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John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

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Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#121

Post by EliRivers »

For some reason, it's the dentistry that always hits me. As a society, we can't get it together enough to fix people's fucking teeth? Instead, we end up with this sort of thing (this one is more than just teeth) - http://thefederalist.com/2017/08/02/thousands-visit-free-cli... - like some kind of fucking end times collapsed society.

Don't know why that's my trigger.

Holbrook’s is 420. The stranger holds up her card: 158. She places it in Holbrook’s hand and takes the higher number in exchange, explaining that she wants Holbrook and her baby to get in before she does. Holbrook doesn’t know what to say. The old lady mixes back into the crowd.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#122

Post by makomk »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #49
SSH007 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you talking about? Which "force that run this country" shames anyone that is poor?

Reagan gutted social services to keep entirely imaginary "welfare queens" from getting a free ride. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/welfare... Jeb Bush, plausible presidential candidate, wrote a piece called "Restoration of Shame" arguing that the problem with America is that welfare recipients and single parents aren't ashamed enough. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/06/12/jeb_bush_sha.…

Clinton also apparently played a large role in killing off welfare in the US too: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/welfare-reform-bill-hilla... There are some theories that this, and the other ways he screwed the poor and working-class, helped do in his wife's presidential bid.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#123

Post by smoll »

donatj wrote: post #101

I grew up living this, we hardly had money to eat, but success came relatively easy after high school by simply trying really hard. I applied for hundreds of programming jobs and interviewed at tens of companies before landing my first gig where I worked my ass off and proved myself, within five years being the lead developer there before leaving for greener pastures. I had taught myself on computers we had been dona…

I've definitely felt this sort of emotion before, but it doesn't seem all that difficult to explain to me. Consider how easily von Neumann was able to solve problems that even his genius-level peers considered extremely difficult. Of course things that seem intractable to one person might seem obvious/trivial to someone with vastly higher intelligence. Not saying that von Neumann:his peers :: you:your mom, but I imagine this phenomenon is at least partially to blame.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#124

Post by vacri »

saalweachter wrote: post #79
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?

I'm a fan of finding your local food pantry and helping out / donating there. Most always need volunteers. Depending on the place, it can either be more effective to donate money or food. Some places have affiliations with larger collecting centers which just charge the individual pantry handling (usually something like $0.10 / lb) for food; if a place doesn't, they might prefer food donations because otherwise shopp…

> Most always need volunteers. Depending on the place, it can either be more effective to donate money or food.

It should be noted that some charities are drowning in unskilled labour, and that folks shouldn't take it personally if they're turned away. Help in some other way, like you say, with money or food.

A friend of mine offered to volunteer at a nearby charity and was miffed that they turned her away since she had no management experience; they had plenty of hands, but really needed folks with organisational skills to manage them.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#125

Post by InclinedPlane »

tekromancr wrote: post #110
InclinedPlane wrote: post #13

A lot of people who have never been poor just think "oh, well, to stop being poor you just need to X, then Y, then Z." But they don't understand the implications, or the difficulty. Not spending money on anything you absolutely don't need is psychologically crushing, especially when that includes everything from dental care to replacement shoes. Finding the energy to continue advancing your employment and to work at…

Not to mention all of the financial tools you dont have access to because of no/poor credit. I remember what an incredible feeling it was when I finally worked my up to a rewards card. This magical thing that effectively makes everything I buy 1.5% cheeper. It felt like some sort of cheatcode for life. I remember then being so pissed off that I was able to have this as a rich person getting marginally richer, but not…

Indeed. Technically I have a lower net worth now than when I was poor because I have a significant amount of debt (I bought a new-ish car recently, for example). But going into debt to buy things just isn't an option when you're poor, other than taking a payday loan at usurious rates.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#126

Post by mikekchar »

jachee wrote: post #73
fixxer wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Speed trap as fund-raiser > clerical error lost paid ticket > license suspended > road block as fund-raiser > zero-tolerance "suspended license == go to jail" > impounded car, $1200 bond, and jail time "waiting on the judge to post bond."

Man, virtually the exact same thing happened to me: forgot to renew my license plate; got a ticket; paid the ticket; clerical error lost paid ticket; license suspended; suspension notice was never delivered (postal strike); got pulled over (suspended license puts your license plate on the "must stop" list); went to court.

The key is what happens next. As an employed software engineer with no priors, I could negotiate. There are many things they can charge you with and it is completely at their whim which one you will get. I apologised profusely in my nice suit and walked away with a (small for me) fine. Other people in virtually the same situation got nailed to the wall. You didn't want to be one of those people arguing how unfair it was to be pulled in to court when you never got a suspension notice.

Of course, they suspended my license again without telling me. Got the notice a month(!) later. I gave up driving after that. Since then I've driven a car maybe 4 times in the last 12 years.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#127

Post by imesh »

donatj wrote: post #101

I grew up living this, we hardly had money to eat, but success came relatively easy after high school by simply trying really hard. I applied for hundreds of programming jobs and interviewed at tens of companies before landing my first gig where I worked my ass off and proved myself, within five years being the lead developer there before leaving for greener pastures. I had taught myself on computers we had been dona…

I don't know. I feel like programming was the one way out for me. Not everyone can program, and for me, if it wasn't programming I don't think I would have thought of anything else that bring me above barely subsistence.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#128

Post by Grustaf »

jachee wrote: post #73
fixxer wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Speed trap as fund-raiser > clerical error lost paid ticket > license suspended > road block as fund-raiser > zero-tolerance "suspended license == go to jail" > impounded car, $1200 bond, and jail time "waiting on the judge to post bond."

Speeding is always illegal, and not just for poor people. So is driving without a license. Do you believe those laws are unjust and/or targeting poor people?

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#129

Post by beingpoor »

Being lower middle class is using a HN throwaway account because risking to be linked to this purge doesn't help at all.

Being lower middle class is 4.5h of daily commute to public college (despite having best grades in your high-school) while being told all the time that you're a priviliged.

Being lower middle class is your friend suggesting to use his adress on your CV.

Being lower middle class is hiding your hometown from your coworkers and having them smirking and condescending when one day you can't evite anymore and show it on Gmaps/street view and regretting that you didn't show a random location.

Being lower middle class is being ashame of bringing friends home.

Being lower middle class is having friends scaried of coming to your place.

Being lower middle class is saving all pennies you can because you are terrified of getting poor.

Re: John Scalzi: Being Poor (2005)

#130

Post by chx »

This needs a retitle of "Being poor in the USA".

You need to talk to someone who grew up in the DDR or the CCCP to get some perspective (although I bet people from the so called third world would have quite something to add, too!). I am a little better as I grew up in socialist Hungary.

Some memories that this article brought up: off-brand toys? You couldn't even buy LEGO until like 1982 for Hungarian forints. A few shops for diplomats sold it for hard currency which was impossible to get.

$800 cars? Comrade, you need to wait 5-10 years for a car and it's made out of paper and plastic. And it is literally incapable of going above 60 miles per hour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away. - man, I got a root canal done without painkillers because they ran out of painkillers.

Being poor is Goodwill underwear. - our undershirts looked like gray rags because you couldn't get whitening detergent for years. It was a fluke that didn't get corrected until the next five year plan.

air conditioning. --- HAHAHAHAHA try living in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdistrict one of these, oven in the summer, too hot in the winter because the central heating is cranked up the wazzoo and you can't do shit about it.

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