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John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

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Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#61

Post by jaredhansen »

amagumori wrote: post #57

for anyone who has grown up poor or working class, how do i claw my way out of this? i come from a single parent household, my mom is an elementary school teacher with 4 kids in an expensive city. she barely makes ends meet and cannot support me. i was homeless and addicted to drugs for most of my teenage years, before getting sober and going to college, but dropping out after 2 years - my mom's child support put me…

drop me a line. email in profile. I don't know if I can help at all, but will try.

Don't give up. Don't give in, to despair or otherwise. There's a better world out there for you, it exists, and nobody can make it disappear (or take it away from you because of your family, your past, or whatever). I don't want to overpromise as I'm short on time as well, but ping me and I will try to help.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#62

Post by gragas »

Mz wrote: post #55
gragas wrote: post #53

Having lived in SF and Chicago, I now have near zero empathy for poor people. All I see is complacency and horrible decisions.

Having lived in SF and Chicago, I now have near zero empathy for poor people. All I see is complacency and horrible decisions. I made the horrible decision to be born with a genetic disorder. You got me.

Obviously, I don't see people with genetic disorders and think "man, what an idiot".

You can't just assume that every person you see is poor due to their life decisions. But if you do, you're right about 99% of the time. The vast majority of poor people I know make bad decision after bad decision.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#63

Post by DubiousPusher »

Being poor is trying to hide the finances from the kids but seeing the stress in their faces anyway.

Being poor is this year's shoes are last year's gym shoes. (Good thing they stretched out.)

Being poor is choosing between the doctor and the heat.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#64

Post by [deleted] »

chasing wrote: post #59
gragas wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Being rich is risking losing your job in order to negotiate a better contract with your boss If you have a 9-to-5, you're probably not rich.

The average household income in the US -- one of the wealthiest countries in the world -- is, like, $55k/yr. If you've got some 9-to-5 job pulling down $80k/yr with no kids or dependencies, you're rich to a lot of people.

[deleted]

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#65

Post by Mz »

gragas wrote: post #62
Mz wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having lived in SF and Chicago, I now have near zero empathy for poor people. All I see is complacency and horrible decisions. I made the horrible decision to be born with a genetic disorder. You got me.

Obviously, I don't see people with genetic disorders and think "man, what an idiot". You can't just assume that every person you see is poor due to their life decisions. But if you do , you're right about 99% of the time. The vast majority of poor people I know make bad decision after bad decision.

You would have no way of knowing by looking at me that I have a genetic disorder.

In addition to being homeless for more than five years, I have had a college class on homelessness and public policy. The poorest of the poor pretty uniformly have intractable personal problems, such as health issues, learning disabilities or mental health issues.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#66

Post by DubiousPusher »

noncoml wrote: post #58
peterburkimsher wrote: post #34

Being rich is having a car. Even a scooter. Being rich is being able to visit your family. Being rich is having insurance. Being rich is paying for a monthly phone subscription. Being rich is hot lunches. Being rich is risking losing your job in order to negotiate a better contract with your boss. Being rich is considering having children at all. Being rich is buying alcohol. Being rich is looking at house prices. Be…

Not being poor is not the same as being rich. Being rich I having enough money/income to not need to work. In between is the middle class. There are middle class people who can afford to buy some of the stuff rich people buy, but if they lose their job they’ll be broke in a month or two.

When you're poor, everyone else looks rich.

When I was a kid, I assumed if you had a house you were rich and if you had one with stairs, holy Moses you were rolling in it.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#67

Post by fixxer »

jachee wrote: post #23

I lived this. Being poor is growing up between the trailer park and the dump. Being poor is skipping homework to help repair the $600 car so dad can make it to work tomorrow. Being poor is your mother crying over a $100 invoice for the dental service you just received for the first time in living memory. Being poor is quitting junior college early, because your Pell Grant ran out, and a $12.15/hr opportunity is over…

> Being poor is 2 nights in jail because of a clerical error

Tell us more

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#69

Post by noncoml »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #66
noncoml wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being poor is not the same as being rich. Being rich I having enough money/income to not need to work. In between is the middle class. There are middle class people who can afford to buy some of the stuff rich people buy, but if they lose their job they’ll be broke in a month or two.

When you're poor, everyone else looks rich. When I was a kid, I assumed if you had a house you were rich and if you had one with stairs, holy Moses you were rolling in it.

Ohhh, ok, I got it now. I took it literally and completely missed the point. Stupid me.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#70

Post by DubiousPusher »

nickpeterson wrote: post #42

Wow this cuts like a knife. I've never been poor, but this hurts to imagine, especially with two little kids at home that rely on me. What is the best way to help this, what charities/activities?

Supporting affordable housing, transit and healthcare.

Top three things we struggled with.

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