The Logic of “Stupid” Poor People

I was lucky enough to be poached from my job as a movie theater cleaner/attendant by the manager of a 5th Avenue Kenneth Cole. At the time I was struggling and would eventually end up temporarily homeless, and I didn't have the clothes required to work at the store. The manager insisted I at least have 1 clean, all black outfit that was brand new. I went to H&M and did exactly what the author here describes, I skipped meals to afford it. I paid my share of the rent late, but I got the outfit and I started the job.

Given the opportunity, I started to excel and as we were paid commission, my financial outlook started to improve, but I was still in serious debt and couldn't get enough hours to get over what seemed like an endlessly far away threshold of financial stability. Right before Christmas we had a regional manager come in and watch us work for a few days, as he was leaving he gave me ~$200 of "KC Cash" which was used to reward talented employees. I could use it, with my discount, to buy things we sold. I was so excited because it meant I'd be able to buy Christmas presents for my family.

Instead, my manager insisted I buy clothes and accessories for myself so I would be more presentable in the store. I went along with his demand and bought myself a couple outfits and a nice leather portfolio messenger bag, and gave my family nothing for the holidays, which they all understood.

In January, commissioned sales on moderately high end clothing drops off dramatically, as did my hours. Suddenly the threshold of stability vanished into the distance again and I needed to make a change. I wanted 40 hours, I had been without health insurance for a couple of years, and I wanted the chance to pay down my debts and move forward with my life. I started asking around and applying to office jobs for which I had no experience and no degree.

I landed an interview at a data processing company and I wore my Kenneth Cole clothes, I had a copy of my resume that a friend put together on their computer tucked into my KC Messenger bag. And when I was hired for a job I knew nothing about and had no prior experience with, it was from a pool of applicants who weren't signaling their status as strongly as I was. I remember how confident I felt, sitting in their lobby with a dozen other people around me, none dressed as well, and the few who tried not having items of the same quality.

As I've developed more marketable skills (graphic design, web dev, etc.) I've been able to signal less, but the article struck a chord with me. I remember going hungry to get the better job, skipping the christmas gifts for family to get the clothes my job required and that eventually let me get my foot in the door to a better life.

What does that mean? Well, that we contribute to the society that we've created... and that means spending money and buying into capitalism and this system of government we're brainwashed into calling democracy - democrazy is more like it.

The thing that keeps capitalist economies functioning is spending money, when everyone stops spending money, it all falls to pieces. The entire U.S. economy depends on perpetual debt. If they teach money management to people in school, you run the risk that people stop living this lifestyle of perpetual debt and the economy would fail.

So it's unlikely they'll ever start teaching money management or lifestyle management, or anything that flies in the face of the status quo - at least, not in state subsidized schools, because they wouldn't contribute to the continual cycle of craziness that is mandated by society.

The real world is that the rich rule the world and everyone else is groomed to fit into a society that will continue to maintain that status quo. You've got two choices, spend your life swimming upstream and fighting the status quo in the hope that eventually you'll make a significant contribution to its downfall, or fall in line and play the game, but play it better than everyone else.

If you want an easy life, you fall in line and play the game like everyone else. If your morals and ethics don't allow you to be placated and sit by and watch everyone else succumb to the machine, then you're in for a life that's sure to be full of headaches :P