What is it like being poor?

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Zzulu: May 15, 2009; (â°ËvËâ°)

Flagrant Abuse posted:

I'm going to go against the grain and seriouspost here.

It sucks, 3O. It sucks a lot. You have to make some hard decisions about which of the many important things in your life are going to get your money that paycheck. Part of your car starting to foul up and you need to get it replaced? Too bad, suck it up and hope it doesn't fail, because you've got medical bills and the bus system in your town can be generously described as "anemic." Medical bills? Too bad, let them take it to collections, because your only phone just bit the dust. Phone a goner? Too bad, get a cheap landline and hope people still sell answering machines and nobody urgently needs to contact you when you're not at home, because you've got student loan debt to pay off. Student loan debt? Too bad, they can take it to collections too, because your department at work just got downsized.

Election day rolls around, and you want to exercise your right to take part in the democratic process, but you're not salaried, so every hour you're away from work is an hour you're not making what little money is available to you, and your boss might not even let you take the time off anyway. But then you go home, turn on the news on your used Magnavox CRT TV from 2002, and don't want to vote any more anyway, because none of the politicians care about you, and all but the leftiest of the left actively want to slash what meager benefits you're receiving, possibly pushing you over the line from "just scraping by" to "living in a shelter."

You buy the cheapest, shittiest food available regardless of how healthy it is, because it's all you can afford. You go to bed wondering not where you're going to have dinner tomorrow, but if, because sometimes you skip meals to save money. You buy a car from 1991 because it only cost $1000 total, and pray nothing gives out. You do your laundry at the laundromat, because your apartment doesn't have laundry facilities available, which takes a few hours out of your day that you could be spending doing more productive things between changing loads if you could just do it at home.

You hope and pray that you don't get sick, because even with Obamacare you still can't afford insurance, and Medicaid in your state requires severe disability, not just poverty, and is intentionally designed to be as difficult and agonizing as possible to get in on. When you do get sick, you don't go to a doctor unless you feel like you're dying, because you can't afford the out of pocket costs. You also can't afford to take the time off work, so you go in, contagious, and spread it around because you can't afford not to.

You try to look for a job that pays more, but they all require a college education, which you can't afford even with financial aid, and which you certainly can't juggle the stress of alongside the other stressors in your life, at least not without having a breakdown.

You make friends with the folks next door, and the door after that, and across the street, not because you like them, but because in a poor community, everyone has to stick together and help each other out when things get particularly rough. You end up feeling miserable during Christmas because you didn't have enough money to buy anyone a gift. For your birthday, you treat yourself not to foie gras and pat�, but to Pizza Hut, because to you, pizza that doesn't say "Totino's" on the box is a luxury.

You live your life knowing that because you're on government assistance, you can't display a single hint that you're not a medieval pauper living in rags or people will assume you're gaming the system, even if the only reason you have a smart phone at all is because it was a gift. You go to bed crying sometimes, because you know that one little mistake, whether your fault or someone else's, or nobody's fault at all, can land you out on the streets.

Hey buddy your life sounds like it blows. Why don't you come and live with me? I'm rich

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:07

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 12:43

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

Zzulu posted:

Hey buddy your life sounds like it blows. Why don't you come and live with me? I'm rich

I don't think Homeowners pays if you invite them in.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:16

SEX BURRITO: Jun 30, 2007; Not much fun

When I first started posting here there was a goon whose posts were all about being super, super poor. He had a hearing aid and was apparently really short. Anyway, I hope he ended up getting his life together because I felt really sorry for him.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:39

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

netally posted:

When I first started posting here there was a goon whose posts were all about being super, super poor. He had a hearing aid and was apparently really short. Anyway, I hope he ended up getting his life together because I felt really sorry for him.

That boy grew up to be Kevin Pollock.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:42

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 5 days!)

Being poor is pretty easy to deal with. You just run around smashing clay jars, opening crates and looting port-a-johns for loose cash, artifacts, gems, guns and other valuables. Don't worry about other people, if you find something you want it's automatically yours so long as you grab it first.

Then you just sell them I guess. Before you know it you're a millionaire.

I don't know who so many people make poverty out as a hard thing to solve.
:shrug:

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:43

lonesomedwarf: Mar 22, 2010

netally posted:

When I first started posting here there was a goon whose posts were all about being super, super poor. He had a hearing aid and was apparently really short. Anyway, I hope he ended up getting his life together because I felt really sorry for him.

thatnks, and i didnt

# ? Aug 20, 2015 13:56

penus penus penus: Nov 9, 2014; by piss__donald

dude has there been any proof this guy has any kind of money at all ? i mean dude has a condo in the gaybourhood in Dallas with like a 19 inch tv. I could have that if I wanted and so could most of you

# ? Aug 20, 2015 14:37

Zzulu: May 15, 2009; (â°ËvËâ°)

poor goons, start a kickstarter here on somethingawful

There are goons on this site who give like tens of thousands of dollars for videogames and hot dogs

# ? Aug 20, 2015 14:42

Rambling Robot: Sep 13, 2011; Duggar Fan Club Superstar #1 LOL

Zzulu posted:

Hey buddy your life sounds like it blows. Why don't you come and live with me? I'm rich

my life also blows.

i know how to make pancakes.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 15:03

School Nickname: Apr 23, 2010; *fffffff-fffaaaaaaarrrtt*

Flagrant Abuse posted:

I'm going to go against the grain and seriouspost here.

It sucks, 3O. It sucks a lot. You have to make some hard decisions about which of the many important things in your life are going to get your money that paycheck. Part of your car starting to foul up and you need to get it replaced? Too bad, suck it up and hope it doesn't fail, because you've got medical bills and the bus system in your town can be generously described as "anemic." Medical bills? Too bad, let them take it to collections, because your only phone just bit the dust. Phone a goner? Too bad, get a cheap landline and hope people still sell answering machines and nobody urgently needs to contact you when you're not at home, because you've got student loan debt to pay off. Student loan debt? Too bad, they can take it to collections too, because your department at work just got downsized.

Election day rolls around, and you want to exercise your right to take part in the democratic process, but you're not salaried, so every hour you're away from work is an hour you're not making what little money is available to you, and your boss might not even let you take the time off anyway. But then you go home, turn on the news on your used Magnavox CRT TV from 2002, and don't want to vote any more anyway, because none of the politicians care about you, and all but the leftiest of the left actively want to slash what meager benefits you're receiving, possibly pushing you over the line from "just scraping by" to "living in a shelter."

You buy the cheapest, shittiest food available regardless of how healthy it is, because it's all you can afford. You go to bed wondering not where you're going to have dinner tomorrow, but if, because sometimes you skip meals to save money. You buy a car from 1991 because it only cost $1000 total, and pray nothing gives out. You do your laundry at the laundromat, because your apartment doesn't have laundry facilities available, which takes a few hours out of your day that you could be spending doing more productive things between changing loads if you could just do it at home.

You hope and pray that you don't get sick, because even with Obamacare you still can't afford insurance, and Medicaid in your state requires severe disability, not just poverty, and is intentionally designed to be as difficult and agonizing as possible to get in on. When you do get sick, you don't go to a doctor unless you feel like you're dying, because you can't afford the out of pocket costs. You also can't afford to take the time off work, so you go in, contagious, and spread it around because you can't afford not to.

You try to look for a job that pays more, but they all require a college education, which you can't afford even with financial aid, and which you certainly can't juggle the stress of alongside the other stressors in your life, at least not without having a breakdown.

You make friends with the folks next door, and the door after that, and across the street, not because you like them, but because in a poor community, everyone has to stick together and help each other out when things get particularly rough. You end up feeling miserable during Christmas because you didn't have enough money to buy anyone a gift. For your birthday, you treat yourself not to foie gras and pat�, but to Pizza Hut, because to you, pizza that doesn't say "Totino's" on the box is a luxury.

You live your life knowing that because you're on government assistance, you can't display a single hint that you're not a medieval pauper living in rags or people will assume you're gaming the system, even if the only reason you have a smart phone at all is because it was a gift. You go to bed crying sometimes, because you know that one little mistake, whether your fault or someone else's, or nobody's fault at all, can land you out on the streets.

And then you vote straight-ticket Republican.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 15:18

Rutibex: Sep 9, 2001; by Fluffdaddy

thread answers its own question

# ? Aug 20, 2015 15:46

concerned mom: Apr 22, 2003; by Lowtax; Grimey Drawer

Rutibex posted:

thread answers its own question

It also kind of works backwards

# ? Aug 20, 2015 16:05

bikesonyx: Oct 9, 2014

concerned mom posted:

It also kind of works backwards

Crap poor being like it is what request?

I don't think so buddy.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 16:14

im an orange: Jun 24, 2005

THE DOG HOUSE posted:

dude has there been any proof this guy has any kind of money at all ? i mean dude has a condo in the gaybourhood in Dallas with like a 19 inch tv. I could have that if I wanted and so could most of you

But I think he affords all this while working a barely above minimum wage job, so you know mommy&daddy are in the picture blowing cash into his wallet.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 17:01

Ars Arcanum: Jan 20, 2005; Best friends make the best weapons

im an orange posted:

But I think he affords all this while working a barely above minimum wage job, so you know mommy&daddy are in the picture blowing cash into his wallet.

Nah, back when GBS was more full of seriousposting, I remember him mentioning his corner office at his work, though he admitted he didn't work any harder and was not any smarter/more skilled than the office drones trapped in their horrible little gray cubicles. I mean, I'm sure his parents are still shoveling cash at their 30+ trust-fund babby, but they also managed to buy him a decent job.

Also, I'm pretty poor right now and it sucks. Not so much because I can't buy stuff I want (and sometimes need), but more because financial insecurity itself is like having a giant cloud of poo poo constantly looming overhead. It's hard to enjoy what little you have when you're constantly worried that one little thing will go wrong and destroy what little you have. :ohdear:

# ? Aug 20, 2015 21:08

Modulo16: Feb 12, 2014; "Authorities say the phony Pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and incredibly foul mouth."

I'm rich enough that if given the opportunity I would pay a good amount of money to permaban 3O from this web forum until his untimely death 7 years hence from falling from his shoddy condo balcony.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 22:18

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

Frank Viola posted:

I'm rich enough that if given the opportunity I would pay a good amount of money to permaban 3O from this web forum until his untimely death 7 years hence from falling from his shoddy condo balcony.

Why not just find out what happened to RoboShit and lock them in a cage?

# ? Aug 20, 2015 22:20

RadioactiveKid: Aug 12, 2005; Gato Rebelde

it aint so bad, its not grat but you can deal with it as long as you keep trying to improve your situation

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:03

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

work 2 jobs for 2 decades then realize you own no assets or nothing of any real value while chucklefucks can kill people because they drove drunk but successfully argue 'affluenza' and go to rehab.

that's how it feels.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:05

pentyne: Nov 7, 2012

Yeah we get it 3O you're rich. But you know how you could be richer?

DON'T loving SHOP AT WHOLE FOODS

How loving dumb must you be to buy their food? Literally everything they sell can be found for cheaper and better quality at local ethnic markets. Some places even have huge supermarkets catering to those groups and still it's 1/3 of the cost of Whole Foods. In fact, the entire corporate model seems to have been to overcharge the gently caress out of the customers whenever they could because idiots like you think it makes them cultured.

But lets be honest, when its you and a bunch of "friends" sitting around discussing Whole Foods, you don't actually care about the quality/experience of what you eat only that you're paying a high premium and you want others to know it. You want real hipster cred you can say "Oh, well I discovered this Indian spice store a few miles away and ever since then I buy all my spices fresh from the merchant and he grinds them for me by hand". But then again, you're an lazy effete manchild incapable of cooking and refuses to learn, so that's not an option.

Given that you also eat crustables and spend $100s a month on your Keurig coffee maker when 2 lbs of fresh beans and a brand new coffee grinder would cost less then $20 I really doubt you're food experience in life is better then the poor people your so keen to mock. Also, when you eat out 5-6x a week, you're paying a 500% surcharge on food you can find in a grocery store, and you're simply paying for the 30 minutes it took for a guy to have made it 2 days ago, and a line cook to reheat it in a oven/microwave for 5 minutes.

pentyne fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Aug 20, 2015

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:06

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

Moridin920 posted:

work 2 jobs for 2 decades then realize you own no assets or nothing of any real value while chucklefucks can kill people because they drove drunk but successfully argue 'affluenza' and go to rehab.

What the gently caress is affluenza? like affluent + influenza because if so thats pretty witty.

My guess is that it was a typo.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:07

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

TwoFire posted:

What the gently caress is affluenza? like affluent + influenza because if so thats pretty witty.

My guess is that it was a typo.

it's the legal defense that got some idiot kid off when he drove drunk and killed a family of people because 'he is so rich he literally cannot distinguish right from wrong as an ordinary person would.'

insanity/disease brought on by having too much money.

not even making that up.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:10

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

Moridin920 posted:

it's the legal defense that got some idiot kid off when he drove drunk and killed a family of people because 'he is so rich he literally cannot distinguish right from wrong as an ordinary person would.'

insanity/disease brought on by having too much money.

not even making that up.

I fail to see how 'having too much' is responsible for 'idiot driving drunk'. Dear god if we take away everything from the people, enslave them and bring it back to a dry country all of this could have been avoided! lovely strawman argument and just a stab in the dark towards implying some universal guilt for the senseless acts of another.

Its your fault my avatar is stupid, btw.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:13

Tumblr of scotch: Mar 13, 2006; Please, don't be my neighbor.

Moridin920 posted:

it's the legal defense that got some idiot kid off when he drove drunk and killed a family of people because 'he is so rich he literally cannot distinguish right from wrong as an ordinary person would.'

insanity/disease brought on by having too much money.

not even making that up.

Can confirm that this legit happened. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/14/whats-the-future-for-affluenza-defenses/4016059/

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:15

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

TwoFire posted:

I fail to see how 'having too much' is responsible for 'idiot driving drunk'. Dear god if we take away everything from the people, enslave them and bring it back to a dry country all of this could have been avoided! lovely strawman argument and just a stab in the dark towards implying some universal guilt for the senseless acts of another.

Its your fault my avatar is stupid, btw.

I'm not saying I think it was a good argument, I'm simply stating the fact that in a manslaughter trial involving DUI, the deaths of 4 people, and the serious injury of 2 others, the kid's defense was literally 'I am too rich to be able to distinguish right from wrong' and he got sentenced to rehab.

If I'm being reasonable, I'll admit that the kid was probably too hosed in the head to realize right from wrong, but also being reasonable if that's the decision the court reached I think the parents should be held liable.

quote:

Fred Couch has been charged with criminal mischief, theft by check, and assault, but the charges were dismissed. On August 19, 2014, he was arrested for impersonating a police officer.[7] In 2013, Tonya Couch was sentenced to a $500 fine and a six-month community supervision order for reckless driving.[6][8]

.

shining examples of the community, his parents.

kid also got 10 years of probation in addition to rehab but still I think that's standard for a DUI... I know you're on probation-lite for a few years afterwards.

Moridin920 fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Aug 20, 2015

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:15

TwoFire: Sep 11, 2001; by Ralp

Moridin920 posted:

I'm not saying I think it was a good argument, I'm simply stating the fact that in a manslaughter trial involving DUI, the deaths of 4 people, and the serious injury of 2 others, the kid's defense was literally 'I am too rich to be able to distinguish right from wrong' and he got sentenced to rehab.

If I'm being reasonable, I'll admit that the kid was probably too hosed in the head to realize right from wrong, but also being reasonable if that's the decision the court reached I think the parents should be held liable.

I pray to god for an appeal to common sense if nothing else. If the parents KNEW he was driving drunk, they're guilty of depraved indifference causing the death of others. I think you still burn for being a participant to any illegal activity that leads to deth.

Ok, I'm going to go out and work on the car now, I need some time to quash my hatred for the human race.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:18

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

TwoFire posted:

I pray to god for an appeal to common sense if nothing else. If the parents KNEW he was driving drunk, they're guilty of depraved indifference causing the death of others. I think you still burn for being a participant to any illegal activity that leads to deth.

Ok, I'm going to go out and work on the car now, I need some time to quash my hatred for the human race.

They probably didn't know while it was happening or whatever but the legal argument was 'his parents taught him that wealth buys privilege and to ignore standard right/wrong.' So alright fine, send the kid to rehab and charge the parents with criminal negligence or something.

quote:

On Saturday, June 15, 2013, according to authorities and trial testimony, Couch was witnessed on surveillance video stealing two cases of beer from a Walmart store, driving with seven passengers in his father's Ford F-350 pickup truck, and speeding (70 MPH in a designated 40 MPH zone). Three hours after the incident, he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit for adult drivers in Texas,[4] and tested positive for Valium.[2]

Approximately an hour after the beer theft, Couch was driving his father's truck at 70 MPH on a dark, rural road where motorist Breanna Mitchell's sport utility vehicle had stalled. Hollie Boyles and her daughter Shelby, who lived nearby, had come out to help her, as had passing youth minister Brian Jennings. Couch's truck swerved off the road and into Mitchell's car, then plowed into Jennings' parked car, which in turn hit an oncoming Volkswagen Beetle. The truck then flipped over and hit a tree. Mitchell, Jennings, and both Hollie and Shelby Boyles were killed

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:21

Germstore: Oct 17, 2012; A Serious Candidate For a Serious Time

F-350? Walmart? Affluent, riiight-

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:24

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Germstore posted:

F-350? Walmart? Affluent, riiight-

rich enough to make the case to a judge at least

His dad owns a sheet metal company that has revenues of ~$15m yearly. Dunno what the actual profit is obv but assuming a margin of 20% (which I think is lowballing but idk that industry) that's still 3m/yr in profit and depending on how the company is set up the dad might be able to just bank that himself.

So say $1m/year? Definitely not broke at least.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:26

Germstore: Oct 17, 2012; A Serious Candidate For a Serious Time

No way sheet metal has 20% margins.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:30

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

I bet you 20% gross margin isn't that far off tbh and like I said I think I'm even lowballing it a little.

Don't really feel like doing research on this right now but in a few minutes of googling seems like for custom metal fabrication 35% is considered top tier so average is probably around 20%. Don't quite know what 'custom metal fabrication' is though and I also don't know what exact company the kid's dad owns.

Moridin920 fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Aug 20, 2015

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:33

Germstore: Oct 17, 2012; A Serious Candidate For a Serious Time

20% for something as interchangeable as sheet metal seems high. Either way he's, "my dad owns a dealership" level of affluent at best.

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:41

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 12:43

Moridin920: Nov 15, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Germstore posted:

20% for something as interchangeable as sheet metal seems high. Either way he's, "my dad owns a dealership" level of affluent at best.

idk if that makes the verdict not as bad or worse

like I can legit see the argument if you're just an isolated brat with poo poo tons of money to blow but if you're just some upper middle class prick then wow

# ? Aug 20, 2015 23:43

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