still I mean the list of necessities shouldn't include cigarettes. LOL. i am about to run out and get a luxury cheap sammich of some sort.
I would say about a quarter of people in the US live working more than one job (so no, no one can survive on just one minimum wage job, you have to have two or more) at minimum wage or just above it.
And our country seems to feel entitled to their cheap labor, and their cheerful attitude when we interact with them.
nope, not me. I value all my interactions with people regardless of their earning status, as humans. It's called the Golden Rule.
I would say that "how many people work multiple jobs" is easily Googled, and so you should know the figure is around 8% as of last apparently data, from 2018
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