Poor in America

[Ben]

A long, but interesting read.

One of my pet peeves is the American definition of "poor". Partly because of stories I've heard all my life from my parents and their friends of that generation growing up pre and during WW2 in Europe. None of them seemed to think they were really "poor". It was more like, they just didn't have luxuries that rich people had. They had food, a roof, and clothes, and while sure, they would have loved to have a car or be able to afford stuff like bananas and oranges, they weren't worried about where their next meal was coming  from (except during the last and worst years of the war, another story), so things were alright.

When I get in these discussions with liberals, I always like to define actual poverty as, "Will I eat today? Where is my next meal coming from?" If you don't have to ask that question, like so many in the Third World do, you're not really poor - you just don't have luxuries. Some of the comparison charts on "owned ammenities" in the article between poor and "average" Americans are rather interesting.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/07/what-is-poverty

[Tallpine]

Poor in America

...is having to drive a car more than five years old 

[Boomhauer]

...is having to drive a car more than five years old 

THE HORROR

[Perd Hapley]

I once had a car that was only 9 years old. I think that's "newest" one so far.

[brimic]

For several years, I drove a car that eas not only older than most of the cars in the 'impoverished' neighborhoods, but also nettrr maintained than most.

[brimic]

?: How many men would the Pharoah have sent to their deaths to obtain an item as powerful as an obamaphone?
A: All of them.

[Tuco]

...is having to drive a car more than five years old 

I'm triple poor!!!

[Brad Johnson]

My truck is 7 years old. Does that make me poor, too?

Brad

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Work truck. 88 jeep 99 car we ditched last year 88. New car is an 09.
Prior to that we had a 90 and a 74


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[41magsnub]

I have a 2013, a 95, and a 94.  Am I poor?, I'm really confused now!   

[Boomhauer]

I have a 2013, a 95, and a 94.  Am I poor?, I'm really confused now!   

You should probably check your privilege for the answer.

[Scout26]

Hearing my dad tell stories of walking to and from school along the train tracks in the winter looking for lumps of coal to help heat their home, delivering newspapers, groceries, and finding/doing whatever odd jobs they could as 7, 8, 9 year-olds to bring in money for the family.

My mom selling and delivering eggs at 6 years old.  Her big adventure, was every so often, getting to ride the horse into town with her brothers and sisters.  My grandmother taking in other people's laundry, making quilts and afghans to sell, while grandpa farmed and worked at the town general store.

Neither have ever said they were "poor" growing up in the depression.  (Dad was born in 1924, Mom in 1928).  Since everyone around them was mostly in the same boat.   (Dad's family was a little worse off then others, as his father died when he was 3 years old.)   But they recall that they gave to charities "To help the poor people and those worse off then themselves".   

We have the richest poor people in the world, and have destroyed not only the family, but the incentive to work.


http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/16/war-poverty-colossal-flop/

[birdman]

I tried to touch one of these arguments/debates on FB along with CSD, and was derailed by some completely ludicrous arguments that hurt my head to even read.  But in this case, I agree with the OP, and most of the comments here :)

[Tallpine]

I'm triple poor!!!

Our four vehicles added together are almost 100 years old 

The newest is a 2006 and it is very near the worst  of the lot 

[Jamisjockey]

I'm still trying to figure out what American town this image is from

[Ben]

I'm still trying to figure out what American town this image is from

Bingo. On many levels. I'm guessing if someone offered him a bowl of rice in one hand, and an Obamaphone in the other, he'd take the rice. Yet another way to identify someone living in actual poverty.

[Jamisjockey]

http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

Just water alone tells the tale.  To be able to get clean tap water from almost any faucet in America says a lot about "poverty" in this country. 

[Boomhauer]

Bingo. On many levels. I'm guessing if someone offered him a bowl of rice in one hand, and an Obamaphone in the other, he'd take the rice. Yet another way to identify someone living in actual poverty.

Back when Mom was substitute teaching she was doing a long term substitution (for like a couple of weeks) in a high school class.

There was a black girl in there. Her mom had brought her the latest high dollar shoes (because we all know having pricey kicks is the most important thing in life) yet this girl had nothing to eat (her mom would only occasionally bring her some fast food home, when she remembered). *expletive deleted*ing worthless parent.

The girl, being far smarter than her mother and not caring about fancy shoes but really wanting something to eat at home, was able to find the receipt for the shoes and take them back to the store, and with the $200 brought herself some food because Mommy Dearest did not understand the concept of finances.

[Tallpine]

How is this for welfare mentallity:

There a subdivision on tribal land that gets city water from Lodge Grass, MT.  When the tribal authority got an injunction to keep the city from turning off water to individual homes whose residents are in arrears on water payments, the city shut off the water to the entire subdivision. 

Much moaning and groaning ensues ......

[Perd Hapley]

Bingo. On many levels. I'm guessing if someone offered him a bowl of rice in one hand, and an Obamaphone in the other, he'd take the rice. Yet another way to identify someone living in actual poverty.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

[lupinus]

Bingo. On many levels. I'm guessing if someone offered him a bowl of rice in one hand, and an Obamaphone in the other, he'd take the rice. Yet another way to identify someone living in actual poverty.

And in a lot of areas of the world someone who is hungry would be damned happy to have the rice and a little protein, or they'd take the phone and sell it for food.

There are a lot of poor here that are hungry but would turn down the bowl of rice, choose the obamaphone, and then use it to log onto facebook and bitch about being hungry and/or offered nothing "better" than a bowl of rice 

[Ben]

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Taking the actual items out of the equation, or selling the phone to buy more food, I guess my point was that the items represent necessity and luxury. If a "poor" person is offered a necessity and a luxury*, and they choose the luxury, I have to wonder about how desperate they actually are.  I can see what you were probably getting at regarding the psychology of the situation and how it may relate to what Lupinus mentioned about America's "poor".

*As in the old saw about the thirsty man in the desert. Would he take a canteen of water or a handful of diamonds?

[Perd Hapley]

A phone may be a convenience, but it is not necessarily a luxury. It may have plenty of practical uses for the kid's parents, maybe even worth skipping a meal.

[Mannlicher]

if you are poor in America, really poor, then most likely it is the result of choices you have made.

[lee n. field]

if you are poor in America, really poor, then most likely it is the result of choices you have made.

It can also be that you're just not very bright.