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After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

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Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#121

Post by lazerpants »

refurb wrote: post #43
leggomylibro wrote: post #41

>because disability payments on average amount to less than minimum wage, sometimes much less, ... Why is this? How are these people expected to survive, if they are disabled to the point that they can't hold down a job, and aren't allowed to work without the risk of losing their disability payments? Busking? I know that's been one traditional job for disabled people over the centuries, but I feel like we should be a…

Disability is often done on a percentage basis. If you're completely unable to work you get 100%. If you can't stand for a long time, but can sit and work, you might get 30% disability. Even at 100% it's not a lot of money, but I've heard it's enough to exist.

Disability payments are also based on how much you've paid into Social Security. For example, if I were to go on disability tomorrow, I would receive about $1,800 a month, due to the payments I've made into the system (I just checked my Social Security account the other day).

So the people who receive low disability payments are mostly people who have never had a job, or have not paid much into Social Security. I believe the floor for disability is $750 a month. Which isn't really okay, but many people on disability make enough to live on, so poverty is not an issue for all recipients of disability.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#122

Post by csense »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #99

Logan County, West Virginia, where this article is set, voted 80% in favor of Trump, giving him 10,000 additional votes. [1] The entire state of West Virginia went to Trump. If Democrats want to change the current political landscape in this country, they might start by addressing some of these peoples' problems while they're campaigning on everyone else's problems too. Trump (and conservatives) aren't going to do a…

> Trump (and conservatives) aren't going to do a thing for these people, but at least they mentioned them.

One of Trump's campaign promises was to cut back environmental and business regulations and get the coal industry rolling again. He actually did pull out of the Paris climate accord.

Is this the right approach? Will Trump's actions help these communities? I'm not sure. But it's simply not true that he's doing nothing about the issue.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#123

Post by alexanderstears »

549362-30499 wrote: post #111
thaumaturgy wrote: post #99

Logan County, West Virginia, where this article is set, voted 80% in favor of Trump, giving him 10,000 additional votes. [1] The entire state of West Virginia went to Trump. If Democrats want to change the current political landscape in this country, they might start by addressing some of these peoples' problems while they're campaigning on everyone else's problems too. Trump (and conservatives) aren't going to do a…

Clinton did campaign on a jobs and retraining program specifically for these people. But how can you compete with someone saying they'll hand-wave away your problems and return your old way of life?

How appealing is a retaining program when you're dirty, tired, old, and not able to get to a class room?

She didn't campaign on a jobs program, or at least not one that would matter like a jobs guarantee.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#124

Post by Diederich »

Once again, I'm probably breaking the rules.

Consider this person: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=hestipod

> I made an account just to comment on this issue after lurking for a long time but it's surely just another pointless action because it's the same story over and over. Empathy is not common.

Three (at this time) comments that seem to be very relevant to this topic and discussion, yet all [dead].

> Most people ignore me, some give useless advice that makes them feel like they did something, and nothing changes.

Indeed.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#125

Post by riot504 »

mrskitch wrote: post #14
24gttghh wrote: post #6

> She lit a home-rolled cigarette and, getting to work with a mattock, tried to ignore the weather. She had lately been telling herself that she had to stop taking these risks. They were more than an hour from the nearest hospital, and what if she had another heart attack? Yeah...she seems to be ignoring the heart-attack risk she is pumping into her lungs while she says that. I get that it's an addiction that is hard…

I can relate to this sentiment, but you've got take into account the whole story: - Failing health, already has nearly died. - No safety net. - Risks life every time this voyage is made. - Doesn't have access to many resources. Here you have someone who doesn't have (what appears to be) working plumbing. Doesn't even have a _kitchen_ (just a hot pad). No assets or finances to speak of. Likely no support network. On t…

I view smoking as a kind of break from life. It has a calming effect. Many people smoked during my deployments to Iraq for the same reason - it calms you and allows a simple break otherwise not found. I don't smoke as the smell gives me a terrible headache but I understand the reasoning - particularly when life is hard.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#126

Post by calt »

noworld wrote: post #100

"...went to the already-crowded Dollar Store and Dollar General and bought dog food, dog treats, Slim Jims, three six-packs of Milwaukee’s Best, pruners for digging roots and a backpack to carry it all. What was the point in saving when, even if she could scrape together every free dollar, it would never be enough to change her life? So she bought the beer she had looked forward to, enjoyed its release and, as she di…

Who the fuck are you?

Imagine having nothing and then being told you can't have the companionship of a dog or even cheap beer because that means you aren't interested in changing your situation.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#127

Post by noworld »

calt wrote: post #126
noworld wrote: post #100

"...went to the already-crowded Dollar Store and Dollar General and bought dog food, dog treats, Slim Jims, three six-packs of Milwaukee’s Best, pruners for digging roots and a backpack to carry it all. What was the point in saving when, even if she could scrape together every free dollar, it would never be enough to change her life? So she bought the beer she had looked forward to, enjoyed its release and, as she di…

Who the fuck are you? Imagine having nothing and then being told you can't have the companionship of a dog or even cheap beer because that means you aren't interested in changing your situation.

I'm the person that would rather have clean clothes and a shower, then get a job, washer, dryer, and bed, and THEN worry about the dog and cheap beer later. This is an article about people that can't suppress an urge right now for long term gains and it holds them in perpetual poverty.

That's who the fuck I am.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#128

Post by thehardsphere »

nate_meurer wrote: post #63
hpcjoe wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is replicated all over the rust belt. One of the saddest portrayals of this is the photo essay, The Ruins of Detroit[1]. These once mighty economic engines have been silenced: manufacturing, coal, etc. What happens next is that the people who depend upon these industries to make a living, and live ... do less well of a job of this. Some argue that unions would help (they wouldn't), or anti-globalism would stop f…

> "Coal is evil as I've heard. And the people who mine it? They are the ones now suffering because, you know, its evil, and coal must die." That's a strawman. Coal isn't dying because it's evil. Thermal coal is dying because it can't compete with cheaper, more efficient natural gas generation.

The Democratic Party Presidential candidate in the last election openly boasted about plans to "put the coal companies out of business" after she would be elected, so it's not entirely a straw man to say that there are people who would kill coal at a rate faster than what competition would achieve.

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#129

Post by curun1r »

ggm wrote: post #80

I cannot find it in my heart to admire the people who comment here proscriptively, without any attempt to signal empathy. Its understood few of us (myself included) will be doing anything to ameliorate this situation, and that empathy signalling is at best chest beating, but I still find the lack of compassion in the responses chilling. Yes, not smoking would reduce health risks and spend. so what? If you haven't tri…

I don't disagree with you, but I think there's a lot of people see the kind of people in the article as the opposition to progressive social issues like #BLM, acceptance of immigrants and the very same socialist policies that they survive off of and need to be expanded if these people are to see their lot in life improve. Rural communities overwhelmingly voted for Trump and they form the core of the Fox News constituency. The government they elected is now trying to take away their health care and give a massive tax cut to the top 1%. You'd probably see a lot more compassion among big-city liberals if these communities had embraced Bernie Sanders' agenda which would have redistributed a lot of wealth into their communities. But with their embrace of white nationalist policies and rhetoric, I think you see a lot of liberals feeling like they don't have the energy to care about all of the powerless people in this country and, instead, are focusing what limited resources they have on trying to help other oppressed groups (minorities, undocumented immigrants, etc.)

Re: After the check is gone: The underground economy of rural America

#130

Post by amigoingtodie »

thehardsphere wrote: post #106
amigoingtodie wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Need AFFORDABLE internet connections first.

The call center can afford an internet connection; it's cheaper than the people they'd be hiring.

Really?

A T-1 around that area is almost $700/mo.

A 100Mbps symmetric connection is several thousand dollars per month.

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