“Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
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Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#2> The closest Planned Parenthood [family planning clinic] to me is three hours.
> Nobody likes poor people procreating, but they judge abortion even harder.
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#3>I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I don't pay a thing and a half this week instead of just one thing? It's not like the sacrifice will result in improved circumstances; the thing holding me back isn't that I blow five bucks at Wendy's. It's that now that I have proven that I am a Poor Person that is all that I am or ever will be.
I have a hard time believing this statement. I know that being poor in the US is very tough, but the author's statement that it is impossible to go from being poor to not-poor doesn't ring true. For example, doesn't the author expect that the full time school they are doing is going to have some financial payoff in the future?
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#4>I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I don't pay a thing and a half this week instead of just one thing? It's not like the sacrifice will result in improved circumstances; the thing holding me back isn't that I blow five bucks at Wendy's. It's that now that I have proven that I am a Poor Person that is all that I am or ev…
> Nobody gives enough thought to depression. You have to understand that we know that we will never not feel tired. We will never feel hopeful. We will never get a vacation.
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#5Scientists have discovered that being poor actually impairs our cognitive abilities.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/the-lasting-impacts...
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#6>I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I don't pay a thing and a half this week instead of just one thing? It's not like the sacrifice will result in improved circumstances; the thing holding me back isn't that I blow five bucks at Wendy's. It's that now that I have proven that I am a Poor Person that is all that I am or ev…
> Nobody gives enough thought to depression. You have to understand that we know that we will never not feel tired. We will never feel hopeful. We will never get a vacation.
Why is the author going to school?
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#7>I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I don't pay a thing and a half this week instead of just one thing? It's not like the sacrifice will result in improved circumstances; the thing holding me back isn't that I blow five bucks at Wendy's. It's that now that I have proven that I am a Poor Person that is all that I am or ev…
What's the point of saving? One car crash and it's wiped out. You save and delay the gratification, but it never comes. You save and save and save, then some bad luck wipes it out. You lose a job. A vet bill. A friend needs a room and some food.
Or spend the money today on some burgers and a DVD for the kids. Get hugs and kisses and a full belly.
Poor people aren't stupid. You seem to think they are. She may go to school, get qualified but it's a huge gamble. And if something happens that means she has to miss school and doesn't pass the exams, that's a lot of wasted money. You have to be in a place where a 3 year plan is achievable. Gambling time and money on self education takes a lot of mental effort. Every day you have to be prepared to be knackered, poor, time deprive your kids, all for the gamble that in the future even with the qualification you'll get a better job.
What's the point? Who the hell cares.
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#8> The closest Planned Parenthood [family planning clinic] to me is three hours. > Nobody likes poor people procreating, but they judge abortion even harder.
Nobody likes poor people procreating, but...
Don't go by what they say or how they act: from the decisions they make, it's clear that TPTB derive a great deal of value from the existence of vast and increasing numbers of poor people. Sure, they'd probably prefer to just impoverish more of the middle class, but the procreation of the poor works as well.
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nobody gives enough thought to depression. You have to understand that we know that we will never not feel tired. We will never feel hopeful. We will never get a vacation.
Why is the author going to school?
To better her situation. I agree with you.
I'm just pointing that people aren't (always) rational and I was referencing a quote that may give you a clue as to why. Look at bdcravens comment as well.
Re: “Poor people don’t plan long-term. We’ll just get our hearts broken”
#10>I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I don't pay a thing and a half this week instead of just one thing? It's not like the sacrifice will result in improved circumstances; the thing holding me back isn't that I blow five bucks at Wendy's. It's that now that I have proven that I am a Poor Person that is all that I am or ev…
I think a more charitable interpretation of the author statements are that she has an overwhelming feeling that she will never not be poor, and that feeling causes her to make poor decisions, rather than believing that it is an inevitability in an intellectual sense. As the author suggests to, in the quote provided by chaostheory, this is akin to, or perhaps actually is, depression.
That knowledge that this "feeling" is, to some extent, self-reinforcing, does not diminish its importance, or offer any easy solutions - anything along the lines of telling people to "just get on with things" isn't really constructive.