Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
1–10 of 71 posts
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#2Goes without saying, but it is shocking how quickly the world has changed. The easy take would be that a lot of people are finding out how the other half lives, without easy access to healthcare or using credit cards to pay bills, but the poorer are disproportionately affected.
The only positive, if there is one, is the ability to really consider how our societies operate, how dangerous apathy and incompetence are and for tech workers more specifically, to realize how much of an impact our work has.
The next time someone wants to act like they know what the future looks like, remind them to have some humility. Be safe yall. This too shall pass.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#3250 Million will starve to death unless we get the economy back up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/asia/coronavirus-in...
But who cares right?
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#4Goes without saying, but it is shocking how quickly the world has changed. The easy take would be that a lot of people are finding out how the other half lives, without easy access to healthcare or using credit cards to pay bills, but the poorer are disproportionately affected. The only positive, if there is one, is the ability to really consider how our societies operate, how dangerous apathy and incompetence are an…
Sorry but I can't help but remark on the contradiction in your last paragraph... Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like, but don't worry, you know that this too shall pass and things will go back to normal.
Just reminding you to have some humility.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#5Can't afford food? Between food stamps and eating for $1.50/day (source- https://efficiencyiseverything.com/eat-for-1-50-per-day-layo...) I don't think the problem is the cost of food.
Rent, sure. Health insurance, sure. Food? Not the major expense, especially with food stamps.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#6Goes without saying, but it is shocking how quickly the world has changed. The easy take would be that a lot of people are finding out how the other half lives, without easy access to healthcare or using credit cards to pay bills, but the poorer are disproportionately affected. The only positive, if there is one, is the ability to really consider how our societies operate, how dangerous apathy and incompetence are an…
Sorry but I can't help but remark on the contradiction in your last paragraph... Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like, but don't worry, you know that this too shall pass and things will go back to normal. Just reminding you to have some humility.
> you know that this too shall pass and things will go back to normal.
No, we don't. Who knows if this coronavirus will ever truly go away? What will the new "normal" be like when—if—things truly settle down. Surely our world will be forever marked by this event.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#7I suspect shutting down such broad swathes of the economy is unprecedented even in wartime. Nobody has any idea what we are toying with here or what happens next.
It wouldn't be surprising if everything worked out well, and it isn't unthinkable that this ushers in the worst decade of chaos and suffering in the last 200 years. The economy is the most complicated machine we have and nobody knows what it is doing right now.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#8Im sure someone on HN has explained this before, but why are the markets steady and rebounding when the actual state of the US economy is so dire??
I've been waiting on that promised $1200 check for 2 days shy of an entire month now, and every day that passes I see another bar or clothing store or furniture outlet with boards up on the windows.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry but I can't help but remark on the contradiction in your last paragraph... Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like, but don't worry, you know that this too shall pass and things will go back to normal. Just reminding you to have some humility.
> you know that this too shall pass and things will go back to normal. No, we don't. Who knows if this coronavirus will ever truly go away? What will the new "normal" be like when—if—things truly settle down. Surely our world will be forever marked by this event.
I wonder if people in 1918 thought the same thing. And then the only impact the Spanish flu had on me was it was mentioned in passing in outdated middle school "social studies" books.
Re: Millions of Americans can't afford food, rent and other basics, report finds
#10Can't afford food? Between food stamps and eating for $1.50/day (source- https://efficiencyiseverything.com/eat-for-1-50-per-day-layo... ) I don't think the problem is the cost of food. Rent, sure. Health insurance, sure. Food? Not the major expense, especially with food stamps.
A lot of people live in so-called "food deserts" [1]. That means they don't have access to fresh produce or bulk ingredients like milk, flour, eggs, beans, rice, pasta, or potatoes. Instead, they're stuck with convenience store food which is mostly junk food.
If they wanted to buy healthier food they'd have to travel a long way to reach a grocery store, a problem greatly exacerbated for those who do not own a car. It's not easy to carry home 10lbs of potatoes and 10lbs of beans by public transit, let alone on foot.