Are broke people dumb? A conversation I overheard between two people.

[segara82]

sure, some are really, and i mean REALLY stupid, but so are some rich people i met.

[GreenJesus]

I worked at a soup kitchen back in high school and there was this guy who had the newest iPhone depending on soup kitchens... it was pretty pathetic. Priorities am I right? A lot of poor people are poor because they do drugs/alchohol and don't know what managing money is.

[Kharadin]

shoot, i know ppl with formal educations who struggle with low skilled jobs.

That's cause low skilled jobs are harder. Idk about everyone else but I've spent nearly two decades in academia so I can avoid a hard days work. "High skilled" jobs generally involve sitting in a comfortable office thinking about things.

[Easo]

There is some correlation, but not what you think, OP.
Growing up hungry can and will impact brain development. Additionally, due to malnutrition your imune system will also be weaker, leading to getting sick more, and thus spending even more money. Yes, this goes mostly for developing nations, but West are impacted too.
Money gives you access to better education, if you can go to private schools and have private tutors, many of whom are good in their fields, instead of randoms you often have in overcrowded public school.

[Mihalik]

sip

“When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatise those who let people die, not those who struggle to live.”

― Sarah Kendzior

[Ashleyxoxo]

We are all different. Don’t expect me to choose STEM just because you could stomach it ffs. How are threads like this allowed to wxist? It obviously shows a lack of critical thinking, which you could have picked up from a well rounded education and not just STEM-related logics.

[Ghostpanther]

Generally speaking ( not 100% of the time ) we are captains of our ships and masters of our fate. Free will and all that.

[ChampionChains]

Damn, five posts in before Starbucks was mentioned as a reason for people being broke. I expected to see it by the third response.

[Adam Jensen]

What pisses me off about arguments like this is people make them without even considering the poor person's situation. You don't know him, or how he got there or why he's stuck there, so just stfu.

[Cruor]

Was waiting for a friend to arrive at the restaurant we hang out at and these two guys were talking about finances.

They both agreed that if you're broke or living paycheck to paycheck in America, its your own fault. They went on and
said that only dumb people were broke and poverty was just a financial form of Darwinism.

At first I was up in arms but its none of my business what they think. Then I started thinking about my own decision to major in a STEM field and how far its gotten me financially. It was my own choice.

Are they right? Are those guys wrong? Is there a caveat or any exception?

Let me know what you guys think.

Im personally on the fence.

They are correct for the most part. When I was making 25k/year in the army I built savings. You simply don't spend more than you make, all there is to it. You don't have kids until you make enough, you don't buy a car or a house until you know you can pay it off. You don't buy stupid shit like the new Jordan sneakers or whatever idiot things morons like.

[Fahrenheit]

What do you mean by living "paycheck to paycheck"? One month salary, then next month salary and so on? If so, that is how I live and I am completely fine with it. I can pay my bills, buy a car, go to vacation, what else could I want?

You’d want a solid 6 months (3 months at a bare minimum) of a cushion in cash on hand. Just paying your bills and going on vacation isn't enough. And that’s not even getting into retirement/investment accounts.

[Carnedge]

Was waiting for a friend to arrive at the restaurant we hang out at and these two guys were talking about finances.

They both agreed that if you're broke or living paycheck to paycheck in America, its your own fault. They went on and
said that only dumb people were broke and poverty was just a financial form of Darwinism.

At first I was up in arms but its none of my business what they think. Then I started thinking about my own decision to major in a STEM field and how far its gotten me financially. It was my own choice.

Are they right? Are those guys wrong? Is there a caveat or any exception?

Let me know what you guys think.

Im personally on the fence.

Well... making bad choices throughout life could mean the person is dumb... Loosing all your saving due to gambling addiction could also be seen as dumb. Guess it depends on what our own definition of dumb is.

I think getting a 4 year degree in Liberal Arts is dumb. But they could land a job making more than me or maybe they are just better than me at finances.

On the flipside... are all people with deep pockets smart? Hell no. And I know that for a fact. So the opposite is probably true.

[Powerogue]

Ah yes, the STEM education they'll pay for.

With what money, exactly?

Plus the biggest problem I've noticed growing up: You don't realize the opportunities that are there without an education that they are in fact there. Plus it seems in general we don't have proper money management as a part of the school system.

Lots of reasons, but the general pattern seems to be that being rich doesn't prevent you from becoming broke out of your own stupidity, but being broke and pursuing a path out of it is much harder.