Personal Austerity worshipers in frenzy over this guy:

[GreenPartyVoter]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/paying-off-26-500-debt-104500886.html

Try reading through the comments. Very few people mention the insanity of living like this, but instead praise his virtuousness for living without heat. In Green Bay!

Editing to clarify that I meant personal austerity, not gov't cuts.

[dipsydoodle]

1. How is it austerity related ?

.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Personal austerity, not gov't. Sorry for the confusion.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I understand now.

Even on a personal level the choice is sort it or muddle along. He chose to sort it for his own personal reasons. Given that he works for CNN its hardly surprising they ran the article.

[Skidmore]

4. He was a bit extreme.

However, I think the message he sends has merit. People can do without a lot of garbage in their lives to get their finances in order but often aren't willing to tease out the luxuries from the necessities. I don't think he necessarily should be mocked for doing what he felt he needed to do to get rid of debt.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I don't think he should be mocked either, however there should be some sort of line that

ought not be crossed when trying to get out of debt and I think endangering one's health (or apartment's pipes) is one of them.

Personally, I disagree with some of his other choices such as having a car payment rather than buying the cheapest clunker he could, or having a cell phone with such a high bill. I think shopping around even more there would have helped him as much as eating moldy fruit.

I guess it doesn't matter so much since he lived on his own, but heaven help my husband if he ever suggested taking such measures with kids in the house.

[Skidmore]

7. We had some slim years

when the kids were young but we had heat in the house and food for growing bodies. We lived without a lot of luxury items. Lord knows the pitched battles I had with my son over why he couldn't own a complete wardrobe of Izod shirts and Levi 510s.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Yep. Had those years too. Still have periods like that as husband is self-employed. But never

have we purposely starved or frozen the kids. (And I don't want them to ever think they have to do that once they get through school like this young man did.)

[obamanut2012]

12. He should be mocked for eating rotten food and living without heat

And getting down to only 115 lbs.

Poor people HAVE to do things like that, he didn't. I think it mocks those in poverty. Read the comments on CNN and Yahoo -- they are all about the minorities living off of "Food Stamp Obama's" teat. Disgusting.

This guy did this for a book deal, and he;ll be getting one. He is a darling off the anti social justice folks.

[Berlum]

6. oh my...

it has come to this

[Recursion]

9. The paradox of thrift

I mean, yes, that's admirable self-discipline in someone so young.

It would also be an economic disaster if his entire cohort tried to do that.

[demwing]

10. Yahoo comments are filled with Freepers

Some vile mofos over there.

[obamanut2012]

11. He also ate rotten meat and got down to 115 lbs.

All while making a good salary. He sounds like either a nutter or someone who did this for the book deal he is going to get.

He also did this NY CHOICE. Many people go to bed hungry and have no heat because they live in poverty.