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> The big barrier is realizing you have personal agency and can do basic things like shop. This argument reminds me of web designers who blame users for the mi

• Consultant32452 9y ago
  The difference between you and me is that you believe poor people are stupid and I don't. Otherwise you wouldn't have felt the need to qualify how difficult it would be for "poor people" to figure out how to buy disability insurance, a product that's largely off the shelf.
  • rectang 9y ago
    No, the difference is that I factor in structural factors that keep people poor, while you pretend they don't exist.
    • Consultant32452 9y ago
      What structural factors, specifically, stop poor people from attaining the level of "expertise" necessary to buy disability insurance?
      • mLuby 9y ago
        Fundamentally it's lack of time due to having to work 2+ gigs likely while juggling child care or elder care. People with money can pay people to do things for them, freeing up time. Even if they do it themselves, they likely have a more comfortable life so it's easier to devote an evening or a weekend to figuring out complicated medical/legal/financial scenarios.
        • Consultant32452 9y ago
          Do you similarly feel that it's impossible for poor people to buy car insurance? Disability insurance is LESS complicated than that. Do you want the 50% of your current salary or 75% of your current salary option? That's it. Maybe you can pay a few extra bucks for a rider that increases your disability coverage each year as you get a raise. This is not complicated stuff and any insurance agent is going to be happy to walk you through it if you have questions.
          • mLuby 9y ago
            Nobody's saying it's impossible or even difficult. But if I'm rushing from my shift at McDonald's to pick up my kid and drop them off at home with some dinner before heading to the late shift at Home Depot, I'm not going to be able to talk to an insurance agent who might very well be happy to walk me through it, let alone spend time actively thinking about what coverage I need.
            • Consultant32452 9y ago
              You dodged my first question. Apply the same thing to car insurance. Are poor people generally incapable of attaining the "expertise" to be able to purchase car insurance?
              • mLuby 9y ago
                Car insurance is much simpler than health insurance. Still, I expect most people without car insurance are poor, and the reason they don't have it is not simply a lack of money but also (and relatedly) a lack of time. Generally yes, poor people are less capable of gaining the "expertise" to do many things, because they are busy trying to stay alive. It's textbook hierarchy of needs. Noticed other replies; why the fixation on car insurance? I thought we were talking about structural impediments to poor people?
                • Consultant32452 9y ago
      • acomar 9y ago
        The short answer to this question is that they're individually insignificant and Atlus-like in aggregate. The long answer to this question is, in fact, extremely long.
        • Consultant32452 9y ago
          Nice platitudes. Do you believe that poor people are similarly incapable of buying car insurance?
          • jtmcmc 9y ago
            yes sometimes they are - because they are poor. The reason many poor contractors can't afford things like disability insurance is because they don't have the money. They have sub optimal spending habits thanks to poverty traps when they have much less income to begin with.
            • Consultant32452 9y ago
              Please read the full context of the conversation. This is not a discussion about whether a specific poor person might have enough dollars in their pocket to buy disability insurance. This is a discussion about whether or not poor people have the cognitive ability to purchase disability insurance. The OP suggested that by the very nature of being poor a person should not be expected to be able to attain the "expertise" required to purchase disability insurance. My contention is that this is a disgustingly classist view against poor people. Poor people, by and large, seem perfectly capable of purchasing car insurance, and disability insurance is generally less complicated.
          • acomar 9y ago
            That wasn't a platitude. That was a suggestion that the smart place to end the conversation was there. If you'd like to continue it, we can, it's just not easy over text.
            • Consultant32452 9y ago
      • TheCoelacanth 9y ago
        It's not a lack of "expertise" that is keeping poor people from buying disability insurance. It is a lack of money.