Modern Poverty Includes A.C. and an Xbox

Originally posted by Forevever
reply to post by Crapspackle

 

wow you must be on welfare and think I'm judging you or something
I never had anyone attack me for surviving without asking for handouts....
totally new to me....

No and that is exactly it.
You claim to be so proud of not asking for handouts while you yourself said you support both you and your child solely on child support payments. That is money coming from someone NOT YOU sent to take care of someone NOT YOU. You are stealing from your child's CS payments to support yourself all while claiming you are better than a person on welfare for not asking for handouts. Of course you are not asking for handouts. You are already stealing from your own kid.

reply to post by SevenBeans

It's pretty common knowledge that many homeless people are mentally ill/challenged and/or addicts

Well yeah, they are, after they get back from a WAR. Many/most homeless people are veterans.
There was such a problem with Vietnam veteran homeless here in the early eighties, we had to get a grant to build them a "camphouse" (shelter).

Dolphinfan and Getreadyalready: I don't think I've ever seen two people so ready to tell other people, what to do, what to think, how to live, what to eat, or how to think.

Both of you are so full of yourselves it's appalling. I'm done reading this prejudicial, judgmental sorry lot of a thread. Both of you, are sooooooooooooo fabulous I can't take it anymore.

And if this is the way Ron Paul thinks? I'll be sure and NOT vote for him.

reply to post by Crapspackle

Does your child get nourishment from watching you eat their food for them?

ok so I made spaghetti for dinner right - reasonably inexpensive - like $5.00 altogether
lbs of spaghetti, jar of sauce, some ground beef

I'm supposed to feed my kid, and not eat any?

You act like I don't feed him at all I just eat and make him watch....

And by the way - since you seem to need to know so much - I put MORE MONEY into these children than ALL the ex's child support payments put together. What makes you think I don't have money set aside for emergencies and taxes? I only said that child support is my only current income - YOU assumed I waste it on myself.

So lets pretend you're his father - I dare you to try to take my kids from me. You have ZERO grounds. In fact, if I show up in court with all the receipts for paid medical bills and clothing and extras and school supplies and clothes, you probably would owe me a good $20,000 or so.

But then thats not realistic because when I DID try to get a child support increase (which would've been in the bag based on the money I was making) - he didn't show up

The court refused to issue a bench warrant because I wasn't on welfare - they did 4 continuances and I finally gave up. He pays his pittance every week, I have no recourse. But of course that just strengthens your argument - I should've quit my job and got on welfare - EXCEPT ON WELFARE I wouldn't have been ENTITLED to anymore child support - I would've only gotten a pass through check (which back in 1992 when I was on welfare was only $50 a month)

Originally posted by Crapspackle

Originally posted by Forevever
reply to post by Crapspackle

 

wow you must be on welfare and think I'm judging you or something
I never had anyone attack me for surviving without asking for handouts....
totally new to me....

No and that is exactly it.
You claim to be so proud of not asking for handouts while you yourself said you support both you and your child solely on child support payments. That is money coming from someone NOT YOU sent to take care of someone NOT YOU. You are stealing from your child's CS payments to support yourself all while claiming you are better than a person on welfare for not asking for handouts. Of course you are not asking for handouts. You are already stealing from your own kid.

You make a hell of a lot of assumptions
My kids are taken care of, and always have been, BY ME

Part of the problem, or at least the part that my family is in...is making too much for any assistance, but not making enough to put any money away for a rainy day. Today, I had to have our 97 Kia repaired at a cost of $138. Not a huge amount, but when you live check to check...it puts you back a bit.

I'm not complaining...this is simply where I am now. A few months ago, I got a promotion and a raise of $40 per week. That was a big help...seriously. $160 per month (pre-tax). Then all of a sudden our $70 per month health insurance went away because I'm now making too much. My only option was to replace it with $250 a month insurance. Simple math here:

$160 - ($250 - $70) = -$20

So the hard work, etc. has netted me $20 less per month. It is difficult to "pull yourself out" when the process pulls you down during the journey. I have less time to spend with the kids and my wife, I'm tired quite often, etc...but at least now I'm making $20 less per month...ummm....ahhhh...CRAP!

Well, I'm poor, and have an xbox 360. Been playing the same games for a few years now cause I can't afford any new ones.

I've been unemployed for over a year now too. I was poor before I became unemployed though. I was living in Alaska making 11.55 an hour in a groc store,my wife was making more in a liquor store, and combined income was in the 45k range, and up there, it was enough to just barely get by. Rent alone killed half our income and the food cost, don't get me started on that, who wants to pay $7 for a gallon of milk?

We moved, hoping Texas would be better and cheaper, seemed to be a busy place, with lots of work, but in 6 months of looking, no one would hire me. I am guessing it is because I am 40 years old, have management experience, am "over-qualified"(how ironic that is) and the economy scares employers away from hiring new people, let alone the fact that every place I checked, people were clinging to their jobs with a death grip. It is not like it was 10 years ago, when I could fill out 5 applications and have 4 potential employers all trying to get me to work for them.

Now I am in Minnesota, finding the same problem as Texas,no work.

But I still have my xbox....until I have to pawn it. I already pawned off my coin collection.

Modern poverty sucks, I am surprised my family is not homeless yet.

reply to post by getreadyalready


$24K is about twice what a full-time minimum wage worker makes in a good minimum wage state.

oregonstate.edu...

I know people who'd do a lot for that kind of money per year and count themselves lucky...I know more than a few teachers who'd jump at it.

Try living on half that $24K, then tell me how many life choices you have. You could move, but where? Every city I check has a pretty thin help-wanted section, and in any case, moving is expensive.

I don't care how hard you work, want to work, or could work...it means nothing if the jobs aren't there, and they aren't.

18K net jobs created by this economy in June...we need 150K job growth just to keep up with population growth.

The rich have killed the economy through disinvestment and looting, and you blame their victims and exhort them to work harder for less, while holding those responsible blameless.

Please...blaming the poor for not working when there isn't work, or being unwilling to work at a rate that actually costs them more to be employed than they earn is indicative of a lack of understanding or unwillingness to acknowledge reality.

Originally posted by Forevever
reply to post by Crapspackle

 

Does your child get nourishment from watching you eat their food for them?

ok so I made spaghetti for dinner right - reasonably inexpensive - like $5.00 altogether
lbs of spaghetti, jar of sauce, some ground beef

Paid for in full with child support. How much did you eat?

I'm supposed to feed my kid, and not eat any?

You are supposed to buy your own food. I do.

You act like I don't feed him at all I just eat and make him watch....

Never even suggested such a thing.

And by the way - since you seem to need to know so much - I put MORE MONEY into these children than ALL the ex's child support payments put together.

Money from where? You said your entire income comes from child support so you are arguing what a hero you are because your kids get most of the money meant for them?

What makes you think I don't have money set aside for emergencies and taxes? I only said that child support is my only current income - YOU assumed I waste it on myself.

I assumed you live in a building, wear clothes, and eat food. You have verified these things for me.

So lets pretend you're his father - I dare you to try to take my kids from me. You have ZERO grounds. In fact, if I show up in court with all the receipts for paid medical bills and clothing and extras and school supplies and clothes, you probably would owe me a good $20,000 or so.

That is not even remotely possible based on what you said. I send you money and you spend SOME of it on the kids. Good luck getting a lawyer with that money too. That will help the case.

But then thats not realistic because when I DID try to get a child support increase (which would've been in the bag based on the money I was making) - he didn't show up

You mean instead of getting a job to support your own needs you took him to court to ask for more money even though you admit not 100% of it goes to the kids already? Good think you are not on welfare.

The court refused to issue a bench warrant because I wasn't on welfare - they did 4 continuances and I finally gave up. He pays his pittance every week, I have no recourse. But of course that just strengthens your argument - I should've quit my job and got on welfare - EXCEPT ON WELFARE I wouldn't have been ENTITLED to anymore child support - I would've only gotten a pass through check (which back in 1992 when I was on welfare was only $50 a month)

Oh, now you have a job?

While I do qualify for welfare. based on my current income (consisting only of child support),

Is your job opening the mail?

Just got off the phone with my wife...............................
Here's some ammunition for my detractors, LOL!

My wife and our Nanny are grouchy this week (you can figure out why).

Nanny? Yes, I said Nanny! Does that make me rich? Out of touch? Frivolous?

The answer is NO! In reality, daycare costs $150 per week per child, or $1290 per month during the summer when school is out. I posted an ad on a nanny website, and I found a nanny to live with us, watch the kids, cook, clean, and it only costs $600 per month! More than a 50% savings, plus a savings in gas money, plus more time at home with the kids, plus more value with the cooking and cleaning!

I wonder how many single mothers are paying $600 to $1200 per month for daycare and barely scraping by, and they never realized they could move a helper in with them, lighten the work load, save some time, and actually save money too?
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When school starts again, the "afterschool care" is $212.50 per month per kid. The nanny will be doing that for free! And still cooking and cleaning, just for free rent!

So I saved almost $700 per month all summer, and I'll save $425 per month this fall, I got more help for my wife and I around the house, and to all outward appearances, I look even more "rich."

reply to post by Darkblade71


I know THAT feeling. We moved from NJ to PA (6 years ago) during my 2 years unemployed. Finally I went to Walmart and applied for work. I had to put my last job on my resume...$92,000 per year. The look I got when they said I was over-qualified was devastating. The manager wanted to hire me, but couldn't. He suggested I lie next time. I'm not working at Walmart (obviously) and my previous 10 years of employment ranged from 72k-92k per year.

So...I guess I need to lie about being intelligent (computer programmer) and a hard worker. My currently pay...$20k. The American dream...I guess.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by Cuervo

 

"Poverty Line" for a single person is about $10k!!

For a family making $30k to be considered "impoverished" they need to be a family of 7.

Where do you live? Seriously. Do you live in a magical land in which car payments, car insurance, gasoline, rent, gas, electricity, water, and food are free? You're saying that a family of four can survive comfortably on a total salary of $30k? That's insane. Regardless of who you are and what you think about other issues, you've just proven yourself to be ignorant or a shill. We can only hope that Fox News goes down the drain with Murdoch - the ignorance that it and the shill Heritage Foundation spew out is ridiculous. You have to be a good salesmen to make people abandon common sense so easily. Frankly, if you are serious, I feel sorry for you.

Originally posted by Forevever
You make a hell of a lot of assumptions
My kids are taken care of, and always have been, BY ME

This is exactly why your pride in not accepting welfare is so misplaced. You claim you take care of your kids after claiming

While I do qualify for welfare. based on my current income (consisting only of child support),

Obviously someone else is paying for both you and your kids by your own admission. You should either be using 100% of that child support on those kids or doing something to mitigate your need to steal from their child support to feed yourself.

It is people like you that run around disparaging people that get assistance because you are so proud of what you do to take care of yourself. What do you do to take care of yourself again?

While I do qualify for welfare. based on my current income (consisting only of child support),

Cash a check from someone else. Tough work if you can get it.

reply to post by apacheman

The rich have killed the economy through disinvestment and looting, and you blame their victims and exhort them to work harder for less, while holding those responsible blameless.

I agree with this statement, although I'm not holding anyone "blameless." It is everyone else holding the poor blameless. I blame everybody!

Yes, the rich are opportunists, and in many cases they are greedy. But who gives them that power? Why do we buy their stuff? Why do we vote for politicians that will send jobs overseas, and then buy the cheap crap that comes back from those overseas jobs, and then complain about our situation?

We vote first with our dollars. We don't have to buy Chinese crap. We vote next with our real votes, we don't have to accept the lesser of two evils, we can find decent candidates, and then be vocal to our friends and neighbors about who needs our vote and why.

Times are hard. Possibly harder than they have been in almost 100 years, but we didn't just wake up and find ourselves this way. We all made this bed.

Here is a nice video that I like to post as much as possible. It is fairly short, and it is very insightful.

The Story of Stuff

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Just got off the phone with my wife...............................
Here's some ammunition for my detractors, LOL!

My wife and our Nanny are grouchy this week (you can figure out why).

Nanny? Yes, I said Nanny! Does that make me rich? Out of touch? Frivolous?

That sounds really nice for you. Where is this place where working parents have such great options? Around here most of the working parents I know have to work opposite shifts and utilize family members becase daycare or a nanny is just simply out of the question.

reply to post by Crapspackle


yeah I can't possibly be living on any money I made and saved if my only income is child support

did it occur to you that other money I live off of PRE-EXISTED - its not considered income? its considered ON HAND CASH

seriously, lets get it all on the table - you know how much my child support is every month? $180.00
What NORMALLY a man would pay in 1 week, I get in one month - I NEVER EVEN HAD A PAYCHECK that low - or spent less than that clothes shopping for him

Custodial parents pay way more than the support paying parent, believe me.

I didn't want to point that out though because its irrelevant to the fact that you're wrong about child support - child support goes into the household to maintain a household suitable for a child (and I won't even be getting that much longer did you SEE I SAID 1992, that makes him 19, and the other one is 17)

anyway I'm done with you - I know where you're coming from - I remember now, having this conversation once before - your mind is set - you'll never see the truth - that guys last comment to me was "yeah well I'm an a-hole" - I said "yeah, and proud of it" - and never spoke to him again. Like I won't speak to you.

ETA seriously I tend to avoid insults - but I think you must be retarded - out of 19 years, I worked 15 of them. CURRENT does not mean ALL

Great post. I've been saying for years that unemployment payments should cover basic necessities only, and should never have been extended beyond the six months that they were originally intended for.

I've heard of people that are so comfortable on the money they get from unemployment that they wouldn't even consider going back to work unless it was physically cut off.

Here in Canada, the unemployed on welfare also get free medical and dental coverage, which is insane, it's a benefit that many average working people can't afford.

To me, "poor" means that you're eating spaghetti for a week made in the one pot that you own in the kitchen that you share with 5 other roommates. Of course, you use salad dressing for sauce as you can't afford to make meat sauce, who can afford meat when you're poor?

Certainly cable tv, cell phones, and video games are trappings of the middle class, not the "poor" of society.

You want to see how real "poor" people live, go to rural Asia.

reply to post by andrewh7


Those are the nationally published figures, not my made up figures.

Besides, I posted my experience with a family of 4 living on $24k per year, and plenty of others have posted their experiences with even less money.

I'm not a shill, I'm just the only one being honest here! Everyone else is either falling for the propaganda, or making excuses for their situations. I've been at the very bottom a few times. I have found myself homeless a couple of times, but it never lasted more than a day or two.

I once got thrown out of a friend's house (for sleeping with his girlfriend), didn't want to admit it to anyone (because it was my own fault, and I deserved it, so I definitely wasn't going to ask anyone for any help), I took off and drove about 4 hours away to Oklahoma City with $20 and my car. I rented a hotel room with a credit card that I knew would get declined if they ran it. I walked around a local neighborhood and mowed a couple of lawns and made enough money to pay for my room that first night, and buy a $25 lawnmower at a pawnshop. The next day I earned a couple of hundred bucks and found a place to live that was cheaper than a hotel. By the end of the week I had a cheap apartment and a trailer for my mower and I was checking out the local restaurants and bars and having a great time! The next week I had a real job! I moved home a couple of months later, but I knew I could survive anywhere!

I was young and stupid and fearless and I didn't have any other responsibilities, but come on folks, it can be done! I'm not discounting anybody's experiences or telling anybody that I don't believe their stories, I'm just saying that we all have control over our own fates, and the minute that we lose hope in that control, we become victims!

We don't have to buy Chinese crap.

I can either drive 10 miles to Walmart and buy a screwdriver for $2, or drive 20 miles to the "local" hardware store and buy one for $4. Walmart sells everything else also...and food. If I drive to the "local" hardware store, I also have to drive to the "local" grocery store...which costs about 10-20% more than Walmart.

Forgetting the screwdriver, but feeding (etc.) my wife, myself and my two children costs $160 a week at Walmart or $200 at the "local" stores...and going to the local stores costs about another $5-$10 in gas, etc.

I hate to say it, but sometimes you have little choice but to continue to feed the monsters that have caused these problems in the first place.

reply to post by getreadyalready


We really evaluated having an au-pair, then we considered the renting price of three-bedroom house including the local tax on such bringing the rent from 850+100 to 1100+100, so it was not much of a gain there

reply to post by Crapspackle


I'd love to utilize family members, but I don't have any of those available. The ones that are here work two incomes just like we do.

As for two shifts, we did that for awhile, except both shifts were mine! I worked days and evenings, and this town doesn't really have any graveyard shifts. We did it until my wife was able to get a job with the state like mine. It took about 3 years before the kids were old enough for us to be able to afford daycare, and before my wife could find a decent job with benefits.

Currently as I type this, I am at one of my lingering second jobs. I still work one evening per week and every other Saturday morning as a bookkeeper in addition to my regular job.

I know a lot of single mothers that are friends of my wife, and they mostly have to utilize daycare. Some of them have discounted rates either through public assistance, or just because they have friends or family that run daycares. I don't know anybody working opposite shifts, but that is probably because of the lack of manufacturing jobs here in Tallahassee. There isn't much of a night shift crowd unless it is in the bars.