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It’s worth noting that by the specialized nomenclature of the dismal science, even eating at McDonald’s is a luxury
the Deutsche Bank report explicitly defined luxuries as goods or services consumed in greater proportions as a person’s income increases and necessities as those goods or services that make up a smaller proportion of spending as a person’s income increases.
I'm not sure that the term luxuries is the right term. You really have to read the details of what is a luxury and how it was defined.
Thank you. This definition of luxury puts the study in context. Too much of this thread rails against the spending habits of the lower classes with little understanding of what Deutsche Bank's report actually reveals.
Thank you. This definition of luxury puts the study in context. Too much of this thread rails against the spending habits of the lower classes with little understanding of what Deutsche Bank's report actually reveals.
If you are paying for food cooked by someone else, then that IS a luxury even if its McDonalds.
If you are paying for food cooked by someone else, then that IS a luxury even if its McDonalds.
Well, yes, of course, because (to a point) restaurant-prepared meals are consumed in greater quantity as income rises, which meets the definition above.
That's correct, just don't make taxpayers fund it.
I don't expect the poor to shop at Whole Foods instead of Popeyes, or to read books on philosophy instead of watching Netflix, or to take online college courses instead of playing video games and posting on Tik Tok, or to wear payless shoes instead of $300 Nikes, or to eat salads instead of chain smoking, but stop making taxpayers fund this lifestyle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DontH8Me
You missed a few stereotypes, but otherwise your list is pretty comprehensive.
Tell us you hate black people without saying you hate black people.
Poverty in this country isn't defined by a race, or even a political party. If you look really closely at threads right here on CD's POC forum, you'll see plenty of poor white conservatives complaining about poor minority liberals. The difference is, the poor conservative whites believe they are in the class of their gods, as if they are rubbing elbows with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, when in fact they are living a humble working class life themselves.
Truly affluent people don't concern themselves about what poor inner city youth are wearing on their feet, whether the poors eat salads or Popeye's, whether they voted Biden or Trump. And the truly wealthy are way too busy counting their money than to be squabbling with other anonymous folks on City Data.
Where did this poster bring up black people? It seems that you have your own stereotypes and assumptions about black people. I know some white people that fit into the category of people that the poster described. It's interesting that you thought this poster was referring to only black people. Maybe you need to do some soul searching yourself on this one.
Certain lifestyles and choices have been proven through decades of study to lead to poor or disastrous results.
So yes, there are right and wrong, correct and incorrect answers to how a person should lead his or her life.
100% correct. Even among the wealthy, 70% of families lose their wealth by the 2nd generation, 90% by the 3rd. ANYONE who spends money foolishly will succumb to the exact same fate. And spending foolishly almost always involves combining the inability to delay gratification with overspending on luxury goods.
Who are you to determine what values are "proper" for anyone else?
Haha! I don’t care what your values are. If you chose the values which lead to failure and are happy with that, it’s not my problem. Or rather it should not be made into my problem. It only becomes a problem when you and society expect those with other values to pay for the consequences resulting in the ones you chose for yourself.
What makes you think someone else is responsible for supporting you with the money they earned as a result of their values? But I agree you should be free to chose the values that lead to failure, so long as they don’t affect others- but we all know they do. And since we all know they do we would do everyone a service by promoting the values more apt to lead to success.
So in reality I would prefer people choose better values because it would help prevent failure and more likely lead to success which is better for them, their children and the rest of society who all suffer to some extent when they don’t choose better values.
That’s correct. If folks want to buy gaudy jewelry, tattoos, and rims so they can have some self esteem or “fit in,” so be it. But the poor has no right to blame others or society for their own consumer choices.
The article was pretty clear. These are personal choices the working poor make because they want to fit in.
Keyword: feel. It means there’s nothing society can do to change how people feel they need to consume luxury goods.
That is up there in the top ten of one of the dumbest articles I've read.
Basically a person driving an old beater car has the social status to be able to do so. Oh, my head hurts. Next time I see a rusty old smoker banging down the road I'll say- look at that status. Next time I see a woman wearing thrift store clothes I'll say- she's made it, she can afford to look poor.
I guess the pressure's off, I can pay ten dollars for a pair of no name shoes and snobbishly look down on the little people wearing five hundred dollar shoes.
This is NOT about income equality it is about culture and values.
Basically a person driving an old beater car has the social status to be able to do so. Next time I see a rusty old smoker banging down the road I'll say- look at that status. Next time I see a woman wearing thrift store clothes I'll say- she's made it, she can afford to look poor.
Yes! Many wealthy people choose to do just that. What you decide to think about them says more about you and your values than it does about them and their values.
Not choosing to spend on new cars or expensive clothes does not mean you are poor. Choosing to spend on new cars and fancy clothes does not mean you are wealthy.
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