Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor • Hacker News Board

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#11

Post by happytoexplain » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:21 PM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

I think it's probably going to do more harm than good trying to gatekeep the status of "poor" against any but the most egregiously out-of-touch claimants. E.g. asserting near-literal starvation as a prerequisite is just antagonistic to no useful end.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#12

Post by redhale » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:23 PM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

I understand the point you're making, but it's probably best to avoid gatekeeping, especially when it comes to an inexact term like "poor".

"Living in poverty means not being able to afford medical care or access to basics such as electricity, shelter, and food. Improper nutrition can cause stunting and wasting, permanently impacting children’s development. Poverty in countries lacking access to clean water and sanitation leads to the spread of preventable diseases and unnecessary deaths, particularly of children."

https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-...

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#13

Post by zmgsabst » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:28 PM UTC

happytoexplain wrote: post #11

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

I think it's probably going to do more harm than good trying to gatekeep the status of "poor" against any but the most egregiously out-of-touch claimants. E.g. asserting near-literal starvation as a prerequisite is just antagonistic to no useful end.

I think that’s a useful metric.

About 10% of US households experience food insecurity [0] — and that overlaps very heavily with the poorest US families, who have 32% experience food insecurity.

I’m pretty comfortably saying that if you always had enough food as a family, you were lower middle-class, not poor.

[0] - https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistic...

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#14

Post by vector_spaces » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:28 PM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

Yeah the linked post rubbed me the wrong way too. I don't know anyone who grew up poor who didn't know they were poor. Not being able to afford vacations or nice things isn't a sign of being poor

Being poor is dealing with housing instability, untreated mental illness, not calling 911 during likely medical emergencies, not being able to afford gas or bus fare to go to work, and generally catastrophe after catastrophe. People around you are also dealing with various catastrophes: abuse, imprisonment, alcoholism and addiction, and loss after loss after loss.

Being poor is traumatic. Even after you claw your way out of that hole, into a comfortable life funded by a comfortable tech salary, you never feel quite secure. You keep waiting for that next catastrophe to hit, and to be back in another job where you have to ask permission to use the bathroom or plead for time off to attend a funeral.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#15

Post by zmgsabst » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:31 PM UTC

redhale wrote: post #12

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

I understand the point you're making, but it's probably best to avoid gatekeeping, especially when it comes to an inexact term like "poor". "Living in poverty means not being able to afford medical care or access to basics such as electricity, shelter, and food. Improper nutrition can cause stunting and wasting, permanently impacting children’s development. Poverty in countries lacking access to clean water and sanit…

> Living in poverty means not being able to afford medical care or access to basics such as electricity, shelter, and food.

Your own quote says the person you’re replying to is right — and the linked post wasn’t describing living in poverty.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#16

Post by generalizations » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:38 PM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

Sounds like a no true scotsman: "if you didn't feel poor, you're not poor enough to count."

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#17

Post by LoganDark » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:45 PM UTC

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

These comments make me so angry. I can't properly articulate why. But I hate "you don't know what it's like - there are people POORER THAN YOU - you are not allowed to speak of POOR if you have not gone days without eating".

I can very well feel poor without being homeless and starving. I don't claim to know what it's like to be homeless and starving, but I sure as hell Feel Poor.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#18

Post by Deprogrammer9 » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:45 PM UTC

I have a warm, dry nice place to live. I have food & security but I don't have the newest fad car or newest fad fashion. SO WHAT, I'm sure i'll get over it lol. I keep up with nobody but myself thanks.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#19

Post by hotnfresh » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:48 PM UTC

zepolen wrote: post #9

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

Would you say a person like Bezos would remain poor if they were in that exact situation?

Someone with extremely valuable skills and knowledge? No, of course not. Even assuming he somehow didn’t know anybody from when he was rich, he’d know where to find people to talk to, and what to say, to start getting enough money to stop being poor pretty fast.

Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor

#20

Post by ecshafer » Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:48 PM UTC

zepolen wrote: post #9

Quinzel wrote: post #2

>”By all financial measures, we were poor.” >”But here’s the thing: I never felt poor.” >”I had everything I needed and wanted. I had all the resources I required to do well at school too, so I never felt underprivileged there either.” This is written by someone who doesn’t understand that they were not poor. Poor is only eating 3/7 days a week. Poor is not owning pyjama’s, underwear or socks. Poor is not having scho…

Would you say a person like Bezos would remain poor if they were in that exact situation?

Yes. Jeff Bezos parents gave him a loan of $245,573, in 1993 money to start Amazon. This indicates that he grew up if not very wealthy, but solidly on the upper side of middle class. Growing up poor he would've probably not had the opportunities to get into Princeton (statistically), so probably would have had a harder time breaking in the hedge fund industry, giving him less cash on hand, and probably wouldn't have started Amazon. Maybe growing up poor he could have, but its more likely as a smart ambitious poor person, he'd have gone to whatever school gave him a good scholarship, and then ended up as an Engineer or some other safe profession and landed middle class.

Being born rich lets you take a lot more risks.