Broke people making more kids...

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by ACooper

That's a good point Jessie, I like how they explained it well

Thanks, I thought so too!

There was a girl who posted on a forum I used to be a member of. She made $30k a year and posted about how "poor" she was. She had a car payment on a Mercedes, would party at clubs a few nights a week, had an "addition" to buying Juicy brand clothing, and lived in her own apartment. She would spend EVERY dollar she made on things, and then charge the rest of her bills and monthly costs on her credit card. She posted about how stressed she was once her credit cards hit a balance of $60,000!

Now, most single people could easily live on $30k a year. This girl was way above being in poverty, but was broke due to her lifestyle choices.

I've known people who are poor, and have more money in savings than she had in credit card debt! A lot of it comes down to properly budgeting, and knowing what are actually "needs" and what are "wants." Also, planning ahead. Want to get a $10 birthday gift for your kid but only end up with pocket change at the end of the week? Start a piggy bank. Throw that change in there, and you should easily have $10 in 12 months.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by ACooper

People who HAVE climbed out of a hole, know it's dammed hard, but KNOW it can be done are WAY less tolerant of those who choose to stay in the hole and whine about it........trust me

This. I know I probably should be nicer. But I busted my ass going from someone who didn't even have a home address or income to being totally self sufficient. I don't mind if you are working hard to get by. I do mind when you refuse to work because 'why bother'.

And before people say not a lot of people do that. When I was applying to jobs all but this one asked me flat out if I wanted a job or just wanted them to sign my paper. It is a big issue. I have to budget when I want things and I have months I have to go without fun stuff and don't see why going without isn't just common sense.

My issue is it is suppose to be assistance not a permanent easy check

[Miakoda]

Originally Posted by Greenmagick

I think its funny how many people believe that you can actually live on government assistance. Do you know how little it actually is? yet over and over people jump all over someone saying "Oh they are just having more kids to get more assistance"

Well, because they do. Come on down to north Baton Rouge and see for yourself.

Then again, I know many "living" on government assistance, yet their side job is as a street pharmacist-slash-entrepreneur.

[~Jessie~]

I'm also wondering why people think that someone making minimum wage should be able to support a family of 4?

I have no intentions of being snarky... but minimum wage jobs aren't meant to support an entire family.

$7.25 an hour equals $15,080 a year. Two parents making minimum wage could, IMO, support a family. It wouldn't be easy, but that's where the second jobs come into play. Work hard and dig yourself out.

[zoe08]

Originally Posted by -bogart-

i am sick to death of the attitudes of Poor = Bad people who lay around making bad choices living off other people money.

according to this site , a family of 4 with one provider has to make 12.01 and hour to make federal poverty levels.
http://www.familiesusa.org/resources...uidelines.html

BUT federal minimum wage is 7.25 hr
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm

so just being a working stiff KEEPS you below poverty level .

NOT everyone is good for college , ow yeah what is the stats on unemployed college grads?
I dont even know where i am going with this , it just burns me up how people scream about how the poor do this and the poor do that , but almost half of the country IS POOR with NO WAY OUT!!

Viscious cycles abound and until the ECONOMY changes and people ideas of what is valuable in life change this merry go round will continue.

I used to be on medicaid and food stamps , and i had an 2 children on the system . Yes they where oops , with caleb i was an irresponsible 19 yr old who should have known better . i screwed up and got pregnant. i went to the counseling sessions to have an abortion. i was an hour from it happening , but i could not get the 200 bucks to pay for it. so i had him and grew the **** up and became a mom.

that is the issue i think access to birth control and jobs. changing people views will take time , after all it has been what 2 generations that got us into this entiltment thinking.

Our idea of poor these days is so far from really being poor. Now people think they are poor because they can't cover the cost of food AND an Iphone, so they think they deserve food stamps so that they can spend their other money on iPhones, or expensive purses, shoes, clothes, video games, etc.

We don't make a lot of money. We are a 1 income household and make way less than the national median. Growing up we lived on about $25,000/year....never used food stamps/welfare/medicaid, and while we qualified for free lunch, my mom still picked me up everyday and fed me lunch too! I have a family that has said, no one can live on $25,000/year..little did they know that my parents managed without using govt assistance! The thing is people don't want to make it work, and take responsibility when they can get "free money". Buy a smaller house, a cheaper car, skip getting your nails done, you don't need internet on your phone, and many people who claim to be so poor, and who get government assistance spend more on their kids Christmas than we do!

If it was because they were really truly so poor, I would be a lot more concerned. (Yes some people really are THAT poor, but not half the country) We make choices, and I get so tired of seeing people say they have to eat beans and rice for the rest of the month, however they just posted a picture of the new such and such they just got from their iphone.

When we had Mason we would have qualified for WIC, and since we had to use formula, free formula would have been awesome, but I didn't do it because we didn't NEED it. It is not right to accept assistance if you really do not NEED it. At the time we had satellite, which is about $60/month, if we could afford satellite, we could afford formula. If we couldn't then we could have cut the satellite to cover the cost of the formula. We do not NEED satellite TV, my child does NEED to eat, it is mine and my husband's responsibility to make sure that is possible. If it means giving up satellite, then that's what we do, we don't accept assistance just so we can keep our luxuries, that is not what it is for.

And you do NOT need a college degree to make more than minimum wage.

My husband's friend that works with him is totally impressed with how we make it on our income, because they have 2 incomes and say there is no way that she could stay home right now and just live off his income, even though he actually makes a little more than my husband. It is not really about "ability" it is about the desire to (in the words of Tim Gunn) MAKE IT WORK.

[zoe08]

Originally Posted by ~Jessie~

Now, most single people could easily live on $30k a year. This girl was way above being in poverty, but was broke due to her lifestyle choices.

Most single people? We lived on less than that (2 adults and a baby) until just the past 2 years since my husband got the job he has now, and now he makes a little bit more than that and we have since added another baby to the household. We also have a 6 month emergency fund.

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by zoe08

Most single people? We lived on less than that (2 adults and a baby) until just the past 2 years since my husband got the job he has now, and now he makes a little bit more than that and we have since added another baby to the household. We also have a 6 month emergency fund.

Yeah, most. I'd imagine it would be pretty hard to support yourself on $30k if you lived in, say, Manhattan.

The average rent in Manhattan is now at an all-time high of $3418 a month, and there is no relief in sight for renters.

You can do it, but not "easily" (I said most single people can easily live on $30k). You can get a roommate, move out of the city and commute... I just didn't want to say ALL people could easily live on $30k because there are locations that make it more difficult.

[zoe08]

Originally Posted by ~Jessie~

Yeah, most. I'd imagine it would be pretty hard to support yourself on $30k if you lived in, say, Manhattan.

Which is precisely why I have no idea why anyone would continue to live there if they only made $30k/year. When you continue to keep yourself in a bad position (whether living an extremely high col area like that or paying for a home that is way more than you can afford), I find it really hard to feel bad for people who think that their location is more important than taking care of their family.

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by zoe08

Which is precisely why I have no idea why anyone would continue to live there if they only made $30k/year. When you continue to keep yourself in a bad position (whether living an extremely high col area like that or paying for a home that is way more than you can afford), I find it really hard to feel bad for people who think that their location is more important than taking care of their family.

I completely agree, but a single person doesn't have a family. It would be very selfish to stay there with a family if you can barely support yourself.

If you're single and supporting yourself (even if it's difficult), you're not having to be responsible for anyone else except for yourself.

[sassafras]

Originally Posted by ACooper

And how do you know who has or has not experienced dirt poorness? (is poorness a word? LOL) How do you know who did or did not grow up that way, never having much of anything because your parents weren't responsible with birth control or money.

I don't, but... how does that have anything to do with what I said? I actually do think that most people who haven't been dirt poor would be astonished by how much they could cut out of their expenses if they had to. And if someone chooses to live that way for the rest of their life... so what?

People who HAVE climbed out of a hole, know it's dammed hard, but KNOW it can be done are WAY less tolerant of those who choose to stay in the hole and whine about it........trust me

But... why? My hole was temporary, too, but I learned good life and coping skills from my parents and am with a supportive partner who is on the same page as me, and I wanted to get out of the hole. But not everyone has the life skills or even the desire to change their situation. Those people aren't me, and I'm not them. If someone chooses to live a bare bones lifestyle with multiple kids rather than a life full of birthday presents with no kids or one kid... so what? What skin is it off my teeth? It doesn't hurt me to see a whiny post on their FB page?

And anyway, the OP wasn't even about people on assistance, or not being able to feed their kids, or didn't even have information that says they are chronically broke... just "**** it sucks to not afford birthday presents"... that could mean a one time THIS YEAR kind of thing, it could mean because because someone's hours were cut at work, it could mean because the mom is on bed rest and can't work for the rest of the pregnancy so cash is short... or yea, it could be that they are ridiculously irresponsible high-spending bozos. I don't know them. It could just mean a lot of things and it's icky to me that the immediate assumptions are of the worst possible scenarios based on a single, out of context FB post.