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Why are diapers so expensive?

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Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#181
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of, you're not the crazy one here. We are just simply discussing things - I apologize if you felt like I thought you were crazy, because that's a tough word. Whether we disagree - sure :) OT: To my eyes - there is a big difference in a sign "WILL WORK FOR FOOD/MONEY/ETC" and "PLEASE GIVE ME 100$ I NEED IT". Should the USA be like Mother Theresa, lend their helping hand to everyone in need? I can tell you for a…

> OT: To my eyes - there is a big difference in a sign "WILL WORK FOR FOOD/MONEY/ETC" and "PLEASE GIVE ME 100$ I NEED IT". Should the USA be like Mother Theresa, lend their helping hand to everyone in need? There might be a difference between those two signs, but I'm not sure it's as profound as you make it. People change and learn as they grow. Someone holding a " Need $$ for beer " sign today may be holding a " Wil…

You're correct I trivialized it a bit to help my argument. No one should be left to die and everyone should get help when in need. That's a humane and right thing to do.

Just to clear it up - my issue is with people feeling entitled to get help, while they can work.

Yes, no tiny creature should be punished, but there has to be a thought put into it at first I believe.

You mean the adults who were left to starve? No, it works better when children are loved and brought up in a normal environment. I see your point :)

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would people bring a child into the world if they can't even afford diapers, will always blow my mind.

I agree. Birth control is much cheaper than diapers, and a lot cheaper than raising a child to adulthood. The person this article focuses on was chosen carefully. Most readers will feel sympathy for her, but in reality, the consequences of her decision to have unprotected sex out of wedlock while working at a low-paying job and living with her parents as an adult is her responsibility. And clearly, she's irresponsibl…

So unmarried women who can’t afford birth control, or who live at home should be forced into abstinence?

Your entire comment is incredibly entitled and condescending. Have a look through the other comments on this thread for some reasonable discourse on the subject, plenty of people have commented on how the issue is far more nuanced than you make it out to be.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#183

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

about washing in a bucket with bar soap and other suggestions, time is money.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#184
post #73

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

One my friend actually counted the total price of both and it came out as quite the same all counted in (water, "soap", etc). But also, it is not all hygienic enough to wash them in bucket with soap. Back when my mother had kids, they had to went through boiling water and were ironed. You basically spent whole day dealing with diapers. Literally whole day, it is ridiculous amount of work. Also, cloth diapers cause mo…

I used cloth diapers for my 2 kids. You save a lot of money, especially when they are less than 1 year old because it happens so frequently but it is just urine and liquid poop. Rinse and soak them in a pail of water with detergent for a few hours. It will be stain free. Wash in washing machine afterward once you accumulate enough pieces. Forget about ironing and boiling water. It is unnecessary. Since they are pretty thin, they dry quickly too. Reuse!

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if the numbers in the comment you're referring to are correct, but let's assume they're close enough and do the math. If I pay $5 every other day for 10 diapers, then I'm paying ~$75/month for 150 diapers. $0.50/diaper, $2.50/day. If I take a pay day loan of $30 for a 200 pack of diapers, then I've just brought a 40 day supply of diapers. $0.15/diaper, $0.75/day. After 16 days I've recouped my original i…

If you had the intelligence to do that calculation, you would have the intelligence to not be in such a desperate situation in the first place.

That's not intelligence, it's privilege and having sufficient disposable income to invest in cost saving.

Items like chest freezers that cost more electricity to run, but allow me to buy more food and freeze it. At the cost of larger electricity bills.

It's having enough money for fuel so I can drive 80km to Costco.

It's having /time/ so I can just do the baths of all the above because I'm not working 60 hour weeks to feed the family.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#186
post #159

In UK nappies are ultra cheap. My Wife uses Lidl's nappies but Aldi's are equally good (if not the same!). They cost around 5-7 pence each. Can't really exactly remember because they are so cheap. Pampers are more expensive but by much.

Yes I noticed this too:

> In the United States, the average diaper sells for about 25 cents

That's so much more expensive than here. Looking at the pictures you can get the same brands and nappies for half the price here.

In the decent sized packs from amazon pampers are only a touch more expensive but yeah the Lidl ones are just as good as far as I can see. We mostly used pampers because they are cheap with a subscription but have used Lidl ones fairly often. Shame we're not very close to a Lidl store (well we are, but traffic).

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't blame this woman. I'm not pissed at her. I'm pissed, however, at the politicians who have created this dependency web to trap people like this woman and ensure that there will always be a need for do-gooder politicians. unless, of course, you have a system that encourages dependence on public assistance and actually ends up hurting a woman's self-sufficiency and puts her little boy at a high risk of being hel…

I want to get rid of income qualifications for any and all government program. In fact, I want to make it illegal to ask for income information when providing government services. If Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos want their kids to get free lunch at school, the school shouldn't be able to say you make too much money to qualify. It is disgusting that we create these perverse incentives and demonize people for dancing to ou…

I would support this - but who would pay to the school? That would mean taxing the income at 50% or more?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#188
post #82

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

Hm, can i afford a child, can i raise a child? Should i have a child.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#189
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, real talk. My time, according to society, is worth $300ish per hour. Hers is probably worth $10 an hour. I didn't do anything special to earn this and I'm a very lazy person. I would much rather have people like me pay more taxes and this lady not have to spend her whole day cleaning diapers.

Some of us whose time is worth a lot per hour may not want to give it to everyone else, because some of us did have to do special things and work very hard to get it. I see very little daylight each day, get very little exercise, and so on because I'm trying to provide for my family. For my sacrifices in many other areas, my time has become valuable. If you feel guilty about earning money easily, feel free to give it…

The problem with this point of view is that there are other people who also work in dark places and make many sacrifices for their families in the $10 an hour group and perhaps the only difference between them and you is their parents weren't able to buy them a car and a college and a house. Considering we live in the present and cannot make people work harder in the past, is it better for us to have a "got mine" attitude in either direction?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#190
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, real talk. My time, according to society, is worth $300ish per hour. Hers is probably worth $10 an hour. I didn't do anything special to earn this and I'm a very lazy person. I would much rather have people like me pay more taxes and this lady not have to spend her whole day cleaning diapers.

How about you pay her the $290 per hour excess? Go ahead, send it to her today. You won’t will you? I make a pretty fair amount of money, but unlike you, I am not a lazy person; I worked my ass off to get where I am and I made sacrifices along the way. I strongly object to paying more taxes just so you can assuage your personal guilt. Contact the reporter for the story, explain you are a guilt-ridden rich person who…

Oh give it a break you holier than thou fool
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