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What It's Like To Be Poor - And Make Terrible Decisions
There are many reasons why the poor are 'poor' or why the middle-class is deteriorating into a state of being 'poor' but as this first-person account of the self-defeating feedback loops of poverty's trap harrowingly suggests, escaping that social strata (as we noted previously) is becoming ever more difficult. Of course, a George Carlin noted previously, "the only true American value is... buying things," which leaves the 'poor' increasingly losing hope. "Rest is a luxury for the rich," the author notes, "planning is not in the mix," as she explains why poverty has forced her to "make terrible decisions."
Authored by @KillerMartinis (Killer Martinis blog) via The Burning Platform blog,
Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts
There's no way to structure this coherently. They are random observations that might help explain the mental processes. But often, I think that we look at the academic problems of poverty and have no idea of the why. We know the what and the how, and we can see systemic problems, but it's rare to have a poor person actually explain it on their own behalf. So this is me doing that, sort of.
Rest is a luxury for the rich. I get up at 6AM, go to school (I have a full courseload, but I only have to go to two in-person classes) then work, then I get the kids, then I pick up my husband, then I have half an hour to change and go to Job 2. I get home from that at around 1230AM, then I have the rest of my classes and work to tend to. I'm in bed by 3. This isn't every day, I have two days off a week from each of my obligations. I use that time to clean the house and soothe Mr. Martini and see the kids for longer than an hour and catch up on schoolwork. Those nights I'm in bed by midnight, but if I go to bed too early I won't be able to stay up the other nights because I'll fuck my pattern up, and I drive an hour home from Job 2 so I can't afford to be sleepy. I never get a day off from work unless I am fairly sick. It doesn't leave you much room to think about what you are doing, only to attend to the next thing and the next. Planning isn't in the mix.
When I was pregnant the first time, I was living in a weekly motel for some time. I had a minifridge with no freezer and a microwave. I was on WIC. I ate peanut butter from the jar and frozen burritos because they were 12/$2. Had I had a stove, I couldn't have made beef burritos that cheaply. And I needed the meat, I was pregnant. I might not have had any prenatal care, but I am intelligent enough to eat protein and iron whilst knocked up.
I know how to cook. I had to take Home Ec to graduate high school. Most people on my level didn't. Broccoli is intimidating. You have to have a working stove, and pots, and spices, and you'll have to do the dishes no matter how tired you are or they'll attract bugs. It is a huge new skill for a lot of people. That's not great, but it's true. And if you fuck it up, you could make your family sick. We have learned not to try too hard to be middle-class. It never works out well and always makes you feel worse for having tried and failed yet again. Better not to try. It makes more sense to get food that you know will be palatable and cheap and that keeps well. Junk food is a pleasure that we are allowed to have; why would we give that up? We have very few of them.
The closest Planned Parenthood to me is three hours. That's a lot of money in gas. Lots of women can't afford that, and even if you live near one you probably don't want to be seen coming in and out in a lot of areas. We're aware that we are not "having kids," we're "breeding." We have kids for much the same reasons that I imagine rich people do. Urge to propagate and all. Nobody likes poor people procreating, but they judge abortion even harder.
Convenience food is just that. And we are not allowed many conveniences. Especially since the Patriot Act passed, it's hard to get a bank account. But without one, you spend a lot of time figuring out where to cash a check and get money orders to pay bills. Most motels now have a no-credit-card-no-room policy. I wandered around SF for five hours in the rain once with nearly a thousand dollars on me and could not rent a room even if I gave them a $500 cash deposit and surrendered my cell phone to the desk to hold as surety.
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. Ever. We know that the very act of being poor guarantees that we will never not be poor. It doesn't give us much reason to improve ourselves. We don't apply for jobs because we know we can't afford to look nice enough to hold them. I would make a super legal secretary, but I've been turned down more than once because I "don't fit the image of the firm," which is a nice way of saying "gtfo, pov." I am good enough to cook the food, hidden away in the kitchen, but my boss won't make me a server because I don't "fit the corporate image." I am not beautiful. I have missing teeth and skin that looks like it will when you live on b12 and coffee and nicotine and no sleep. Beauty is a thing you get when you can afford it, and that's how you get the job that you need in order to be beautiful. There isn't much point trying.
Cooking attracts roaches. Nobody realizes that. I've spent a lot of hours impaling roach bodies and leaving them out on toothpick pikes to discourage others from entering. It doesn't work, but is amusing.
"Free" only exists for rich people. It's great that there's a bowl of condoms at my school, but most poor people will never set foot on a college campus. We don't belong there. There's a clinic? Great! There's still a copay. We're not going. Besides, all they'll tell you at the clinic is that you need to see a specialist, which seriously? Might as well be located on Mars for how accessible it is. "Low-cost" and "sliding scale" sounds like "money you have to spend" to me, and they can't actually help you anyway.
I smoke. It's expensive. It's also the best option. You see, I am always, always exhausted. It's a stimulant. When I am too tired to walk one more step, I can smoke and go for another hour. When I am enraged and beaten down and incapable of accomplishing one more thing, I can smoke and I feel a little better, just for a minute. It is the only relaxation I am allowed. It is not a good decision, but it is the only one that I have access to. It is the only thing I have found that keeps me from collapsing or exploding.
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. It is not worth it to me to live a bleak life devoid of small pleasures so that one day I can make a single large purchase. I will never have large pleasures to hold on to. There's a certain pull to live what bits of life you can while there's money in your pocket, because no matter how responsible you are you will be broke in three days anyway. When you never have enough money it ceases to have meaning. I imagine having a lot of it is the same thing.
Poverty is bleak and cuts off your long-term brain. It's why you see people with four different babydaddies instead of one. You grab a bit of connection wherever you can to survive. You have no idea how strong the pull to feel worthwhile is. It's more basic than food. You go to these people who make you feel lovely for an hour that one time, and that's all you get. You're probably not compatible with them for anything long-term, but right this minute they can make you feel powerful and valuable. It does not matter what will happen in a month. Whatever happens in a month is probably going to be just about as indifferent as whatever happened today or last week. None of it matters. We don't plan long-term because if we do we'll just get our hearts broken. It's best not to hope. You just take what you can get as you spot it.
I am not asking for sympathy. I am just trying to explain, on a human level, how it is that people make what look from the outside like awful decisions. This is what our lives are like, and here are our defense mechanisms, and here is why we think differently. It's certainly self-defeating, but it's safer. That's all. I hope it helps make sense of it.
############################################
And Jim Quinn's Burning Platform blog notes - It appears that she’s been getting lots and lots of responses to her letter, good and bad.
Here’s her response to people accusing her of bitching.
DEAR GUY WITH HURT FEELINGS;
So I have been wandering the Internet to see where this piece I wrote wound up. And I am rather amused at one fairly standard reaction:
Oh, typical poor person bitching. Rich people work hard too. If you don’t think positively nothing good will ever happen.
Here is a disclaimer, and now that it is on the Internet with my name on it I’ll hear no more about this:
Yes. Rich people work hard too. Nobody is telling you that you are lazy, rich people. What I am saying is that I am not lazy. That is a different thing entirely than impugning your work ethic. It’s actually got nothing to do with you at all. I do appreciate your need to read some thoughts from someone who is poor and make it about your relative merit, but you should know that it kind of makes you look like you struggle with reading comprehension. Because it’s not about that. I actually specifically said that more than once. I know, it is frustrating to see conversations happening and know that your opinions are considered irrelevant.
Try to repress the urge to tell me that you do more physical labor than I do in a day, though, because it makes you look silly. I have never met a wealthy person washing dishes at Denny’s. I am sure one exists, but I don’t think we can go assuming that the majority of people who live in the middle and upper classes are working on shop floors or in warehouses.
And about the happy shiny attitude: are you seriously telling me that you legitimately think that the thing that is stopping me from getting a lucky break is that I simply don’t believe hard enough? Tell me, if I clap my hands and really believe, can I bring fairies back from the brink as well? Do you think I am stupid? I am not. I can read the news. I know that class mobility is decreasing and wealth is stratifying and for many of us, hope is going to stay unfulfilled. You do not get to tell me how to process the fact that “success” is a crapshoot in this America, because I can tell you that hard work and talent alone aren’t going to do it.
There’s one decent job opening for every hundred talented and hardworking people. If you happen to be hardworking but not particularly skilled, your life will most likely consist of making someone’s shareholders happy. It will be degrading and exhausting. And you are fucking high if you think that simply thinking positive thoughts will change the nature of the economy. That is not how the economy works.
Your implication that I am too stupid to know that is laughable, because your average ten-year-old in the ghetto knows that the game is rigged. Fuck you for demanding that I pretend it isn’t to make you a little more comfortable. It isn’t going to happen. I don’t mind, particularly, that we have settled on this system. It’ll change again soon. Rich people know that; it’s why they’re retreating into guarded conclaves and hiring extra security for their malls. But you don’t get to pretend that this system we have decided on, the one in which we are pretending that we have never heard of the Gilded Age so that we don’t have to acknowledge that we are doing it again, is anything like fair or meritocratic. That is patent bullshit. Stop it. I do not mind talented people having money. I mind stupid people with money saying that they must be smart because: meritocracy. That is terrible logic.
Here is the thing: nobody lives without something in their lives that grounds them. It might be something simple and pure, or something big and complex. But there is something, because human nature makes us find whatever is available to find a reason to live. My point is not that it isn’t true, my point is that if the thing that you have to hold onto is that at least other people have it worse, it’s kind of depressing. It’s survival. It is not uplifting. You can’t simply walk into the life of someone who is actually chemically depressed and demand that they paste a fucking grin on. Rather, you can, but you’re an asshole. And double the assholery if you can afford access to medicine and sleep and the things that we would need to solve the depression and you still stand there telling me to find a pair of bootstraps and just Think Positive!
Perhaps, friend, you could try reading the damn news before you tell me that how I should feel about the way the economy functions and my place in it. I think your idea of the economy must be pretty simplistic. I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Oh, and one more thing: It is entirely possible, especially since about a decade ago, for someone who was raised in a higher class to be poor. I am one of those people. The fact that I didn’t grow up wondering if I would eat does not negate that I have spent much of my adult life with that concern. So, in conclusion, a giant and full-throated Fuck You to the people who are attempting to avoid the conversation by parsing whether or not my vocabulary means that I am insufficiently poor to be allowed to speak. Because I know goddamned well you wouldn’t have even read my first post if I were speaking in my vernacular.
Please, if you are one of the people who want to discuss whether or not I qualify as working poor because I have a capable brain as though the two have anything to do with each other, feel free to find something more productive to do. You could watch delightful children’s programming, or read Lemony Snicket. There are plenty of coloring books and if you get the good crayons you’ll have fun. Maybe you could hitch a ride to someplace with skeeball and tickets which you could exchange for prizes. If you are feeling pretentious you could try reading the kids’ version of Rousseau or Toqueville. I would suggest the original versions, but I worry that you might miss those points. They tended to speak in their vernacular, too.
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Oh, daddy paid for everything! LOL, that explains it.
US Naval Officer..................yep, thug-boy.
If the things that makes me a jackass are;
1) That it was politically incorrect for me to point these things out.
2) That it turns out that I was right.
3) That I perpetrated this against a womyn
............I can live with that.
PS. You go gurl!
Since the notPC train has left the station... there's something wrong with girls who like soliders who kill people for no reason. Not pinpointing cat or anyone else here. Just saying.
He never killed anybody. He worked on a top-secret radar installation, serving the radar equipment. Most people in the navy, army, or air force never kill anybody. They don't join to kill people. They join because it's a service that offers them a way to serve their country. But the effects of what they encounter (think the frontline medics, or the people who are responsible for getting dead soldiers home), adversely affect their psyches in ways that the armed forces are really just getting to grips with. Shell shock is real. I lived in Dublin when bombs went off and killed people all along the street. It's a lifetime thing. US soldiers are killing themselves at an appalling rate at present...something like 22 or more a day at present. A lot of these never saw active combat, yet they are killing themselves anyway.
I was profoundly opposed to the Vietnam War, and to both current wars, from day one. We never should have gone into either. But I come from a military family. My dad was in the British Navy. My brother was in the army. My former brother-in-law was also US Navy, and he's fine. And I agree with the concept of a just war. But when it looked like we were going to be going to war in Syria, I wrote to my congressman, Senators, and the President saying this was a really, really bad idea. And we got diplomacy to work instead.
However, there are times when the only way to stop something really bad going down is to go to war over it. Hitler needed stopped. I agree with Clinton's actions in Croatia/Serbia. It was very effective. I'd still rather see our military used the way they functioned after the tsunami in Thailand etc. and now providing aid in the Philippines. Not to mention, the NSA and CIA are totally out of line. I openly contributed to Snowdon's defense fund and will again, if needed. Good for him.
So it goes.
cat
Look, cat-artist, in one post you brag about all of the charities you give to: you say that you give away all you earn! To wondrous African charities, and to women who thank you on Facebook.
But then in a post lower down, you say: " I also work for my family's food, because without my entire income and more going to them, they would have neither shelter nor food." (bold added)
There is something wrong here. Something not completely credible. I call "totally made-up" on your very exciting posts.
Hey hey, I would be terribly offended if you called me 'totally made-up' (except I can't be, for if I was, I wouldn't be posting here under a truthful monkier, would I be?). Cat's made her way up the foodchain the hard way, from how I read it.
I could be completely full of shit, but I always start every book with a 100. :)
"there's something wrong with girls who like soldiers who kill people for no reason"
Skateboarder, there's something that needs to be explained about the Vietnam "conflict". You had to be around in the days of LBJ to understand how radically America has changed since the 1960's. I had a high draft lottery number and managed to escape the privilege of making the world safe for Sperry-Rand Corp, but a lot of guys weren't so lucky.
Back then, without the benefit of all the insane history that's transpired since Lyndon Johnson talked up the necessity of shoring up Nguyen Cao Ky, Americans felt differently about their government. They knew politicians were crooks (not including theirs) but they still generally trusted what the government told them and they felt that America was The Good Guys.
When Kennedy learned that the CIA was complicit in assassinating Diem, he decided the whole thing was a mistake and moved to withdraw American troops in 1963. By some coincidence, Kennedy was assassinated that year and Johnson escalated the war, committing thousands of U.S. troops by 1965. He invoked the "domino" theory, that if Vietnam fell to the Commies, the rest of Indochina would topple like dominoes. Lots of us didn't buy that, and we protested. Families and communities were riven over the rising death toll and the doubtful justification for the war. That culminated in the chaos of the 1968 Democratic Convention. America was at war with itself over Vietnam.
I was tossed out of my house and expelled from high school for protesting the war. The school officials had been visited by the FBI who warned them about S.D.S. infiltrating high schools (The FBI grilled a close friend at the time. They decided I was too dumb to be dangerous.) But there was no lack of cannon fodder; guys were drafted right and left all around me, and it was common practice (especially in the South) for judges to tell youthful offenders: "Son, you need some discipline. I'll let you decide whether you want to learn it in jail or in the Army." Most of the soldiers were not in Nam because they wanted to be.
War does terrible damage to the human psyche. It's destructive and painful even in a "just war", like WWII, where soldiers come home to a hero's welcome. Soldiers came home from Vietnam to be spat on and called "baby killers". My own cousin Bobby got drafted. He was the gentlest guy you can imagine, before Vietnam. Something in him snapped over there. He got medals for jumping out of trenches to chase Viet Cong and bayonet them. After he came home, he spent the rest of his life in and out of VA hospitals, and finally died in his early 60's, poisoned by his schizophrenia medication.
It has to be said, the Vietnamese were not choirboys. They were, to the American mind, horribly brutal and degraded, loving to torture and inflict pain. One of my friends recalled how Viet Cong would sieze toddlers from a village and thrust them into a path in front of a U.S. convoy to stop it, so the snipers could pick guys off from the trees they hid in. It was so dehumanizing that some of the guys simply shot the children or just drove on like they weren't there. And afterwards, they had to live with that. Those young men trusted the government. The ones who didn't, fled to Canada or faked CO status or took an endless college deferment. Or got lucky like me, with a high lottery number.
I don't blame you for thinking that guys in the military "liked to kill people for nothing". But it wasn't that simple. Ex-soldiers had a lot of problems re-integrating into civilian life, especially after combat. More U.S. soldiers die today by suicide than die in battle. It's cognitive dissonance; they know they're being lied to and mis-used, and if you go AWOL you end up in the equivalent of Gitmo for U.S. "unfit soldiers".
Were we stupid and gullible to trust the government? Of course we were. We had to learn our lesson the hard way. You can trust no one who wants to be in power over you. When someone desires to come to power over others, almost invariably it's for very bad reasons. Normal and healthy people don't have a desire to push people around, to bully or to compel other people to do their bidding. If they feel such an urge, they recognize it for what it is and they squelch it.
We let the vermin take charge of the farmhouse. And now, we've got to get them out of there. They won't leave willingly, and this is not going to be pretty.
IC, I am so glad you posted that. Though I haven't had a family member die in Vietnam I watched numerous friends and their family member still suffer. I saw very gentle men, artistic and caring turned into insane, drug addicted and homeless after returning from Vietnam. This was not uncommon. Many committed suicide just as today more soldiers are dying from suicide than active fire.
We seem to be turning a blind eye to the deep suffering of men today. Probably because men are not inclined to announce their suffering and seek help. They suck it up and try to survive. It is just their way. Add in the fact women have become more shallow and demanding and it's not surprising what the outcome will be. I have listened to many stories from men in the military, WWII, Vietnam and Desert Storm.I have been told shockingly violent events they had done to survive. I do not judge them. Some proud warriors were often teary eyed. I know they were deeply affected in ways I could never understand or fully appreciate. It angers me to hear such disparaging comments from those who have no experience in the matter. We have turned into a nation of arm chair critics.
Miffed;-)
So true, Miffed. Hemingway nailed it when he said "the first panacea for a misguided nation is currency inflation; the second is war."
Thx for the insightful comment, IC.
Northern Lights,
I'm running along these lines as well ( though Mr does disagree with me here). I have been in poverty and living with an abusive mother. I know the feeling wanting to fuck ANY man if he promised to take me out of that horrible life. This is very common in young girls.Believe me, I had offers ( the "I will fuck you part", I wasn't sure if they would have taken me out of the situation). I guess some where deep inside me I just knew it wouldn't be a good thing to get pregnant.For the simple reason I knew IT WOULNT BE FAIR TO THE BABY.
I wanted to have children but when it would be right for them to have the best life possible. I knew the best thing for me was to find a great, honorable, kind man. I did. He was shy, not a pretty boy, but gentle and hard working. I knew he was the best thing for me and would never abuse me. Seven years after we married at 22 we had children when we were financially able. I haven't made the best decisions in my life but I admit my mistakes and accept the consequences. I don't expect others to pay for them.
Being poor doesn't necessarily mean you will make poor decisions. Making poor decisions will increase your chances of poverty however. Having unprotected sex, drinking and smoking are personal decisions. I lived in poverty and did none of these things. I do relate to the cockroaches though. I killed so many of those fuckers I was seriously tempted to believe spontaneous generation was in fact true. It made me more resolute in my goal to improve my situation. I went to school full time and worked 2 jobs as well. Every penny went to seeing my goal and I spent none of my hard earned money on luxuries. Today I have a good job, a great marriage and 2 wonderful children. I am fortunate and am grateful everyday for what I have but I truly worked hard for it.
Miffed;-)
Wait, wait...you're telling me that spontaneous generation isn't true? Crap, I've been lied to again.
No, spontaneous generation isn't true. What happens is like the games Doom and Quake; if you kill a cockroach in the kitchen, he re-spawns somewhere else in the house. And this time, he's got a chain-gun.
Please tell us more, what problems are you solving with your software?
Difficult question. How to answer yet not give away any secrets.
How about our terrain is more realistic than Terragen except ours is plotted in real time in 3D, and you can zoom to within a couple of inches of the surface anywhere in the model and still have near photographic realism on models with two-plus million polygons rendering at 60 frames a second.
cat
Yet, but can you fly?
You can fly through the terrain smoothly.
Please tell me more about a type of misogyny not directed at a female.
Dumb fucking twat.
Thank you for the correction. I meant to use the term 'misandry' but I'm working seven days a week and I'm tired. Many of the comments here are just as hateful towards men. But you seem to be especially hateful towards women. I feel bad for you.
If you knew enough to correct the use of the term 'misogony' perhaps you could expand your vocabulary beyond the epithets you currently use.
cat
Ok. So if you said misandristic comments directed at females you'd be equally fucking stupid.
I'm not going to be so pretentious as to assume what you meant, but most likely you meant misanthropic; which is gender-neutral.
The reason I know what misanthropic means is because I am one, and the reason I am one of because dumb twats like you make up the vast majority or the human race. Or filthy cunts like this author.
"contraception was illegal for anyone in the country in which we lived"
That would make your story utterly irrelevant to anyone living in the U.S. in the 21st century. Or even a good chunk of the 20th century.
And your great successes? Well, I'm sure you've worked hard. You also achieved them during economic boom times, which makes them somewhat less impressive to people who are struggling now. It's easier to be a big success when times are good. You sound like some rich old dude who wants to rant at lazy poor folks: "I worked harder, and also smarter, than a horse's ass like you could even know to get where I am today." "We own all of it, I and my five partners."
Well, if you are so f*cking rich, why don't you spend some of your inherited money on this Martini lady? Or others who are struggling like her? Oh, you prefer to spend it on lawsuits so your ex-son-in-law can't live near his kids (see your post below). And on a "log home above a lake that is the stuff of dreams." You spend loads on your own biological kids, who also chose badly in marriage (see your post below), and then gloat about your possessions. Gross. Well, you've spread your genes wide and far; shows something about the "selfish genome."
You know. It's really funny to see what comes out of the woodwork here. Um. It's not for you to tell me what to do. Ad I already do it anyway. I also fund women entreneneurs in Africa through Kiva. It's arbitrage. Project funding given to Kiva entrepeneurs multiplies beyond belief in terms of its value. I've paid for women here to be in school. The daughter of one of those women wrote to me on Facebook a while back and let me know what a difference it made to her and her siblings. I didn't know she even knew. That person was in Ms. Martini's place at the time.
The ex-son-in-law strangled my daughter and her son. Kids were removed temporarily because of it, and she was told that if she didn't separate and go somewhere else, the removal would be permanent. I've got videotapes of him leaving his son in the car with the engine running and going into a liquor store to buy liquor. Not good enough evidence, apparently, because in that state, you can still leave a kid in the car with the engine running.
That comment of yours about 20th Century is actually Ireland, 1973 and later. We left because of that. It isn't really much better now. Recently, an Indian woman died in Ireland because she could not have a pregnancy terminated when it was clear she was going to die if it was not terminated. The baby was a wanted baby, but she was going to die unless they removed her baby, and the hospital staff let her die. Baby died too. Now last I heard, it's the 21st Century, a several months ago, and you might care to look up the laws they just passed in Texas. Or just read again what Ms. Martini wrote about easy access to family planning/NOT. One of the main reasons we moved to the US from Ireland was because I came her to a wedding and saw that condoms could be purchased freely here. Took seven years, but we got here.
I already give away all I earn, and more. When you get to that point, then you can judge, but I rather doubt you do actually do that. Will I ever give away everything I have? Not until I die, because I don't want to end up on the government dole, or anyone else's dole, and I don't know how long I will live. And since I have no plans to run for political office, who cares what you think.
And I'm not a dude. What I do know, is that if you are very poor, the odds are really stacked against you.Since 2007, the American Middle Class has taken a massive hit, but the poor are really, truly, becoming marginalized into part-time, no benefit, no health care jobs.
I've been in those jobs, from working on a factory line, to cleaning houses, oh, and a healthcare aide in a nursing home, working split shifts. Yeah, my dad helped me out. Better that than the government, right?
So I have to ask myself, again, what on earth am I doing even bothering here.
Ms. Martini has certainly started a debate...
It is not especially impressive to give away all that you earn, if you are already rich due to an inheritance.
Since you brought it up as a point to "win" (my, you are a competitive one), I would bet that the amount that I give to charity (that is, not my offspring), is more of a sacrifice for me, than yours is for you. Also I see that although you say you "give away all that you earn," you do not say what percentage of that is given to your own biological children. It is not at all impressive for people to give loads of money to their own children; sorry but you don't get bragging rights for that; nearly everyone I know with kids does that.
I am well aware that you are not male: I said that you are writing as if you were some rich old braggart dude. Bragging about your hard work, your tough jobs, your log home on the lake, your earnings, your successes, how much your ex is suffering, blah, blah, blah.
What relevance Ireland's contraception laws have for Ms. Martini, I can't imagine. Saudi Arabia is pretty backwards, too. So is India. Ms. Martini may not be able to easily get free condoms, but she can buy them cheaply within a half mile of her home, I'd wager.
I don't believe that your ex-SIL strangled his son, and that there was enough evidence of it for him to be removed, and that the SIL subsequently did so well in the court case against him that you funded. Not credible. I feel sorry for kids whose grandparents try to use their wealth to take them from their fathers; even a flawed father is very important. Sounds like generation unto generation of disfunctionality; ugh.
I don't know how the hell cat gives away all she makes and more.
I am capped at giving away only what I earn, unfortunately, and I need to keep operating expenses for myself or I fucking die. So I really don't understand what the hell is going on here.
You're not thinking hard enough, Skateboarder. Congresspersons give away more than they earn every day that Congress is in session.
Obama gave $587 million to his cronies at Solyndra. That's more than he earns. At least, it's more than he earns over the table.
Wait a second cat-artist - in your post further down you say: " I also work for my family's food, because without my entire income and more going to them, they would have neither shelter nor food." (bold added)
I thought you were giving to all those non-family charities???
I said over and out. But I'm literally sleepless. It is semantics. My income, which is earn, is my income. If I take income from my 401k, or from my inheritance, that I consider unearned income. So if you consider all incomes sources, then I am not giving that away. What I do give away is my earned income.
Income from all sources lets say $100.00.
Income from job, net of taxes, say $41.00. All goes to supporting kids and grandkids.
Income from inheritance, say $59.00. I live on approximately $10.00. Most weeks, I spend money only on the gas needed to go to work, any current bills, and cans of soup for lunches at work, and food for raccoons, birds, cats, and special food for an injured squirrel we are feeding. I never eat out at work. Once I'm at work I don't like to leave the building. Groceries, which are usually minimal as I eat plain cooked oat bran and a banana for breakfast. Tonight was ravioli and tomato sauce. I almost never drink and I don't smoke. I buy reading glasses for 2 or 3 dollars because the last pair I bought commercially cost me $538 and I left them lying in a store. Very careless, and I decided not to waste money like that again.
Charitable giving/software company funding from remaining $49.00.
We run an extremely tight business. Nobody spends money unless we all agree, and we are the kind of tight wads that ask if we need to have the debit card fees. We all work for free (the partners) so no debt.
So I'm an odd mix of total miser on myself (other than said house), and not so much on others. I'm currently wearing a cheap pair of tennis shoes, old wool socks, a fleece jacket that is at least fifteen years old and has a torn zip, and old jeans because the heat is mostly off in the house and I let the darn fire go out jousting with you. What quite a few people on this list have said is true, especially the man who said as an engineer he used to have money left over from his income and now he does not. And really, it applies to people from the Depression as well. Once you have endured real poverty, you learn to mostly just not spend, period, even when you can. We bring back all the wood scraps from the house and use them in the woodstove. We have done all of the construction cleanup ourselves, and will be painting and cleaning again tomorrow. But I also don't want to be one of the people you read about where all of their money goes to charity while they lived in a one room apartment. To some extent, you have to figure out what your dreams are and try to get those into reality. And I make no apologies for that.
Sometimes dreams take a long time to manifest. I saw pictures of Old Faithful and the Falls at Yellowstone as a child in the fifties. It took me until I was 47 to get there and watch Old Faithful erupt. It wasn't until my second trip to Yellowstone that we made it to see the Falls and walk down the path to where the river went over the edge...so around forty years to make that reality. I've still not flown in a float plane or seen a grizzly in a wild. I could easily do that but for some reason haven't.
What is interesting is what Ms. Martini's writing has spawned. Good for her for her courage.
We got plenty of poor people here who are hurting in the usa, why send money to other country's other than to spite the poor folks here at home? Oh yea, the gvt tax issue allows a greater contribution so it's a financial decision. I call BS.
It's unfortunate that you do not find it credible. He strangled his son by putting his finger down his throat and the psychologist caring for my grandson advised her that the court would not accept evidence from a very young child, and that it would be a very bad for the child psychologically. I have the photos of the damage to my daughter and those were submitted into evidence. Considering how many women are still killed by former husbands/boyfriends, etc. I'm not surprised that my daughter got no help. She was granted a restraining order, that is all.
And considering the sexually disgusting names that have been applied to me tonight, the following seems very apt.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-iss...
I've lived with the issue with my daughter for nearly nine years. Massachussetts is an appalling state for women. My inheritance was recent. I paid for my daughter's lawsuit out of my earnings at the time, over time. I set up my life this way a long time ago. Govt gets paid first (render under Caesar that which is Caesars) (Used to be 23 percent, now much higher). Living, all expenses, 22% (now zero). Donations to all causes 45% (now 100%+). Remainder into savings. Causes. Blood bank, Kiva, Red Cross, Salvation Army. I was born in a Salvation Army hostel and never forgot what my parents told me about the fact that after the war, when my parents had nowhere to go, they could live in the hostel and were welcome even though my mother was very pregnant, and individuals other than my children. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army also help when the worst circumstances occur...hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and they are always at work.
The farm is being placed in trust, not farmed because it has one of the rarest animals on the planet (Red Book listed), and about six hundred specimens of a plant, also Red Book listed. Other than the house, I live extremely simply. I have fewer shoes, clothes, and an older car than almost everyone I know here.
For a long time I ran an experiment based on a novel called Magnificent Obsession. It was the story about giving based on the Bible. And to my delight, I found it worked. Of course, if you talk about it, as I'm doing, it will stop working, exactly as the novel describes. But at this point, in this conversation, I don't really care. What I do know is that it worked, and any time I choose to go back to being silent about it, it will work again.
It is true that I'm really very competitive. It's what got me ahead. It didn't stop me tutoring as a volunteer, sharing my notes with other students who missed class, or helping out at work. It has been extremely hard for me to forgive my ex for leaving me to raise the children alone, and ditto with my daughter. I think family is to be looked after no matter what. I have no time for the actions of my former husband, or other people who refuse to look after the children they have. If you have kids, you are responsible for them. When there are no consequences for actions, to move it up to larger scale, we get banksters, a country robbed blind by an oligarchy, and the above link at work. Moral hazards.
Over and out.
Hey cat, for this statement alone, I really don't give a fuck what else you say.
"If you have kids, you are responsible for them."
If you stand by that, and I know you have, despite the hardships your kids and their kids have faced, you aite in my book. Anytime.
I commend you for your hard work and success. I mean that.
But Ireland is quite fucked up in many regards, birth control being one of them... And I'm Catholic.
Hi:
Having no legal access to contraceptives is truly an unbelievable poverty maker. I'm Episcopalian but it affected me very badly. One of the unbelievably good things about America, as far as I was concerned was the ability to go into a drugstore and see Durex on the shelves.
I live and work in the US. And it saddens me to see what's happened to the country I really did think was the greatest country in the world.
Thank you for the kind comments.
cat
Cat_artist, I don't know where this reply is going to end up, but you should definitely post more comments ons this blog, because your message was like a bit of fresh air, as far as I am concerned.
I for one have found this letter and your comments to be very instructional. I'm college-educated, middle-class and now middle-aged, and while reading this kind of stuff I realise I have never been through any real economic hardship up til now (touching wood). Sure, I'm not lazy or afraid of embracing new professional experiences and my wife and I only ever buy what we can pay for, so that sure adds stability to the economic well being of our family. On the other hand, like I said, I have been dealt pretty good cards in life from the start, so I don't really know how I would have held up had I been in your or this other woman's position.
We should try for a little more empathy and compassion from time to time. Sure, there are a lot of lowlifes out there that try to game the system. But then there are also people like the author of this letter, far from perfect, but trying to cope in very difficult circumstances. Hats off to that.
This is why I do not only visit ZH, but also blogs like Jesses Café Américain, because I truly admire this guy for his emphasis on the importance of human dignity and decency.
Thank you. I have a similar story but no with nearly the success that you have. I grew up super dirt poor, where as a 10 year old I would often go 3,4,5 days without food. I lived in a dump that would have been condemned had one agent of the state walked in. I had nothing absolutely nothing, but managed to take on almost 80K in student loans. Today I am a Distiguished Member of the Technical Staff of a Fortune 100 Company, pull a handsome 6 figures, lead a group of 30 guys and gals, each of which have IQ's higher than 95% of the people here, live in a very nice home with land in the rural outskirts of S. Fla, and enjoy virtually every amenity and nicety that the superficial herd craves.I graduated Magna Cum Laude, got a master's, all while working full-time plus. But most importantly, I got a few breaks. Most of these morons have never felt what a day of hunger feels like, let alone 5, and yet they sit here smugly with their phony superiority complexes and bitch about this lady. Fifty bucks says that if they had to go through a series of circumstances like you and I, that 10% would "pull themselves up by their bootstaps", half the rest would take to drugs or booze, 90% of the remaining would wallow in destitution, and the remainder would blow their brains out. I did the sleep 4 hours a night thing for years. They don't believe it because in their minds they can't do that. Which I believe absolutely. THEY don't have the inner strength to pull that off so they think others can't either. I wish I could punch a few of these silver spoon douchebags here. I really do. There are more than a few faces here badly in need of a fist.
The sheep calling the sheep, sheep. Incredible. The Hanity/Limbuagh macro planted into their pea brains has been activated.
Life can be hard and most honest people who experience much success would have to admit that while hard work was an important factor, luck played a role as well. You obviously value your accomplishments are are justifiably proud, but would you still feel the same if your success was due to handouts? I believe that a truly prosperous society is one that values effort and productivity. That is the core of what conservative thought is about. Personal responsibility rewarded by not only profit or prosperity, but charity as well. I'm not sure what your issue is with Limbaugh or Hannity but I do know they seem to create a focus of hate for people who never listen to what they have to say. Maybe you ascribe to the more tolerant and loving stance of say somebody like Martin Bashir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqnpv0XU4y4
Sad that all these years later, you are still competing and thinking about your ex. I can understand why he dumped your stupid ass for a hot girlfriend.
I call bullshit on your intelligence. I understand where she was coming from because I came from there too, but I had some good breaks and I didn't get knocked up. I know people in town that are in the same position.
1.Yes, it's fairly easy to have to drive one hour to a job, especially depending on the time of day/traffic. Everybody can't live in the fucking city.
2.She didn't take a full course load, she took 2 classes.
3. You don't set up a bank account if you missed some of your payments and the creditors got a judgement. The min/wage weekly check minus .gov taxes/ss/ & Obama healthcare costs that you rely on would disappear overnight-as would the next check...and you'd be fucked.
4.Yea, there's them. There's also 40 year old virgins that are waiting for the right one.
5. As a smoker, admittedly, I understand that you grab whatever joy you can through the day as you can, especially when you're broke and missing teeth.
You are calling bullshit on my intelligence. Well the nice thing about Phi Beta Kappa is that they publish these very nice big books in which they list all their members. I'm in one of the books, and I know about the books because they sent me an invitation to buy one. And the books sit in a box gathering dust. One of my professors wore her golden key during the party after we were inducted into the Society, and some day I'm going to order a key just to pass it on to one of my children who is about to graduate with a mathematics degree, and who has also followed in my footsteps academically.
And your moniker, 'will work for food' is also quite revealing. I document how engineering systems work, everything from remote control parameter testing systems to intelligent remote access systems, my current gig.
Anyway, it matters not what you think, because you are simply speaking from ignorance, again.
cat
Cat- look at the timeline. I was speaking to the same person you originally addressed. And yes, I do work for food. My family's food. Thanks.
Cat, this is Scrappy Dog, don't tempt me to really bite you.
Again I ask, WHAT IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION ?
You can do 3D graphics programming work in a week or two with our stuff (say create new kinds of shaders), that you could not either do before, or it might take you several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. We are using our own stuff to do this already, so we know.
And it's not just for 3D programming. We just wrote a project management tool using the software to automatically produce around 2000 pages of online help from the code body in about five seconds. It took one developer two weeks. You can imagine how much time that is saving. Until the tool was available, we used to produce the help the usual way, manually. The same tool is now being used to create our installers for the software. Same time frame. Five seconds, and it checks everything, makes sure all the hundreds of files for the release are all there, in their right locations, and then uploads them all to the release directory.
And we are going to sell it for less than Microsoft .NET etc., because we can.
Why would you bite me? I Nice thing about ZH. Nice and anonymous.
cat
Technology is useless unless regulated by proper laws, which we currently do NOT have in the here and now. You could be contributing to your own future police state, or is that the object??
No apology for you, WW4F!
Being a club member does not make you intelligent. If you were actually intelligent, you would know that.
Just a couple of points of order here-
I got by on three hours a sleep a night for over 18 years, with an occasional marathon sleep-in every few weeks. I spent a lot of the extra time reading, and now in the past few years since I got promoted at my current job, I can't do it anymore. It's got to be six hours or more a night, or I can't function.
The difference was that my day-to-day work wasn't mentally tiring me out, so it was down to the off-hours to work off the excess energy. Your body will heal just fine sitting awake in a chair, but your brain needs sleep.
My wife can't get a bank account, and they won't let me add her to any of mine. She had a car repoed by Bank of America before I met her, and they did some kind of banker voodoo curse on her that prevents her from getting any kind of bank account. Doubt it's the Patriot Act in action, but it can happen.
As far as the cigarettes go, you're just flat wrong. We're all addicted to something (though some people are lucky enough to have avoided their one thing) that is almost impossible to give up. If I had a nickel for every time I saw a fat shithead berating a smoker while eating junk food, I'd be a very wealthy man. I tried to quit the smokes seven or eight times over better than twenty years, and it didn't take- it's just a vice that became trendy to hate because it's visible and comes with an easily identifable smell.
In any case, you have something you can't give up- we all do. For some people, it's cigarettes, for others it's too much salt, still others can't do without soda, and for some lucky folks, it's the endorphin rush from working out or some other relatively risk-free obsession like watching sports on the tv that they can't do without. I don't know what causes different people to latch onto different things, but I do know that using a product of whatever kind does not automatically invalidate every argument they make.
The other stuff, I'm willing to concede. I don't know why anyone would do some of the boneheaded shit the lady describes, but I don't know her, either. What I do know is that I've done everything the supposedly smart people in our society suggest, and things are still getting tougher every year. When everyone else was losing their jobs, I mangaged to increase my pay by 50% in the past five years, and make myself valuable enough to my employer that I'm far from the top of the list if they decide to cut anyone loose. I paid off every cent of outstanding debt I had aside from my mortgage, and cook every meal at home. Yet somehow, getting pay raises, cutting out almost all luxuries and eliminating most of my monthy bills is still resulting in an ever-diminishing standard of living.
Five years ago, I'd get a paycheck that was several hundred dollars less a week than what I see now, and I'd use it to pay bills, buy groceries and clothing, and still have enough left over to put some away in savings. I contributed 6% to my 401K to get the full match, and had health insurance that covered most things with very little out of pocket expense. I even supported a woodworking hobby where I accumulated a whole lot of very nice tools in my basement, and used them to make nifty little projects out of exotic hardwoods.
Fast forward to today, and the numbers on my check are noticably bigger, but I don't leave my house unless I am going to work, no longer buy a morning coffee, have disconnected my cell phone, never eat out, finance nothing, and do all of my own home and vehicle maintainence (I always could do it, but I used to pay others to,) have my wife cut my hair, drive slow to save gas, eat a lot of vegetarian meals to save money on meat and I'm still always behind the eightball- hell I even gave up the cigarettes I defended above in favor of e-cigarettes because I can buy the parts and refill liquid wholesale online and "quit" smoking without the massive nicotine withdrawl for less than 5% what I was spending on regular tobacco. We don't go to movies, the kids don't go to the mall, our clothes are all carefully mended but showing a lot of wear, and it's just not getting better in any way.
About a year ago, the two guys I share an office with were apparently doing pretty well for themselves- they always seemed to have some kind of side-hustle going on, and plenty of extra cash for things like going out to lunch, buying silver, or getting new toys like campers and boats. Not anymore- there's no more talk of ways to make extra cash on the side, because there are no customers anywhere, and no seed capital to do anything with anyway.
So if an engineer earning the US median wage can't muster a solid middle-class lifestyle, how on earth is someone with a minimum wage job or two supposed to do it? It's easy to call bullshit, but I doubt it's as simple as you seem to think.
thank you Prometheus418 .
Well, my pay has NOT increased 50% in the last 5 years (more like 25%). However, I am not seeing the decline in the standard of living you are claiming. I have a [stay-at-home] wife and two kids. My son just graduated from college two years ago and my daughter is in college now. Even with college bills to pay, I am still continuting to save $$.
Maybe the biggest thing that has impacted me is the lack of interest on savings. Because of that I've had to shift some fund to dividend paying stocks to make up the difference. This is risky and I'm not happy about it, but I watch the situation like a hawk.
I do have a job that requires a lot of mental energy and need at least 6 hours a night. I think anyone who is a student would require about the same. I know I did back in the day. Never pulled all nighters because I found them to be conterproductive. After a while, I would think one would just crash. Could I functon on 3 hours of sleep for a long period of time? Dunno--never had to put it to the test and wouldn't want to. But I think the negative impact on my performance would far outweigh any gains.
Over the years, I have met a lot of people (mostly coworkers) who've claimed they couldn't get by. When I casually chat with them about their finances, a lot of stupid shit comes up that explains it: eating out every other day, new cars every 2 years, constantly buying the latest gadgets, expensive vacations, Catholic school for the kids, etc. They did other dumb stuff too, like not getting a 401K match. Good financial practices not rocket science, but they do require some amount of proactiveness and discipline. I used to commute an hour each way to my job, but it was my only job. I didn't like it so I moved--imagine that! Eight years ago I got a new job in a lower cost of living area only fifteen minutes away.
My overall point is this: All my life, I've been able to control my situation to improve my cicrumstances--mostly through discipline and intellect. My experience has been there is ALWAYS something positive you can do when faced with a problem. Whenever I talk to anyone who claims its hopeless or the SYSTEM is stacked against them, the flaws in their lifestyle & thinking jump right out at me. Most of these problems are easily fixable, but the person I'm talking to either doesn't see it or isn't willing to fix it.
A lot of ZHers are calling me "ignorant" or "sexist" for my comments. Okay, whatever--but what I am doing is working. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I don't think so. The fact is that I've worked hard for what I have today and no one handed me a damn thing for free. The trick is learning to think around the obstacles in life instead of just acting helpless.
I agree Prometheus but with a couple of caveats. Some people can't function on just a few hours of sleep. I worked graveyards for 8 years and could get by on 4-5 hours. We worked 4 ten hour days with 3 off. On the fourth day I came home and stayed up all day to get back on dayshift time to utilize my days off best. My husband can't live without 7 and 1/2 hrs or he can't function. He is a software architect and just can't design properly unless he's fully rested. Yes, we tried for years to do differently but it just doesn't work. If I cause him to get less than 7 hrs he must work from home so he can have an afternoon nap. I don't understand or relate to it but must acknowledge his need. We are all different.
About the addiction part. You are mistaken in the idea we all have addictions and they can't be overcome. That its just part of the human condition. I was a die hard binge eater on the weekends and drank heavily Friday and Saturday nights. I did it for 25 years. I felt it was the only thing that kept me functioning and could relieve my terrible stress. Yep, I tried numerous times to quite and cut back, never could and all but gave up. I was fortunate there was a class offered through my work taught by a cognitive psycologist who was also a nutritionist that explained through brain rewiring you can reduce the need for an addiction ( didn't matter what. Drugs, booze, shopping, sex... They all act similarly) I worked with her, starting from the point I didn't believe it would work at all but I did what she said. Within 6 months it was dramatically less and after a year I was free of the horrible drive. Yes, occasionally I do indulge but it is never a binge. It is not self control ( she showed me how that never works) I just have no interest which is a true key for me. I am cured. If you are interested I would be happy to share how I did it. No, it is not forcing yourself you give up cigarettes. In fact, quitting cold turkey will set you up to starting again. It's also not transferring one addiction for another because that in essence hasn't dealt with the original problem. It does take work and practice but the rewards are wonderful.
As a middle class wage slave, I can fully relate to all you have said and admit no matter how hard I try, I feel I'm slowly losing ground. Yes, I am frightened about an uncertain future. But, I am very happy what I do have and know there are many in worse situations. At least, we are awake and , hopefully that will serve us well in the future.
Miffed;-)
People make stupid ass decisions when they know they Government will bail them out if they fuck up too badly.
are you fucking kidding me right now? who got bailed out in 2008....please remind me again....BTW, i didn't
I agree with everything except: "No one can get by on three hours of sleep each night for 5 nights."
I work 11pm -7am or so, then do job#2 from 9am-5pm. Usually get in the bed around 6 or 7. Up by 10. Job 1 is 5 days a week, job 2 is 6.
Been doing this for over 5 years now and am still in good health.
Don't get me wrong; this is obviously not the best thing, but it is what needs to be done, so it gets done. I'm just saying that it's doable.
Now, as to the article; I can sympathize and comiserate with much of what she says. But, as for the whole, "I had to have unprotected sex for attention" schtick....there is no excuse. My wife and I would love a child, but it would not be economically wise to do so right now (it would be feasable without being taxed into the ground to pay for other's bad decisions though *sigh*), so we USE PROTECTION. That has worked for 7 years so far, and worked for many, many years before I met her. SELF CONTROL people, that's one of the main problems in society, the lack of it; but that's another long discussion all-together.
I'm working poor just like this girl, but I am smart enough NOT to make super shitty decisions; and, as a result, live what I consider to be a nice life. Sure, there may not be much hope for upward mobility, but why does that always have to be the goal? I just want a little space in the country and to be left alone; and I'm well on my way toward that, even at my shitty pay (ballpark 25k to give you an idea). Yes, it's taking longer than it should given my level of devotion to my goal, but it is what it is. It's not easy, but nothing worth a shit ever is.
Haha,
Your post was quite funny,
"So she can afford cigarettes, but not gas. en?"
Title of article
What It's Like To Be Poor - And Make Terrible Decisions
Faceplam.
Uh, she spends the vast majority of the blog either trying to justify or excuse her stupid decisions. Like blaming her inability to get a bank account on the Patriot Act. Or did you miss that part?
Facepalm.
I was a soldier in Northern Ireland in the big riots of the early 1970's. We worked for 4 months on a rosta of 48 hours on the streets on riot control - even fed on the streets, even crapping in carrier bags and pissing in the gutter, then 24 hours with 4 hours off, then 72 hours of 4 hours on 4 hours off but the 'off' included transit time, briefing/debriefing, eating etc - you weren't allowwed to undress, not even remove your body armour, then finally on the 7th day, a 16 hour shift on patrol with 8 hours off. the 8 hours included transit time, briefing/debriefing, eating etc but waht ever was left over you were allowed to undress, shower and get into bed.
So yes, 3 hours sleep a nght for 5 nights is easily do-able.
But she lives in SF... a planned parenthood or clone on every block. I call bullshit.
I got to the top of the mountain at my old company and then crashed so hard I made my own valley. Nowadays, I'll settle for a hillock.
I'm ? gurggling in my own vomit. Who's going to park my G-5%?
I am reminded of an epitaph that I read in a Portland, Oregon cemetary a few years ago.
"As you are now
So once was I
As I am now
So you shall be."
Feeling superior to Killer Martinis?
Don't "Shanghai Me" BRO!
Carpe diem and do no harm, not because you are coming back, but because you are all things, simultaneously. Apprehend thyself, God.
Or in other words:
Alexander [the Great]found the philosopher [Diogenes] looking attentively at a pile of human bones. He explained, "I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave."
Also interesting and of note from this little wiki tangent I find myself on:
"Diogenes was born in the Greek colony of Sinope on the south coast of the Black Sea, either in 412 BC or 404 BCE. Nothing is known about his early life except that his father Hicesias was a banker. It seems likely that Diogenes was also enrolled into the banking business aiding his father.
At some point (the exact date is unknown) Hicesias and Diogenes became embroiled in a scandal involving the adulteration or debasement of the currency, and Diogenes was exiled from the city.
This aspect of the story seems to be corroborated by archaeology: large numbers of defaced coins (smashed with a large chisel stamp) have been discovered at Sinope dating from the middle of the 4th century BCE, and other coins of the time bear the name of Hicesias as the official who minted them."
Fact of the day:
That epitaph is something of a meme in the headstone poetry world:
http://www.historyfromheadstones.com/index.php?id=765
It may be that those of us who aren't in the very wealthiest classes are subsidizing those who are.
http://worldcomplex.blogspot.ca/2013/11/interpretation-of-scaling-laws-for-us.html
From the moment of her capture, neither the King nor one single man in all his court raised a finger to save her. It is no defence of them that they may have never really believed in her, or that they may have won her victories by their skill and bravery. The more they pretended to believe in her, the more they had caused her to believe in herself; and she had ever been true to them, ever brave, ever nobly devoted. But, it is no wonder, that they, who were in all things false to themselves, false to one another, false to their country, false to Heaven, false to Earth, should be monsters of ingratitude and treachery to a helpless peasant girl. CHARLES DICKENS
Nice to see that Joan of Arc still has street cred a couple hundred years after she was burned alive over bullshit.
And here we thought her pyre was made of wood.
The answer will be found.
Have faith.
Temple of the King-Rainbow (Ronnie James Dio, RIP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBz_56nG5Qg
Much love for the Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow song, scrappy. What a wonderful album.
"We believed we'd catch the rainbow,
Ride away to the sun,
Sail the waves on ships of wonder.
But life's not a wheel
With chains made of steel
So bless me! - come the dawn..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rQxI3-xSeg
In your analysis of our situation...
don't forget to remember the Narcissist and the Sociopath
in places of influence and control.
The more you forget, the worse it will be.
Fuck this author (with a rubber, of course; don't need to give her another kid). If she doesn't want to be poor, then go find an uninhabited lot of land and live off it. Build your own fucking house with your own fucking tools.
Motherfucking cavemen slept on the ground so that one day we could sleep in a bed.
Humans froze to death so that one day you could have central air and complain about the utility bill.
Humans walked the skin off their feet so that you could have a car and complain about gas prices.
Fuck you.
Go live in a fucking cave and spend a month cleaning maggots out of your filthy cunt, and then tell me how bad things are.
Ignorant fucking sluts
You're a terrible human being.
Truly, from the bottom of my heart I mean this: thank you.
Dad? You have a ZH account?
I hear the meth around KC is still pretty high quality.
Airbeds are on sale in these parts...
What a cock you are.
Poor Americans don't use the word "whilst".
yes they do. I have watched a whole lot of bubble riders go from hero to zero the last few years. Multi millionaire entrepreneurs when I met them, twiddling thumbs til the gov check hits direct deposit to scrape by another few weeks.
no reason to make assumptions, risk takers lose sometimes, that is why they call it risk.
Oh and I bet you any $$ you want that some/most of the Tylers here only write posts because they are dead assed broke.
It takes a little luck too, bitchez.
right on jb.
Let the down arrows deservedly flow copiously.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whilst
whilst
conjunction \?hw?(-?)lst, ?w?(-?)lst\ Definition of WHILST
chiefly British
: while See whilst defined for English-language learners » See whilst defined for kids » Examples of WHILST
Origin of WHILST Middle English whilest, alteration of whiles
First Known Use: 14th century
Also, if she is indeed British, then "cunt" isn't all that derogatory. Criticism of this post will require cunning linguists.
Oh sh*t. Perhaps an apology is due to TheMeatTrapper.
Was the meaning of Meat's post emphasizing American (vs. other) or poor? Was Meat's meaning that poor do not use such words because it's beyond their grasp?
To be rich or to be poor that is the question, but how rich or how poor is the answer, get it?
scary article and well written: the compression of time down to NOW. No luxury of reflection or miscues. Yes, we all sense she is ahead of the curve where we are all headed. Any American is one illness away from medical bankruptcy. One misstep into insolvency. All of our margins are getting thinner.
I used to think USA was 1934 Germany. Now I realize it is more like 1938-1939.
And one text away from missing that red light misstep and all you get is hours figuring out how Obama care really works.
You go girl!
That was a solidly articulate note. I know people more monetarily wealthy than she is who could never in a lifetime write that well.
Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, that's totally praiseworthy. The bitch is too stupid to live, but at least she writes well! Go America!
I’m working middle class. At least for now. I have learned that if you want to be happy in life, set your expectations, across the board, to ZERO. You will never be disappointed.
Millenial middle-class drone here. I agree 100%. This country sucks.
" This country sucks"
No, This GOVERNMENT sucks.
There fixed it for ya. This country, these people are great. It's the criminal gangs in DC and NYC that are the problem. The "country" is only to blame for edorsing their crimes by voting for them or continuing to fund their ponzi schemes whether it be through taxes or by participating in the scam that is banksterdom.
i.e. some low icome schmuck who banks at Citibank or B of A or The JP Morgue.
I will only make one comment in regard to the original article. The woman has/had children. That is something quite easy to avoid/prevent. It is also one of the top reasons why some folks are trapped in the poverty cycle. Would you buy a $40,000 car if you only made $25,000 a year? But the same person will have a kid-WHICH BY DEFINITION IS A CHOICE.
Also there is nowhere near enough vitriol expressed here for the fathers or the aformentioned children who are ATMO nothing more than lower primates. Serioulsy guys (and I am one-44 yrs no kids) keep your dick in your pants. If you do not provide for your offspring you are a complete, hog-smoking loser and by definition NOT a man.
as my last boss ever once told me, you got time to complain you got time to stand in the unemployment line.
shut up and get back to work.
In addition to all the money she's collected from people wanting to help, she seems to have come out of her problems in pretty good shape.
I have had a week and an hour now in which I have been a small transient Internet personality. I have gone viral, I'm told. In no sort of order, here are the things that have happened to me since this timeish last Wednesday:
yay, because PLEASE take this to the new age leprechauns and explain to them your shitty attitude got you a leg up in life.
I hate those fuckers.
"I know, it is frustrating to see conversations happening and know that your opinions are considered irrelevant"...that statement was soooo true, at any social/economic strata. +1 to the informative ranting.
She should of bought some bitcoins instead of all them smokes
Her points on not having any time for anything else are well taken. When people are completely consumed with survival, they have no ability to monitor the foxes watching the hen house. She has no choice but to trust the elected officials to do that FOR HER.
Yet...
Sadly, those officlals have not, as the GINI coefficient of the US, now approaching an all time 3rd world country-esque high for the US, of nearly 0.5.
Those officials have done nothing but to propagate the tsunami of poverty against the people through crony capitalism...and...fascism.
Detroit epitomizes this.
The US lacks statesman.
In other words, the US' finest 535 are overwhelmingly failures in the eyes of the nation. The polls tell you exactly that with Obama near an all-time US presidential low and the congress at an all-time low and likely sinking further.
Yet the FSA will rationalize re-electing the likes of Maxine Waters, John McCain, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi! So unfortunate that stupidity is not painful (enough!)
I just want to know when we storm the Bastille and lop off Antoinette's head...
When almost everyone has nothing left to lose, amigo.
Is it just me or is America now a land of whiners and greed mongers. I almost never hear the invisible poor complaining. In fact when I do business at all the places the poor work, usually as retail clerks, check out girls, gas station attendents, grocery store service counters, Target, Wall-Mart, all those invisible people who make big box consumer chains work. If you smile and talk nice to them, they will mostly be very pleasant. Mostly because you treat them as an equal and as a friend by speaking to them as such. Most are really nice people. Just working like dogs to get by. Lately I have talked to many of these folks about management. I tell them some horror stories from some of my, non-poverty level jobs, and they can relate. The mean, greedy, cruel, threatening management style, from what I hear, is now universal.
Since I am not poor, and my new small business puts me in contact with the solid middle class daily, I find these folks are very nice too, though many more of them are like loaded guns when you mention taxes or government. Clearly the middle class feels very hard done by government. But they also will bitch about corporate America's push for profits, making their work lives a sort of hell too, even if for better pay.
In my work I probably deal with the rich about once a week. No need to go into their line of thought. Their anger at being abused and taxed to death are clear. They are not bashful about claiming to be abused and threatened by America's lazy poor.
Americans are born, educated and breed as consumer animals. They measure their lives by money and possessions. The more they have, it seems the more they bitch. People always ask me, "what do I do". Meaning "what is your job" "What is your income" "what class do you belong to" "are you a good wealthy person or an evil lazy poor person".
Since I have had all manner of work, from Military Service Member, Factory Worker, Student by day/ cleaner by night, government clerk/ electronics instrument factory control man / to a now small business person. I simply tell people who ask me "what do you do". I say "What ever I want". And poor people smile and accept it. The rich people look at me like I threatened their little elite world by not telling them what class I am, and maybe worse, that I "do what ever I want." Not answering to a rich person when they demand to know your work really does piss them off no end. Why? I expect they feel superior and want to confirm their superiority.
Land of Mammon
when people ask me what i do i tell them, "not much". it has blown more than a few minds when i refuse to tell people what i do for a living. my other favorite thing to do is dress in clean worn shirts and shorts because i find the response to me is more genuine in fleshing out the real perspective of people. nice people don't care what i look like but there a lot more assholes out there than you think.
That's pretty good, I've found that when you don't tell people what you do, they tend to make stuff up for you. Makes for great alternate endings.
i have a perverse advantage in this game i play as a fairly well off not quite white person. a lot of people guess that i am in some criminal enterprise(which girls kinda liked when i was single) when i won't say what i do for a living and a laborer or even a homeless person when i dress down. i have fun with it.
Making greed a virtue will haunt USA for a long time.
Free exchange (which is curbed everywhere) defuses greed, chanelling it towards productive enterprise... but it doesn't make it virtuous. Just benign. And in environment where justice is rarely enforced -where it is scheming, coercion and violence that are more effective than exchange, it bares it's claws. Now, USA is in the former situation, while it still has a setiment that greed is actually productive! It's encouraged to consume a lot as if you need to produce a lot to afford it, while it actually channels people into vile ways of life and coercive economic behaviour. Now... how is this going to end, when lights go out and food runs out, even only for a short adjustment period?
Dammit, Mr Burton... Helluva post.
Your first million is enough money to travel the world to see how much much money you don't have...
For a young woman not of means to get knocked up is the led indicator for life of poverty. And it has been for centuries.
Strippers have to come from somewhere
Your comment is funny, but unfortunately true. Problem is, they're not making much money anymore in what used to be a lucrative career (think 20 years ago) and they're depending more and more on government handouts to cover their baby expenses.
I couldn't "up" you, but at the same time, couldn't "down" you either.
Cities breed proverty, pure and simple. Dickens' London. Mexico City. Manila. The necessities of life are found on the land. If you have access to land, you can put a floor under your feet and build from there. You can use a discarded bicycle, that costs nothing, to forage as well as transport modest loads. Electricty isn't really needed. With a knife, hammer, pliers and saw you can build a small, well insulated hut from discarded stuff. Books are free from the local library. Groceries routinely throw out large amounts of unsalable produce which can be dried for storage, and used to make soups and stews. The worst cuts of beef can be tenderized by soaking in vinegar for days and then cooked slowly. You will need to keep fats in your diet.
Sustinance farming is a hard life to live. Though, the poverty of that lifestyle will be bearable (at least where the ground is fertile) as you just won't see rich people.
You can imagine some great ranch and say that is how living the land looks like. But Chinese farmers working in back-braking conditions are also "living the land". Foxconn factories - awful as they are - were a step up for them (fortunately, now they are making another step up, with higher urban wages).
i am going blind, about to be evicted because rents here in SF have gone through the roof, and may soon be in a wheelchair.
Never been happier.
The trick is closing the gap between what is and what you think should be.
Terrific youtubes from Dr. Albert Ellis teach the philosophy.
and if you search for the words "mental and emotional fitness" , there is a terrific set of slides that summarize Ellis's work. The presenter of those slides is a very nerdy educator but the content could rock your world , if you work and work and work at understanding , believing , and acting .
also goes to the OP but why do you live in the most expensive city in the country if you're struggling?
Hell I would love to live in SF but I can't afford it, so I don't. You can live way more comfortably in rural america and hardly miss much,
move.
I was born in 1973. My parents were strict but fair. Taught to work hard in school and take responsibility for my own actions, my parents enrolled me into extra-curricular activities as a youngster and I was told to finish school and get a job before I had any plans for a family. I never had anything fancy to wear, most times being made fun of what I wore. Mattered little to me at the time.
This broad obviously didn't follow this pattern. Not that it's a surprise, most kids these days do it backwards, have the kids before they are financially able, and raise their family in mom and dad's basement, no job, no income.
IMHO, once you have that first child, you lose the right to act frivolous by choosing to go to university instead of getting a job/s. First priority is to make sure the kids are fed. Have 2 jobs and it doesn't pay the bills, get a 3rd.
The fact she wastes money on cigarettes and rationalizes by saying it keeps her awake is repugnant. Not sure how expensive smoking is in the USA, but here in Ontario, Canada, a carton of smoke costs $80. Groceries for a week.
I don't feel sorry for these kinds of people. They put themselves in this position. I tell this to the campaigners when they knock on my doors come election time. They typically nod in agreeance and move on to the next door.
I was a very fast learner in my youth. The urge to propagate never came about. Not sure what this tart is blabbing about, but there is such a thing as self-control. She has no excuse.
At my age, I'm pretty much set in my ways. I tried the relationship thing. Did it for 7 years. Each year devolved into more manipulation on her part. I couldn't take it anymore. It went against all logic and reason. I didn't want to be a zombie.
Northern Lights, of course you didn't get "baby brain" (that is, the urge to procreate). That is almost strictly a female thing. Human females go through a phase where ALL they can think about is reproduction: it is biochemical; it is built in by nature. Given what a scary, overwhelming, costly, worrisome experience parenthood is, nature must build it into women, otherwise very few females would reproduce. Not all women go though it, but it has to be about nine-tenths. Think about it - what is selected for?? Reproduction, and life span long enough to reproduce. That is what is selected for, period. The "urge for sex" is the male Darwinian equivalent of the female "urge to procreate."
I'm not saying that she should have had kids she couldn't afford. She should have gotten an IUD during a lucid moment. But I commend her for not getting abortions.
I didn't down-arrow you. There was a lot of "logic and reason" in your post. But there's not a lot of logic and reason in most humans, alas.
Green arrowed you for the IUD.
Cheap, permanent, no hormone/chemical 100% birth control method. These are what should be given out in schools, not god damned low percentage condoms.
If I were to write a book titled "So you want to become poor..." I'd just copy what this lady has done. Seriously, most of the time people are poor because they choose to be. I work in a factory and have done so for the last 12 years, Im on my 3rd factory as the last 2 went under. I don't have any kids and drive a car i bought for 4k 7years ago. I live in an apartment and have 0 debt, I know what my income is and I stick that level of lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with any of this but for so many americans this is unimaginable and they just do what they think they are supposed to do i.e. breed and spend every cent they can get or that somebody will loan them.
uh... hate to be the guy to break it to you but... you ARE poor dude.
(actually that was pretty painless.)
"Poor" is a state of mind.
And you sir, are a sheep.
Poor people do not understand the meaning of "a penny saved is a penny earned."
I don't know how to answer this, having a connection with a man I guess is OK but why not wear a condom, you can afford smokes, their is no reason to have four baby daddies. Also I don't understand the contradiction, you have no hope but you go to school for what reason?
I read this first over at a liberal site that I will not name. Many of the responses there were people raging at her for smoking. A few raged at her for having kids before she could afford them. What I couldn't understand is why someone with kids is going to college full time, AND working two jobs. The jobs, of course I understand. But getting a college degree is not presently a ticket to higher pay, immediately if ever. It would make a lot more sense - given that her kids are only kids once - to earn more now, and spend more time with them, and get the degree later.
Then I realized that nine-tenths of her family's income is probably student loans. Ooops, silly me.
You don't take a full load for income. My issue is simpler if you can't get a job because you don't fit the mold as claimed why waste your time. I simply don't believe the story its too much of a contradiction.
I assumed that a higher course load meant more in loans.
I agree that she is wasting her time, getting a degree at this point. But what is the contradiction? She wants to be like everyone else in her social class of origin, and have a college degree; that way she'll fit in. Really, she should do it - ten years from now, when her kids are grown, and it's a "life enhancement" thing that she can pay for as she goes. Doing it this way, she'll likely be in debt forever.
I feel bad for her, that she feels she can't get specific jobs because she doesn't "fit the mold." The reality is that she can't get those jobs, because we are in an economic depression. In good times, they'll hire anyone, no matter how deviant they seem, or how underqualified. She's doing self-defeating things, and also blaming herself for the wrong things.
HR types have to give SOME excuse to the 99 that they don't hire. Are they going to say - while you and a bunch of other people are fully qualified, out of all of them I liked number 34's ass best and we're hiring only 1 person, so tough luck?
Same thing with changing jobs. I've seen an account of a person that got that excuse from HR people, while changing job 4 times in 10 years... and every time by getting better offer from headhunters. Listening to these excuses is seriously a waste of time.
You are missing the bad signals she is getting, and responding to.
2 part time jobs, and school, means she does her options poorly and tired.
She is using the degree to get a middle class job when her people skills aren't middle class; the college thanx.
The luxuries to entertain her life can be anything. It just so happens the ones she ahs choen are toxic.
Its great she has having kids; kids are screaming expensive. Poor, all by itself.
Well for starters 10 years from now she will still be paying off those student loans, that you claim is at least part of her income, so she can She can "fit in." The contradiction is she can't get a job now according to her because she does not fit the mold, and can not get a job waiting tables, yet she has the skill set to be at least a fast order cook. How does increasing her skill set help her get a job when the reasons stated have nothing to do with a lack of skill. Sure we can second guess whether those statements are accurate but based on her statements the money she is spending or will eventually have to payback would be better used on clothing for a job interview. The second contraction is she claims getting a good job is hopeless if that is a true statement why spend all that energy, and money on a education, you have already declared it is not a good ROE.
I apologize, unreservedly. I also work for my family's food, because without my entire income and more going to them, they would have neither shelter nor food. I'm supporting (and housing) three children and two grandchildren in two states. And it's not because they are not working. My daughter and her two children would be in dire straits without the help. I sent my daughter to paralegal school, a superb program at an East Coast University, at her request. She finished two years of school in 14 weeks, and got a full-time job as a paralegal. Her first job out of school, where she competed with Harvard graduated lawyers for the postion, paid $10 an hour. She was charged out at $90 an hour, which is also the case in her current job, where she now makes $12 an hour. She gets none of the court-ordered child support as the father of her daughter works as a waiter and does not make enough in wages to have the ordered support deducted from his wages although he makes a great deal in tips. Her daycare is more each week than her after tax wages.
I have tried to bring her and her children to live with me, but her ex-husband fought a very expensive court battle (although he only managed to pay $65 a week in child support), to stop that. His mother paid for the court fight. I paid the other side. I saw that, in the end, when we lost, that it was better to give the money to my daughter. One day, when she graduates law school, she will be the lawyer who fights the Federal case to free her from ex-husband inflicted prison in the state where she currently lives, or her son can make the determination for himself.
Although I am successful now, I'm seeing first-hand what the circumstances in the family have done to the middle class. My children, and for a time, myself, were decimated. But I picked myself up and got going again. And I'd set aside the resources to make that possible. I'm lucky enough to really like what I do.
cat
One last time Cat, what problems are you and your software co solving for US?
The software is solving the problem of funding lawsuits against her son-in-law in the hopes of taking his son far away from him; funding a dream log home on a lake (although her inheritance helps there, too), and funding numerous children she had who now can't fund themselves, and funding her joy in the penury of the father of her children. Oh, you meant its innate value. I guess we won't find out. But she "owns it all," she and her partners.
3D graphics dawg. Think pornimation...
Very inexpensive software. Very inexpensive hardware. Very inexpensive development time. You don't have to be a programmer. Very powerful (and groundbreaking results). Rinse and repeat, anywhere in the world. So it's not just US companies that will benefit.
Yer not into eugenics are ya?
I like you, cat_artist. Previously you said:"But it's not just hard work that takes you out. It's also luck.."
To make it, whatever that means, you need hard work, courage and some luck. Two out of three won't do it. And if you acknowledge luck, you have to add another: gratitude. I know, I know, the harder I work the lucker I get and so on. But still.
However. Sorry to say this, but children are not obligatory, They are optional. I figured this out when I was 14. And justifying tobacco on the basis that it is a stimulant is pure bullshit. I speak as a smoker. I am as addicted as a person can get. And what on earth can be intimidating about broccoli? Anyone who is afraid of broccoli seriously needs to get a fucking grip.
I dunno, that "broccoli is intimidating" mystifies me. You can just pick it up and gnaw on it, y'know. It's missing little details like this, that can keep you poor forever. Tough, but true. I understand a lot of where she's coming from, you can work like a fiend and get very good at being poor and never find the magic word. Just like I can't seem to find the magic word that would jump me from grumbling middle class to billionaire tycoon. I can almost tell you what the magic word is, but I still don't know it. Such is life. It is not always "fair", but it is what it is.
Never mix steamed Broccoli with Beer. Actually that'll take care of yer roach problem too.
I'm sorry, but this "story", Letter, whatever you call it is nothing but a scam. Re-read it and see if the pieces just don't add up. The language just salty enough in spots to give it some "street cred".
I'm sure this must be the sister if the guy in Nigeria that has been trying to wire me millions I have inherited, if only I would send him my bank account number....
yes a clever ruse to exploit the internet's propensity to laud pathetic losers.
Dear sir/madam,
I am a poor serf with nothing to offer. Please send me your bank account info so I may acquire money for cigarettes.
?
I'm sure it was written by some rich dude somewhere working an angle. Probably the Jews. There! I said it... first one on this thread to figure out how to blame the Jews.
What do I win? Sheckels?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html
not nearly as homely as I would have guessed.
I think she is pretty.
Being poor or being rich comes down to who you associate with. You associate with low lifes that will never amount to anything? Guess what?
And education really has little to with it outside of a HS diploma.
People where I work think I'm independently wealthy and don't have to work. I never said I was, and I'm not, but they think that I am. Why? Because of the way I carry myself and what I allow to affect my attitude. Pick and choose your battles, pick and choose your friends WISELY, and, above all, exude confidence. Even if you're scared shitless.
So true. Study after study after study says that to stay out of poverty, you need to do two things.
(1) Gradute high school; and
(2) Do not have children before you get married.
I am sure there are many exceptions, but this is the general rule.
probably the most true comment here. It is who you know above all.
OMG. The story seems made up, but assuming it is 100% real for the sake of discussion:
She needs to change the name of the piece to "Why I Make Excuses and Call Them Bad Decisions: A Compendium Of Why I Choose To Be Poor."
I could sit down and fix this girl's budget in a few hours and get her on a better financial path. But I could never fix her ATTITUDE. She likes it this way. There is NOTHING in this story that even suggests that she wants something better.
She has more than one child. I don't think she mentioned how many total. One of her "random observations."
She didn't say what her major is.
Broccoli is intimidating? You can eat it raw, FFS.
Junk food is a pleasure that we are allowed to have. Okay, you just said you could cook. WTF?
Planned Parenthood is three hours away. I didn't understand this random observation. Was gas too expensive to go get an abortion (not that I would have wanted her to do that), or is she saying she doesn't get prenatal care when she's "knocked up" because it's too far away? This made no sense.
Yet, convenience food and cigarrettes are luxuries that she is allowed to have, along with her junk food.
No bank account. I have to side with her on this one. If you have bad credit, it is hard to get a checking account. It has nothing to do with the Patriot Act, however. I'm not sure how to fix this problem for the poor. (The banks can't give out checking accounts to people who are, in her case, ADMITTEDLY not going to be financially responsible.)
Depression: Rich people get depressed, too. This is not relegated to the poor.
Tired: Rich people are exhausted, too.
Image: There are many organizations that collect work clothes for the poor. You only need one nice-looking suit or dress to go on a job interview. You can do your own hair and nails and makeup for less than $30 and present your BEST self. Plenty of ugly people have jobs. Plenty.
Cooking does NOT attract roaches. This was my favorite excuse by far. Food (that is left out) and dirt attract roaches. Roach bait discs are about $5/pack, and they work.
Only the rich get FREE stuff? This doesn't even deserve a comment.
Smoking: No justification for it if you are poor and want to NOT be poor. I'm not against smoking. I used to smoke, and I loved it.
Men/sex: More pathetic excuses that don't deserve a comment.
Well, anyway, at least her conclusion is correct. She makes terrible financial decisions. But not one word of that article said she wants to change. Hey, whatever, I don't care.
Only one gripe with your comment... don't pull up the major shit. Fuck majors, fuck minors, fuck sticking to one particular niche field of study that you are forced to dedicate yourself to forever - it's an illusion propped up by the centrist/statist system that relies on the ever accumulation of personal and state debt. As a young girl would say, EWWW GROSS!!!
Other than that, I can't disagree with anything you said.
p.s. on a note of dedicating yourself to particular niches, etc. I know a tailor. He charges very affordable rates while tailoring top notch shit. Tailoring is his not his job but his profession. Too few people have professions these days. That's kind of the gist of what is wrong with the entire human species.
I appreciate your gripe, Skate. I had intended to comment further on the college major issue. I wanted to say that she probably shouldn't even BE in college. She could do so many things without a college degree....and by things, I mean professions.
Right? I mean, for the amount of 1 semester at a college she could get a phlebotomy certificate, medical office assistant degree, accounting certificate...
In Europe there is no problem at all in getting an account, and plenty of banks give them away for free (no charges on cards, withdrawals on ATMs, money transfers - only some additional paid services that you can never take on). Credit cards are rarity, we're using debit cards. They only charge what you have previously put into your account and when it's empty - card won't get you in debt. You don't need to be trusted if bank is not willing to let you go below 0. Much saner system.
Oh my stars. I just read her scathing remarks to one of her critics. She is, unfortunately for her kids, full of shit.