How is it possible that so few families have built any form of capital?

[Machismo]

False. Poverty, like famine, is a human creation that is the result of poor resource distribution.

I bet you think barter economies precede money economies too.



"Intellectual failing" - again, trying to paint poverty as a choice and as a justifiable consequence.

It's just self serving justification of privilege.

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Where's the money coming from, Machismo?

Maybe she should budget her finances better, or move elsewhere.

[Elegiac]

Maybe she should budget her finances better, or move elsewhere.

Again: where does the money to move come from, Machismo?

[Machismo]

Again: where does the money to move come from, Machismo?

It's about where she spends the money she has, which is why I directed you to cost-of-living calculators and financial planning assistance.

You. Are. Welcome.

[Shadowferal]

Higher Debt, Lower Wages.

It doesn't help that we're born into debt. A Child Born Today Comes Into the World With More Debt Than You

Under current law, U.S. inflation-adjusted debt per person is expected to reach the $66,000 milestone by April 2026, based on Bloomberg calculations of Congressional Budget Office and Census Bureau data.

----------------

That's not taking the current bungler-in-chief's tax giveaway to the wealthy last year.

[Elegiac]

It's about where she spends the money she has, which is why I directed you to cost-of-living calculators and financial planning assistance.

You. Are. Welcome.

And how do you know she isn't already budgeting "correctly"?

If you answer is 'she wouldn't be poor if she were', allow me to interest you in this Tiger Repelling Rock.

[Machismo]

How is that possible?

Deficit spending. It's literally older people forcing those too young to vote, and those who have yet to be born, to pay for the shit they happen to want.

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And how do you know she isn't already budgeting "correctly"?

If you answer is 'she wouldn't be poor if she were', allow me to interest you in this Tiger Repelling Rock.

She spent $1600 on an apartment in Irvine, California. She could commute from somewhere with a lower cost of living. She could get a job in another city, or another state.

[Elegiac]

She spent $1600 on an apartment in Irvine, California. She could commute from somewhere with a lower cost of living. She could get a job in another city, or another state.

Where is the money she is going to move with going to come from considering she is already in the red.

[Ivanstone]

Imagine that. Didactic pretending I said things I didn't say. Can you ever actually address what people say? I said it's a character flaw. Character flaw isn't always about morality. Being lazy is a character flaw, it has nothing to do with morality. Being unwilling to do what it takes to get out of poverty is a character flaw, but it has absolutely nothing to do with morality.

If you remain in poverty, it is your own doing.

Protestant work ethic. A hardworking person is considered to be moral. The byproduct of hard work is money. Therefore a person with more money is more moral.

Ever notice the constant shaming of the poor in the US? They are immoral because they allegedly don't work hard and have little money. Never mind that a substantial portion of anyone's wealth is simple luck and some jobs require work but are necessary and low paying.

[Machismo]

Where is the money she is going to move with going to come from considering she is already in the red.

Funny, I found apartments in Irvine for $800 a month, and even less in outlying areas. She's got a minivan, she can move that shit herself.

She's in the red, because she didn't PLAN ACCORDINGLY. She's in that situation, because of the multiple decisions she has made leading up to it. She chose to live there, knowing how much shit costs.

[Elegiac]

Funny, I found apartments in Irvine for $800 a month, and even less in outlying areas. She's got a minivan, she can move that shit herself.

Because moving furniture is the only cost involved in relocating. Okay.

She's in the red, because she didn't PLAN ACCORDINGLY. She's in that situation, because of the multiple decisions she has made leading up to it. She chose to live there, knowing how much shit costs.

You know, it would just be easier for you to admit that you don't actually have a solution because you fundamentally don't see poverty as a problem.

There's something incredibly narcissistic about believing that "everyone poorer than me must be lazier or less intelligent".

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You can't lease apartments second hand in the us?

Lol, imaging owning property in the US as a millennial.

Y'all really do not grasp just how predatory the American economic system is, do you?

[Dacien]

Funny, I found apartments in Irvine for $800 a month, and even less in outlying areas. She's got a minivan, she can move that shit herself.

She's in the red, because she didn't PLAN ACCORDINGLY. She's in that situation, because of the multiple decisions she has made leading up to it. She chose to live there, knowing how much shit costs.

$800 a month in Irvine!? I find that shocking and impossible to believe. It must be with roommates, no?

The only things in that price range when I was house hunting were manufactured homes and senior living apartments. I was completely priced out of Orange County entirely, much less Irvine.

[Elegiac]

$800 a month in Irvine!? I find that shocking and impossible to believe. It must be with roommates, no?

More to the point, the woman Katie Porter was talking about is entirely fictional and yet the assumption that said woman must be making poor choices was automatic.

[Machismo]

Because moving furniture is the only cost involved in relocating. Okay.



You know, it would just be easier for you to admit that you don't actually have a solution because you fundamentally don't see poverty as a problem.

There's something incredibly narcissistic about believing that "everyone poorer than me must be lazier or less intelligent".

I have already offered solutions, but you simply don't like them. Move, earn more, spend less... problem solved.

I have shown how she can save $800 a month, and you ignored it. Once again, nobody gives a shit about someone else's bad choices in life. Feel sorry for yourself all you like, nobody else is coming to the pity party.

And yes, this is all about you feeling sorry for yourself and wanting to feel like a victim.

[Elegiac]

I have already offered solutions, but you simply don't like them. Move, earn more, spend less... problem solved.

Because none of them fundamentally address the issue that your solutions cost money that people in poverty do not have.

It's not an incredibly predatory system with the goal of keeping people in a crushing cycle of poverty and debt for the extraction of value, it must just be thousands and thousands of entirely unrelated people making the exact same poor choices. Alas, if only all of the poor people in the US knew about this one money calculator that could solve the entirety of their problems!

Also saying 'wanting to feel like a victim' is one of the chief indicators of privilege because being a victim is not a choice by definition.

[Machismo]

$800 a month in Irvine!? I find that shocking and impossible to believe. It must be with roommates, no?

The only things in that price range when I was house hunting were manufactured homes and senior living apartments. I was completely priced out of Orange County entirely, much less Irvine.

Sure, with roommates. Plenty of people live with roommates, and figure shit out just fine.

[Machismo]

Because none of them fundamentally address the issue that your solutions cost money that people in poverty do not have.

It's not an incredibly predatory system with the goal of keeping people in a crushing cycle of poverty and debt for the extraction of value, it must just be thousands and thousands of entirely unrelated people making the exact same poor choices. Alas, if only all of the poor people in the US knew about this one money calculator that could solve the entirety of their problems!

They do address the issue, plan for expenses, and budget accordingly.

Millions and millions of people in this country make poor financial choices every single day. They make them when they go to Starbucks, eat out, go to the movies, live in expensive apartments that they cannot afford, buy new cars, new cell phones, get manicures, and a thousand other things.

Budgeting is really not that hard, don't blame others because people choose to be lazy and complacent.

[Draco-Onis]

You don't need to own the apartment to lease it second hand in sweden. Only need the landlord to ok it. Can you not do the same in the us?

You don't have boards in Sweden? in the US boards are very powerful for apartments even if you own an apartment you cannot do anything without the approval of the board it's grounds for eviction for you and the owner.

[Elegiac]

They do address the issue, plan for expenses, and budget accordingly.

Millions and millions of people in this country make poor financial choices every single day. They make them when they go to Starbucks, eat out, go to the movies, live in expensive apartments that they cannot afford, buy new cars, new cell phones, get manicures, and a thousand other things.

This crap again? Miss me with that bullshit.

Budgeting is really not that hard, don't blame others because people choose to be lazy and complacent.

This doesn't remotely explain the variability in poverty rates between countries or even over time, for the record.

[Draco-Onis]

Well, yeah, but it's exceedingly rare for them to deny you leasing it second hand.

Very different here unless you are granted special permission or its general policy every applicant has to go through a long and lengthy process.

[Elegiac]

Very different here unless you are granted special permission or its general policy every applicant has to go through a long and lengthy process.

The amount of bootlicking in this thread is hilarious, especially who it's coming from.

The people who spend probably the most amount of time railing about government oppression are practically begging for similar if not worse oppression from the rich.

Guess it really is true that people are ultimately divided by class more than anything else.

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Peoples willingness to work hard, to take risks etc. Is what keeps them stuck.

This idea that poor people don't work hard is mind boggling for anyone who has worked in retail or the food service industry.

Let me correct you: because they don't work hard in vocations you find personally tasteful.