On paper, being poor is living close to the poverty line. But that line is calibrated for political reasons to be much lower, to lower the amount of people considered poor and to make governments look better.
Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
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Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#42>”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…
> 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.
This take on being “poor” bothers me tremendously, because it equates being poor to something near sub-human or nearly irredeemable, and that’s an unfortunate take.
Except for the warm home environment and blissful ignorance of circumstances, the environment I grew up in was in many ways similar to the OP.
Medical issues were catastrophic, affordability of housing was at whim of landlords, and public transit was a real expense.
The financial strain was palpable but that didn’t mean our family or our immediate circle were criminals or drug abusers; but it did strain the stability of the family considerably.
> 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.
It is, because I certainly live this trauma daily and in many of my life choices, but by your measure I wouldn’t have been considered “poor”.
Tech had been good to me—I liked it when it was still a low-paying career and few considered Comp Sci as a major—but a more secure environment and I would have had a far more financially secure and comfortable life.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#43>”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…
The elitist poor. Now I’ve seen everything.
Just because there’s grades of poor, does not mean the family eating rice 5/week out of a small apartment so they can afford school materials is not.
Someone making $100/month is poor, and someone making $1000/month is also poor, even though they can afford wildly different standards of living, simply because 99% of people earn more.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#44>”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…
poor is not knowing you don't have any of the things that idebtify you as poor
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
People seem to be using simple financial metrics to define poor/poverty. They don't seem to understand that someone with 1000usd/mo (in the US) that chooses that lifestyle (usually has a decently supportive family structure to fall back on) is drastically better off than someone earning 1500usd/mo, that has two kids to clothe/feed and has zero opportunities to escape the cycle whereby the beater car that is all they…
there's also no empathy "what!? I was able to save on 1000usd/mo... with a kid!" assets are either greater than your liabilities, or they're not. the dollar amounts aren't really relevant.
Being poor does not require being in debt. In fact it seems much more important to stay out of debt when poor.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Poor is a fuzzy word that could mean many different things. I think what you are describing could be understood as "poverty" while what OP described could be understood as poor. I think OP's point is that wealth isn't requisite for a fulfilling life. If you have a good home life, a community, and enough money for the essentials, you can live a "rich" life.
If you can afford to do all the things you want or need to do, it’s hard to call that being poor.
If you can barely afford all the things you need, but none of the things you want, then that sounds like the definition of poor to me.
Not being able to afford basic needs needs a stronger term like ‘starving’.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#47>”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…
> 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
I think the dissonance is that this really only happens in the US. At least it’s not a thing in mainland Europe.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you can afford to do all the things you want or need to do, it’s hard to call that being poor.
If you can barely afford all the things you need, but none of the things you want, then that sounds like the definition of poor to me. Not being able to afford basic needs needs a stronger term like ‘starving’.
The term is poverty. Which poor definitely encompasses!
As always, 'need' and 'want' are somewhat up for debate.
Is medical care a need, or a want? For most of the world (by numbers), it's a want.
Is dental care a need, or a want? For most of the world (by numbers), it's a want.
Is a roof over your head that you own (or have control over anyway) a need or a want? For most of the world (by numbers), it's a want.
Is physical safety (reasonably free from random assault and physical violence) a need or a want? Depending on your region of the world, its a want.
Is a diet with meat and/or flavor a need or a want? Depending on your region of the world, it's a want.
Is schooling/formal education a need or a want? (and to what level?) Depending on your region of the world, it's a want.
Etc.
But nothing in the article described someone who was even close to poor, let alone in poverty from my experience. Just not well off or rich, by American standards.
By most of the world's standards (by land area especially!) they were describing upper middle class.
Humans can survive on very little, and the basic level of objective 'need' is faaar below what HN might consider humane. So it's hard to draw a concrete or objective line.
Feel free to browse [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/poor]
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#49>”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…
You can be poor while still having everything you need (even if others were more poor than you).
I grew up poor, but didn’t realize it until adulthood, because we had everything we needed. I rarely got new clothes, mostly wearing hand me downs or thrift shop purchases. We had food 7 days a week, but in the winter when dad was laid off from his construction job and worked part time where he could, someone from the church would drop off a big food box every week (as a child, I thought everyone got that box). The same church sponsored a Santa Clause that delivered gifts to us at Christmas time (mostly practical things like clothing, shoes, etc). At school I got a packet of free lunch tickets every week from the teacher, while almost all of the rest of the class had to bring in a check or cash from home. We did have family vacations in the summer which were almost always a tent camping trip to a state park within driving distance, dad still went to work from that vacation spot. Eventually he worked his way up the ranks at work to a better paying year round job and we move firmly into the middle class, but until grade 6 or so, we were definitely what I’d call poor.
Re: Being Poor vs. Feeling Poor
#50Part of the issue is that there are drastically different types of experiences, with different causes and different solutions, that are put under the umbrella of poverty. For example, the author states:
> when it was time to go home, it was simply a return to the warm space that I shared with my family.
It's good that he could do that. But that opportunity doesn't exist for people who not only don't have a warm space to return to, but may not have any permanent space to return to, and may not even have a family.
> Many of my neighbors also worked in the same catering company as my mom, which meant that there was an aura of familiarity that connected us all.
Again, it's wonderful that he has such memories. Even those of us who were never poor might find something enviable about that. But in some areas of concentrated poverty, the idea of many neighbors working at all is a non-starter, much less many neighbors working together. Or if there are jobs, they aren't catering jobs, they're dangerous work like mining and meatpacking, which leave wounded casualties in their wake who then become additional burdens on meager familial resources.
So one thing that rubs me the wrong way a bit is the way the author is basically saying "adjust your thinking and you won't feel poor." And while that might be good advice for people who can't afford luxuries, it's not so helpful for people who can't afford basic necessities like food and a roof over their heads.