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It's not simply a lack of money. Americans were poor for a long time and yet progressed. It's the poison of being surrounded by people who don't wish to progr

It's not simply a lack of money. Americans were poor for a long time and yet progressed. It's the poison of being surrounded by people who don't wish to progress for whatever reason: it threatens their place in the hierarchy, they lose control, it creates fear in them, they have self-doubt, they are envious of others, etc. Individuals can be plucked out of that environment and be given hopeful surroundings in which to progress. But any individual who doesn't want to change won't change despite all the help they're given. Try getting someone to give up drink or drugs when they don't want to despite the self- and other- harm they are creating. It's like that.

mikecane 16y ago
I give all of you Cheryl Taggart: http://mikecane.tumblr.com/post/746571170/cheryl-taggart http://mikecane.tumblr.com/post/746571170/cheryl-taggart
wisty 16y ago
The real problem isn't that people are poor (they lack money), but that people are broke (they have debts they can't clear). Those debts can be actual money owed or other essential expenses (i.e. insurance, repairs, education, etc). Once you are broke, then paying off your power bill won't make a big difference, because you will still have to fight off the credit card company ... and you will still be broke. Think of it in terms of a GPA. If your GPA is 1.5 (poor), you still have an incentive to work hard and raise it to 2.0. But if your GPA is 0.3 (broke), then even if you work hard you still won't pass. So why bother? People do drop out for other reasons (drug issues, mental health, and so on) but the article raises a very important point - people drop out when they are broke and can't make ends meet (in the near future) even if they work hard.
- starkfist 16y ago
  I've always seen the words broke and poor used in the opposite way you are using them. Being broke is a temporary situation, being poor is more of a state of being. e.g. Elon Musk is broke but he's not poor.
  - wisty 16y ago
    I'm using them in a similar way. Elon Musk won't solve his problems by getting a part-time job at Wallmart, so why should he bother? The same is true for a lot of people who are also broke, but happen to be poor as well.

mikecane 16y ago

I give all of you Cheryl Taggart: http://mikecane.tumblr.com/post/746571170/cheryl-taggart http://mikecane.tumblr.com/post/746571170/cheryl-taggart

wisty 16y ago

The real problem isn't that people are poor (they lack money), but that people are broke (they have debts they can't clear). Those debts can be actual money owed or other essential expenses (i.e. insurance, repairs, education, etc). Once you are broke, then paying off your power bill won't make a big difference, because you will still have to fight off the credit card company ... and you will still be broke. Think of it in terms of a GPA. If your GPA is 1.5 (poor), you still have an incentive to work hard and raise it to 2.0. But if your GPA is 0.3 (broke), then even if you work hard you still won't pass. So why bother? People do drop out for other reasons (drug issues, mental health, and so on) but the article raises a very important point - people drop out when they are broke and can't make ends meet (in the near future) even if they work hard.

starkfist 16y ago
I've always seen the words broke and poor used in the opposite way you are using them. Being broke is a temporary situation, being poor is more of a state of being. e.g. Elon Musk is broke but he's not poor.
- wisty 16y ago
  I'm using them in a similar way. Elon Musk won't solve his problems by getting a part-time job at Wallmart, so why should he bother? The same is true for a lot of people who are also broke, but happen to be poor as well.