"The rich get richer. The poor get -- Children"
Life goes on. If people stopped having families because they are poor, we wouldn't be here.
The cost of hand-to-mouth living
41–50 of 127 posts
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I worked at WalMart for 3 years. I worked overnight doing inventory management and I saw exactly what the CEO described. One thing I noticed that he didn't mention is that a large number of the people I worked with were part of that group of people waiting at midnight to buy their baby formula. I always felt like the wages at our store were subsidized by the government. All of the people I talking about worked full t…
That is why I like Costco better: the people who work there don't seem as downtrodden. Either I've been fooled by corporate propaganda or they really have figured out a way to make money, lower prices, and treat people relatively well. Walmarts feel like places of despair to me and Costcos like places of hope. I know how ludicrous that sounds, but the feeling is real. I often chat with workers at checkout counters to…
> there's one big difference, though. To shop at Costco you have to buy twice as much (plus typically pay membership fees). That step could be too steep for the people most living hand-to-mouth, even though it would save them money within weeks. So there could be sample bias here too.
See the article Why Can’t Walmart Be More Like Costco?[0] for more on this.
0: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/26/why-can-t-w...
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is why I like Costco better: the people who work there don't seem as downtrodden. Either I've been fooled by corporate propaganda or they really have figured out a way to make money, lower prices, and treat people relatively well. Walmarts feel like places of despair to me and Costcos like places of hope. I know how ludicrous that sounds, but the feeling is real. I often chat with workers at checkout counters to…
The membership is the too steep part for Costco.
It would be nice if CostCo allowed people of low income to apply for a financial aid in the form of free membership if their income was low enough. It's unfortunate that only the people with greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost per item unit.
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
The membership is the too steep part for Costco.
It would be nice if CostCo allowed people of low income to apply for a financial aid in the form of free membership if their income was low enough. It's unfortunate that only the people with greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost per item unit.
Or even a monthly installment.
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#45I was hoping to see some data on how limited funds forced people to buy inefficiently...that is, buying cheaper quantities that are per-item more expensive than bulk buying because they can't afford the up front cost of buying bulk. My roommate will do this when buying dish soap for the household, always getting the smallest bottle than just paying for the large one at a 30% discount per ounce. Also, some cheap items…
You get 6 apples per big Mac.
It is actually a better meal.
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a great quote, but this all really just boils down to short- versus long-term thinking. When you're poor, your long-term thinking goes out the window in exchange for making it to next week. Getting out of that is hard -- harder than you can imagine until you're in it -- because it's like your long-term thought center just atrophies in survival mode.
Poor people aren't ignorant of the long-term. Note that Vimes himself is poor (he never really becomes a noble, at least); his point is you need boots now , and can't wait a year to save up for a good pair - the boots you get today leave you without enough to ever buy nice boots. Most depressingly, many don't see how they can save at all, making just slightly less than what's needed to make it to next week. I suppose…
There are a few options when your life is negative sum:
Take on debt to amortize against future positive sums.
End yourself.
Change the weights in your utility formula.
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to think there were only two as well but a third kept popping up. It might not be a strict interpretation per se, but it deserves its own category. It goes something like "You shouldn't say stuff like that, its prejudice against the poor, don't be so arrogant, hateful, etc." The quote is a call to action: We should help the poor make better choices; we should help the poor have better choices; and the third "w…
I don't understand how that maps to the original statement. Can you go word by word or something? Unless I'm missing something it sounds like a reaction and not at all an interpretation.
I guess it would qualify more as a figurative interpretation. Its probably subconsciously choosing #1 or #2 then (no matter the choice) hearing the opposing view in the quote, and then immediately interpreting it as a mean spirited attack on your position. Its an almost reflexive jump to being offended that happens often enough that I've given it its own category.
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#48http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAQwItEjUo
If minimum wage was $22 an hour the price of dinner for two at Applebee's would increase around 80 cents. $22 an hour is what the wage should be in keeping pace with workers increased productivity.
If the minimum wage was in fact a livable wage young adults could support themselves with an entry level job. I believe unemployment is the highest among males 18 - 22 years old.
Where does the missing 80 cents go?
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Erm...what? I don't understand. Calorie-per-dollar ratio = p/q for p calories and q dollars. What model are you using where p or q but not both is negative for the apples example but not the BigMac one?
To digest an apple it takes calories. Yes, an apple has around 100 calories (depends on size) but the net value can be negative. Celery is the classical example of this.
Might want to check up on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_calorie_food
Re: The cost of hand-to-mouth living
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The poor are poor because all of their choices in life suck." There are about 3 ways to interpret that statement. How people interpret it at first reading basically describes their political philosophies.
There are precisely 2 ways to interpret the linguistic meaning of the statement, depending on the whether you insert "decisions" or "options" for "choices". With what you're thinking of, the actual reaction someone has to the statement, after deciding what is linguistically intended... I've got to believe there are a lot more than 3 possible reactions. One that you haven't mentioned is the tendency to immediate deman…
Poor can be "financially deficient" or "miserable" or "downtrodden" too, that gives some scope for alternatives.
"The poor are poor", can simply be a statement about the financial situation of a particular demographic or it can be a statement about the unhappiness of peoples lot, pity really, for those who're confined by their finances.
So:
People [without money|downtrodden] are [without money|downtrodden|to be pitied] because all of their [decisions|options] suck.
Who you think the term poor applies too is another way the phrase can be interpreted. "Trump is poor, he only values money", etc..