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Yes, homelessness is a problem but they definitely could have chosen a more sympathetic "victim." While $15k is by no means a gigantic income, it's enough to l
by morgante 11y ago
Yes, homelessness is a problem but they definitely could have chosen a more sympathetic "victim."
While $15k is by no means a gigantic income, it's enough to live on as a single person in most parts of the country. Nobody is entitled to a job as a "photographer" in the most expensive city in the country—if you can't make ends meet, try doing something else somewhere else. Not buying $200 shoes (5x what I've ever spent on shoes) would be a good start.
Why does the media continue to insist on using the least sympathetic faces for societal problems? (See also the fixation on the "plight" of students who have loans from top-tier colleges when the far more endemic problem is people who spend thousands on useless degrees from for-profit universities.)
- avz 11y agoThis is what puzzled me, too. One explanation is that the media prefer to write about subjects and people that are divisive and polarizing. This way they maximize discussion, linking and visits. I this particular case our "victim" is chosen so as to create two opposing emotional reactions. On the one hand, if your aspirations and values are close to his, then you're likely to sympathize with his struggles. On the other, if they're not, you're more likely to consider him rather entitled.
- jpatokal 11y agoPut yourself in the guy's shoes for a moment, even if they cost him $200 when he bought them, presumably long before he became homeless (good shoes well kept are close to indestructible). He's an aging model (early 40s?), presumably with no other marketable skills, and he's hustling pretty hard to keep his head above water. Yes, he clearly made bad choices when he was younger and that led him to where he is today... but given where he's at right now, what exactly do you suggest that he do?
- morgante 11y ago> what exactly do you suggest that he do? Move to a cheaper city and get a job which pays a low but dependable income. If you're willing to be geographically and occupationally flexible, there's absolutely no reason to end up homeless.
- jpatokal 11y agoWhat such jobs are readily available to early-fifties retired fashion models? How much are the up-front costs of moving to a new city and acquiring a place to live?
- morgante 11y ago> What such jobs are readily available to early-fifties retired fashion models? He doesn't need a "good" job. He could get an hourly minimum wage job and already have an equivalent salary to his current job. Since he has some nominal "fashion" experience, retail might be a good place to start. I'm sure Brooks Brothers wouldn't mind hiring a former male model to sell clothes. > How much are the up-front costs of moving to a new city and acquiring a place to live? Honestly, it's probably an upper limit of $5k (I've moved for far less). But he got a lump sump payment of $30k for leaving his apartment—equivalent to two years salary. That's surely enough to move anywhere in the country and find a decent, affordable housing situation.
- ericd 11y agoIt says the movie showed his 52nd birthday.
- chetanahuja 11y agoI see your point but I think the point is that $15000 income is only possible because he's living in the only city where he can possibly make that much. The one marketable skill he has is as a fashion photographer. Not much call for those outside of a few select (very expensive) cities in the country.
- morgante 11y agoIf your so-called "marketable skill" only yields a salary equivalent to minimum wage, you're probably better off looking for unskilled positions or trying to acquire a new skill.