John Scalzi: Being Poor

[Fumesucker]

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that’s two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn’t know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

[99Forever]

1. K&R

[ruffburr]

2. Till it happens too you-

You just don't get it!

[Fumesucker]

3. This was in the comments to the piece

Being poor is like being an alcoholic (but about money). You’re always aware where your last dollar came from, where your next dollar is coming from and exactly how many dollars you (don’t) have.

[bpositive]

4. Wow...so true

Growing up poor is spending the rest of your life trying to escape (and never realizing that you have).

[deutsey]

5. I grew up poor and am still staving off poverty

I agree with G.B. Shaw when he said the chill of poverty never leaves your bones...

[Skittles]

14. I know it never left my parents

the sting from growing up Depression / WWII era stayed with them always, and they drilled a lot of their common sense into me

[paleotn]

49. Mine did the same for me.

[Skittles]

50. I heard a quote in a movie

"I was raised by people who didn't just THINK bad things could happen; they KNEW they could."

[NBachers]

6. Ducking into the drive-in window when you see a cop so he won't see that your plates are expired

Keeping the lights off on rent day and hiding in the bedroom while the landlord is knocking at your door.

Letting the mail accumulate in your mailbox because you can't deal with all the bills that keep landing there.

Using tie-wire to re-attach the soles of your worn-out work boots.

Paying a six-dollar service charge to cash your paycheck at the same bank the fucking thing was written on because you don't have a bank account.

[xtraxritical]

27. Then voting for Republicans because libruls "tax and spend".

[Rowdyboy]

7. Some pretty heart-breaking stuff from one of my favorite sci-fi writers. Scalzi gets it....

And I love his series "Old Man's War". The books are quite thought provoking.

[Kalidurga]

8. First I copied and pasted all the ones I have been through....

then I erased them cuz it's just too dang depressing. Most of the list I copied isn't true anymore, but there are still a lot of really big ticket items on the list that are still true. For example, I would be homeless if it wasn't for someone letting me live with him or I would have to live with my adult children. Neither solution is actually all that good for me. My children are drama all the time and living with someone who is a borderline hoarder is also not great. But, I can't afford my own place by a long shot since I am dealing with a chronic illness.

[SheilaT]

9. Some years back, probably in the '90's, but perhaps even earlier,

one of the NPR shows, possibly Morning Edition, did a week long series where the reporter followed a woman who was one of the working poor. Among her many problems was that (surprise!) she didn't have a reliable car. At some point the reporter said bluntly that her problem was that she didn't have enough money. Period. With more money she could get her car fixed or maybe even buy a somewhat better one, and then she'd be able to get to work when she needed to.

The car thing is only one small issue out of many that poor people have, but I have never forgotten that.

I've been relatively poor at various points in my life, but have never been homeless. When I didn't own a car, I either walked to work or took public transportation. When I walked, the job was about a mile away, not bad. When I took public transportation it was in a metro area with excellent public transportation. I've gone hungry on occasion, but I also have the good fortune to be very healthy. Because of the times I haven't had much, I try to remember what that was like, and try not to judge others. It's hard for me, because I tend (maybe we all do) towards being judgmental. I do volunteer at the local homeless shelter, fixing food and feeding our guests. I don't do it just to remind myself how very well off I actually am, but that's the way I feel after every time I do it.

I get totally enraged at people who somehow think "those people" don't deserve health care, or that it's just a blip to raise the age for Medicare a couple of years. Good Christ! Even *I*, and annoying paragon of good health think that's idiotic.

Oh, and in a related comment, although I am totally down on smoking and think no one should smoke and that cigarettes should be even more expensive than they are and that smoking should be even less acceptable than it currently is, I do NOT think those dumb enough to smoke anyway should have medical care withheld from them. Whatever smoking related diseases they might get are punishment enough. Free health care for all, regardless of some of the stupid things any of us do.

[GeoWilliam750]

13. The absence of a public transport system

Is one of the largest taxes on the poor. All in, including gas, oil, maintenance, license, title, insurance, and the cost of the automobile itself, comes to how much per mile? Is is as much as a dollar?

Instead of a functioning public transport system - and the mentality to use it (safety, too), the poor are forced to buy and maintain automobiles. Even at only 10 miles each way per day, including shopping, this turns into an enormous amount of money.

Whilst there is constant air time in the MSM about lowering taxes on the income earned by the wealthy, I wonder whether it wouldn't first be a better to stop paying the wealthy taxes, such as the auto companies, the oil companies, and so many others.

Most of the rest of the developed world has a reasonably functioning public transport system.

[SheilaT]

18. Then there's the problem that there are a lot of

smaller cities as well as rural areas that just aren't going to be able to have much of a public transportation system, no matter what. And a fair number of people, poor people included, live in those areas. It's easy for someone like me to blithely suggest those people move to a city with good public transportation, but that's not realistic for very many reasons.

In the 1970's I worked as an airline ticket agent at National Airport in Washington, DC. I lived in Alexandria, VA and took the bus to and from work. We all knew pretty much what each other earned, since our pay scales were published within each airline. The differences were just seniority and shift differential. I travelled a lot. I took advantage of the essentially free airplane rides we got in a way that was well beyond what almost anyone else did. Come to think of it, it was beyond what anyone else I ever knew in that job did. Except for my friend, Don B, but he was like me in every important way. More than once a fellow employee looked at me and said, "Sheila, how can you afford to travel so much?" I always replied, "I don't own a car." It was as simple as that. Friend Don likewise did not own a car.

I have long since become a car owner, but I'm in the happy circumstances of being able to afford a reliable vehicle. It's not fancy, and it's in the middle of the specific models of this car, not the most luxurious, nor the least in terms of features. It's a 2004 that I bought used in 2007, and I currently have about 79,000 miles on it. The exact make and model aren't really important, since there are a lot of similar sorts of cars like this: reliable, fuel-efficient, likely to last at least 150,000 miles. But back in my non-car owning youth, I was often amazed at how much people spent on cars, and it's only gotten worse.

But there needs to be far better public transportation in many more parts of this country. The average person has absolutely no clue how much our car driving is subsidized through our taxes, mainly by the building and maintaining of roads, even though the latter often leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm 64 now, reasonably happy with my life as it is. But I do expect that in a few years I will relocate to be in a city with better public transportation, because the day will come when I won't be able to drive any more, and I'd be very happy to get back on a bus or subway.

[GeoWilliam750]

20. I owned a car

Once

And I hope to avoid ever owning another.

[shireen]

39. one fix away from unemployment ...

one of the NPR shows, possibly Morning Edition, did a week long series where the reporter followed a woman who was one of the working poor. Among her many problems was that (surprise!) she didn't have a reliable car. At some point the reporter said bluntly that her problem was that she didn't have enough money. Period. With more money she could get her car fixed or maybe even buy a somewhat better one, and then she'd be able to get to work when she needed to.

Not long ago, a Facebook friend raised money for a lady with a young child who was in this exact predicament. She got enough donations, $600 or so, to get the car fixed. But getting FB friends to help, even chipping in a few bucks, was like pulling teeth.

That amount of money, which is pocket change for some people, made all the difference in the life of that young mother.

[Phlem]

10. Lived my 1st 8 years in the Philippines.

Everyone was dirt poor. One of my aunts who lived in Manila had shack where the floor was literally the dirt in which the shacks were built. There's another type of poor but not as bad.

My grandfather had property on one of the islands, no electricity, running water, etc... Some kerosene for lamps and a few burners. It was poor but rich. The shacks were raised off the ground, obviously bamboo (space between the timbers) but very clean. We were a few steps from the ocean so seafood was plentiful. Banana, mango, coconuts and all kinds of fruit were plenty full including cocoa. Everyone had enough with enough left over for island luau's. A Hawaiian style festival but with Filipino food. Roast pig in the ground, plenty of limpets and abalone.

I miss it so and am afraid is gone completely as I zoom in with Google Earth.

I wish there were still undisturbed places like this where people can be wealthy with nothing.

-p

[CrispyQ]

22. A beautiful sentiment:

I wish there were still undisturbed places like this where people can be wealthy with nothing.

What a Poor Fisherman Can Teach Us

One day a rich Westerner who had made millions from speculating on the stock market was strolling along the beach and saw the fisherman pulling in his boat with his meager catch.

The rich Westerner stopped and remarked “not much of a catch today”. The fisherman replied “yes not much” but explained that his small catch was enough for him and his family.

The rich Westerner asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, play with my children and have an afternoon’s rest under a coconut tree. In the evenings, I go to the local pub to see my friends, play some music, and sing a few songs….. I have a full and happy life.” replied the fisherman.

The rich Westerner ventured, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you…… You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.

With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have a large fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to a city from where you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“And after that?” asked the fisherman.

“After that? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the rich Westerner, laughing, “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stock in your company and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” pressed the fisherman.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, move out to a small village by the sea, sleep in late every day, spend time with your family, go fishing, take afternoon naps under a coconut tree, and spend relaxing evenings with friends…”

We could have created a completely different reality. Some days my heart aches for the human species & what we could have been, but mostly I'm just pissed off that we were so stupid. The Eagles nailed it when they said, "Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye."

I am so sorry about your beautiful island paradise.

[dkf]

28. That is how the Hawaiians used to live.

They were efficient in their food production leaving time to enjoy life and they stressed community.

Now they are stuck with our American way of life, and have outsized health problems thanks to our diet.

[xtraxritical]

30. "You don't know what you got til it's gone. Put up a parking lot".

[valerief]

36. Unfortunately, if we could have been different, we would have been different.

We're flawed creatures.

[HiPointDem]

40. +1. I've had the same experience (not in quite as idyllic a setting though). Did you find anything

different about the way people treated each other compared to 'real' life?

[Phlem]

51. The overall "feeling"

on the island was love and respect for each other. The gatherings were filled with joy and laughter and everyone on the island participated. Everyone also treated each other with respect and everyone helped each other out. It was idyllic and I could tell that even at a young age. Waters were clear and blue with white sand where the grave yard was and The dead had an awesome ocean view. No hunger or extreme poverty because the island provided.

Now there are a few mansions right off the water blocking everyone's view and "production" buildings scattered all over the island.

Whatever was there is now gone. Extreme contrast with the rich and poor is left and what once was free food from the land on the island is being privatized and constrained.

It's like the rats moved in, it's disgusting. I would imagine life there not as rich and free as it once was.

I was lucky even for a brief moment in time.

-p

[HiPointDem]

52. thanks. the same in my experience.

[eridani]

11. Good rant

It's what I'd expect from a man who manages to "get" sexism.

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/

[CrispyQ]

24. Thank you.

I'd never heard of this guy. Love his blogs! Going to check out his library book, Old Man's War, too. Whoot! A new sci fi author to check out.

[caseymoz]

12. Some more that I've done . . .

Being poor is scouting out abandon buildings "just in case."

Being poor is hanging on news that your legislature is going to make another cut to the safety net.

Being poor is relying on the neighborhood clinic and free, not-for-profit mental health.

Being poor is depending on an expensive, bare-bones, mass-transit system.

Being poor is dreading the day that you, or your cat ever get sick or injured.

Being poor is wearing thermals, three layers of clothing, a cap, and a scarf in your apartment, and being thankful that it's warmer than outside.

Being poor is keeping only one energy-saving light bulb lit in your apartment at a time.

Being poor is feeling you've beat the system when your electric bill is less than $20.

[samplegirl]

15. Heartbreaking

humbling and humiliating that anyone should have to live an entire lifetime or most of it this way.

It's not about the choices someone made.....but more about the chances one never got!

[ReRe]

16. "Poverty...

...is the worst form of violence." ~~M. Ghandi

[mountain grammy]

17. Being poor is having 3 jobs and still selling furniture to pay the electric bill.

Being poor is your kids asking you why we're have scrambled eggs for supper again (they were on sale.)
Being poor is watching the engine smoke on your 20 year old car everytime you stop because the head gasket is leaking and you can't afford to have it fixed so you just keep dumping oil into the engine.
Being poor is asking the mechanic if he can plug the hole in the tire and he shows you the steel is coming through the rubber and you know you can't afford one, much less 4 tires.
Being poor is living with cold water because the hot water heater is broken.. and happiness is replacing a thermo-couple all by myself and fixing it.
And, you know what? I was lucky to have 3 jobs, furniture and electricity, food to eat and a junker to drive, a decent house to live in and a hot water heater to fix. So many have it much worse. The worst part of being poor is the insecurity, knowing you're one illness from the streets.

The only thing good about the years I struggled with my kids as a single mom, was the economy was good enough to get three jobs, that was Houston, Tx. 1978-1984. That was true through the nineties too, and even for a while under W. These days, people are lucky to get one lousy paying job. I honestly don't know how people can do it. I have several friends getting assistance, food stamps, etc. and they're hanging on by a thread waiting for summer.

The minimum wage must be raised. It should be about $15/hr. If corporations refuse to share massive profits with the workforce that produces that profit, the government must force them to do it. And please, don't whine about the effect on small business owners.. I was one for several years. Placing a high value on your employees always pays off.

[CrispyQ]

26. Compassionate conservatism. There's not a damned thing compassionate about it.

The only thing good about the years I struggled with my kids as a single mom, was the economy was good enough to get three jobs, ...

Such a sad, sad thread.

[Dragonfli]

19. "Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so."

I find that is true of almost everyone that has been lucky enough, or born well enough to have avoided it.

Once you live it, even if you were middle class until you turned 10 and your step dad was laid off with thousands of other union workers, it will change you forever, even if you get a lucky break and develop a trade and stop missing meals and get to work out of teenage homelessness, eventually find someone you love that makes you forget sometimes your now alcoholic step-father is no longer capable of love, only inflicting pain on those he once loved.

You never ever again feel sure you won't go back to missed meals, and homelessness, and abusive attacks where love should be, never, and now you are getting old and the choice is again not yours, why?

The comfortable have made the choice for you, the comfortable trade away your pension, your SS trust fund, your health care, your "choice" not to be poor.

One thing you will never forget, is the choice is seldom yours to make, the secure and middle class and wealthy feel it's your choice, but all too often you have no choice and the comfortable that think it's a choice, start making choices that affect you and not them, they take away your choice and create more poor, more misery, and more lost dreams.

They start to choose to trade away the programs that prevent poverty for the promise of a middle way, an expediente deal, to "get people elected" that will make more deals that create more poor and take away the choice from more, the cycle continues, it is not pragmatism, it is making the choice FOR the poor to be poor, and taking away their chance to "choose" not to be.

I know all this to be true myself.

[mountain grammy]

21. So true, Dragonfli, so true. Most of the poor are children, what choice do they have?

[OneGrassRoot]

25. +1000 n/t

[Newest Reality]

29. Being poor is

Losing everything you had.

Downgrading.

When something breaks that you do have, that's that.

Watching your clothes fray and tear and trying not to notice.

Working as a Serf where you can get some shelter, but being paid is not going to happen, so you get trapped.

Being older and having little access to health care, so you hope you can afford that herb or whatever might work.

Finding out that once you cannot afford to participate in what people with money do for fun, you have no friends anymore.

[OneGrassRoot]

31. THAT IS SO POWERFUL...and so true. :(

I'd never seen this. Thank you very much for sharing it, Famesucker.



I created a shareable graphic at Wishadoo (w/ complete text and link to Mr. Scalzi's website in a comment), in case others want to share.

[etherealtruth]

41. Thank you!

Yes, I do wish to share.

Oh, lest I forget, thank you Fumesucker, as well.

[Fumesucker]

45. Thank you, that's a nice job you did on the graphic

[xtraxritical]

32. Yep, thank god for NAFTA and president Clinton's fore sight.

[Orrex]

33. Where the hell is DU's proud bootstrap brigade now?

In any discussion of poverty and personal debt, we see a parade of self-congratulating John Galts striding forth to condemn those living in poverty for their poor choices, their laziness, their lack of creativity, or their failure to have parents with six-figure incomes.

I'd like to hear what a few of those high-minded worthies have to say about this list.

[just1voice]

43. They're busy counting their 401K money and reading false statistics

And most importantly, they are living in complete denial about the militarist nature of our torture camp empire that they love cashing in on.

[Th1onein]

34. I was a food stamp single mother; no child support.

I know EXACTLY what this was like. Exactly.

I'm no longer poor. I'm probably one of the top ten percenters in this country; at least in terms of net worth. But I have never forgotten and I never will forget what it was like to be poor.

I was very, very lucky. I was born with good genes and I had brains (still do, I hope). My mother loved to read and she taught me to love it, as well. I parlayed this into scholarships and I took out loans, whcih I'm still paying on. Even that, though, did not get me very far. Education, especially for a woman, is not the ticket to the middle class that it used to be in this country. It helps, but it doesn't get you there.

I got lucky. I met an entrepreneur who had capital and had started a business that I made into a success. He had the money and the courage; I had the drive and the vision. I ended up owning the business, but only after I had supported him through his retirement and the illness that led to his death. I took the high road, did the right thing, but mostly, I got lucky.

I'm not saying that I didn't work. I worked my ass off, and I earned everything that I have.

I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, but you have to be lucky enough to have bootstraps in the first place, in order to do that.

Poverty is like a vortex; while you are struggling to claw your way out, the vortex is pulling you back down. It is not the strong who survive. It is the fortunate who survive.

[CrispyQ]

44. Excellent post.

Poverty is like a vortex; while you are struggling to claw your way out, the vortex is pulling you back down. It is not the strong who survive. It is the fortunate who survive.

That is the tragic truth. I have experienced financial dire straights once in my life & I can tell you, it is that vortex. People who have not gone through it, have no idea how hard it is to dig your way out once you are down. Everyone is against you. Your friends, if you still have any, think you're a loser. Your family thinks you're a failure. If your phone service gets cut off, it costs to get it turned back on - & not just the amount you owe, but some ridiculous amount to send a change order to a computer tech to flip a switch. It's insane how much industry makes on the poor with their late fees & service charges & total fucking bullshit.

We were able to dig out because there were two of us, no kids, well educated & living in an affluent area where the economy was thriving. There are so many factors to peoples economic hardship & people who are doing well don't think of any of them.

The reason judging is so harmful is because you can never know the other person's circumstances.

[JNelson6563]

35. As one who is poor it astounds me.

I marvel at others who cry poor to me, claiming they get my lot in life. Then you go to their house and see stuffed cabinets and fridge, more food then I could dream of buying. New cars, 67" flatscreen TV and all manner of things I cannot imagine having.

Many think because they don't have all the disposable income they want they are "poor". I find it a thing to marvel at.

Julie

[Curmudgeoness]

37. Yes, there is "poor", and there is "poor me"!

I smile when you mention those who cry poor, because I know so many of them. I have been in bad shape financially, I have had to take a calculator to the grocery store so I was sure that I didn't get more than I had money to get, only to forget about tax and have to give something back. I remember the time when I didn't even own a pillow. I am more comfortable today, but now I know so many of the people you are talking about, because they are not ashamed to speak to me of how "poor" they are. They would not have the nerve to talk about how poor they are to that "me from the past".

[OneGrassRoot]

38. Crossposting a comment from another thread...

And adding this graphic inspired by this wonderful OP.





The story I share at the link, in another OP, is pertinent here, imho:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2594247

[just1voice]

42. Sorry, kittycat cartoons are much more relevant to democratic issues, LOL

Or so says the most rec'd page.

[DonCoquixote]

46. to the greatest page

because it deserves to be there.

[Jerry442]

47. And the one the 1% likes best of all: being poor is not getting involved in politics because...

...you're too tired, too discouraged, too overwhelmed by just surviving, too intimidated to speak out and maybe make yourself unemployable or lose your benefits, and too cynical to believe it can possibly make any difference anyway.

[otherone]

48. being poor is hoping the toothache goes away..