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Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#91

Post by aaron695 »

The true reality is, most poor people don't have the mental capacity to spend money appropriately.

While we live in the fantasy land that they are quite smart, but happen to be poor we really can't move ahead and improve the situation, the two issues are linked.

Someone well off might also may not have the mental capacity, but it will affect them less, I get that but that's an aside until the far future when everyone is well off.

IE Using disposable diapers rather than reusable ones? It is kinda scary the article has this as a given.

I get as a single parent time is hard to find, but it also means less shopping. True you have to have a washing machine, but surely responsible use of a credit card allows would make this cheaper and easier then going to a laundromat.

Responsible use of a credit card is hard and this is more the issue, not a strict lack of money problem.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#92

Post by aidenn0 »

aaron695 wrote: post #91

The true reality is, most poor people don't have the mental capacity to spend money appropriately. While we live in the fantasy land that they are quite smart, but happen to be poor we really can't move ahead and improve the situation, the two issues are linked. Someone well off might also may not have the mental capacity, but it will affect them less, I get that but that's an aside until the far future when everyone…

You typically need to own your residence if you want to install a washing machine. If your residence was not designed for a washing machine, you may need significant changes to the plumbing to put one in.

In one case, I owned my residence and still wasn't allowed to put in a washing machine; it was a condominium, and the common drain lines were insufficient for every unit to have a washing machine, so no unit was allowed to install one.

There are some non-permanent washers available, but the reviews on them appear to be very mixed, so I never took the risk to buy one, and that's as someone with significant disposable income.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#93

Post by eru »

dnautics wrote: post #78
dclowd9901 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about more things? Credit, which was literally created to hose the poor. How about goddamn product marketing which merely has the effect 1) robbing poor people of their time and 2) jacking up costs of goods at the expense of 1? It's all wrong.

I always thought credit was created by merchants to screw the nobility. If there's anything that screws the poor, it's inflation .

The poor don't have money. How does inflation screw them?

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#94

Post by mistermann »

Sven7 wrote: post #90

Since the crowd around here can't exist without an increase in poverty, the real question is how many poor people do we need to produce one Zuckerberg. If we want more Zuckerbergs we need more poor people, just as if we want more whales in the ocean we need more ocean. Pretty sure Trump can work out a nice formula to export the poor into the developing world, in return for an expansion of H1B visas or something. Give…

This comment is absolutely baffling to me - I can't even disagree because I don't understand what you are saying.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#95

Post by eru »

Sven7 wrote: post #90

Since the crowd around here can't exist without an increase in poverty, the real question is how many poor people do we need to produce one Zuckerberg. If we want more Zuckerbergs we need more poor people, just as if we want more whales in the ocean we need more ocean. Pretty sure Trump can work out a nice formula to export the poor into the developing world, in return for an expansion of H1B visas or something. Give…

> Since the crowd around here can't exist without an increase in poverty, [...]

How does that work?

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#96

Post by Retric »

ryanmarsh wrote: post #74

One day I needed to pick up a few things on the way to a party. Was passing through a bad part of town and figured I'd stop at the only grocery store. Surely they have the basics, beer, snacks, etc... To make a long story short, I left without buying anything because the prices were more than I was willing to pay. I ended up wandering around the store comparing the prices to what I pay in my neighborhood. Almost ever…

What people miss is those prices are high in large part due to theft and low volume. A Safeway really can't operate in such places without jacking up prices. And the same is true of most other retail, poor customers are both low volume and expencive.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#97

Post by aidenn0 »

dnautics wrote: post #78
dclowd9901 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about more things? Credit, which was literally created to hose the poor. How about goddamn product marketing which merely has the effect 1) robbing poor people of their time and 2) jacking up costs of goods at the expense of 1? It's all wrong.

I always thought credit was created by merchants to screw the nobility. If there's anything that screws the poor, it's inflation .

Inflation screws people with savings, which excludes the poorest.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#98

Post by PhasmaFelis »

fleitz wrote: post #32

Oh fuck this shit, I was poor and I saved by buying rice in bulk and toilet paper in bulk, and everything as cheap as possible. Seriously, you have to be really fucked up to not be able to put away $25 for rice. If you're poor and not taking advantage of every savings you can I really don't know how one expects to become not poor. If you're so poor as to not be able to afford a large pack of toilet paper, sacrifice o…

> If you're so poor as to not be able to afford a large pack of toilet paper, sacrifice one of your dish rags

If you assume that the really poor own a dish rag, let alone multiple spares, you may not understand the kind of poverty we're talking about here.

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#99

Post by eru »

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #54

My wife has taught me so much about living frugally. We both grew up relatively poor and I consider myself frugal, but she knows the power of coupons and sales. She combines coupons with sales to get very good prices, and budgets strictly for what we need. She'll also game the heck out of store policies ("you are out of stock on item Y so I'm wondering if I can buy item X for the same price"). Also buy a bidet. They…

I never understood the whole coupon thing. Can't you just go to Aldi to get a good price without all the hassle?

Re: Why the poor pay more for toilet paper and just about everything else

#100

Post by matt_wulfeck »

chanux wrote: post #63
ars wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded about a bidet. They sell kinds that install under the toilet seat of any toilet (i.e. you don't need a special toilet). You need just a bit of paper after to dry yourself and that's it. No wiping.

I just looked up portable bidet. Yes it's a thing. The first product came up has this in it's Amazon page. Wiping is barbaric! Your bottom begs for salvation LOL

> Wiping is barbaric! Your bottom begs for salvation

It's funny but I really do fee this way when I use regular toilet paper. You're just smearing poop all around! It's sick!

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