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I’ve been so poor my calculated net per month was minus $1000 for about 16 years while supporting a family. I worked and saved my way out of it and know that th

I’ve been so poor my calculated net per month was minus $1000 for about 16 years while supporting a family. I worked and saved my way out of it and know that the inability to save for the vast majority of people is just bullshit. Its an inability to sacrifice and “suffer” in a consumerist society. They won’t make their own coffee or cook their own food or give up cable or Netflix or their cell phone or fix their own plumbing or grow their own food, spend their free time learning and studying, etc ad naseum. I’ll be the first to argue the root of the problem is the rampant abuse of workers rights and wages by our capitalist overlords but the reality is that, baring some medical catostrophy in the USA, it can be done with hard work and sacrifice. Most aren’t willing to do it and though I agree they shouldn’t have to, reality states otherwise.

Mc_Big_G 8y ago
Downvotes are cool but counter-arguments are more convincing.
- the_gastropod 8y ago
  People read these kinds of comments as "pull yourself up by your bootstraps!". There are impoverished people who probably cannot do this. But if you're middle class, and you're healthy, you almost certainly have 0 excuse to not be able to retire.
- trexpersecond 8y ago
  You sound like my sister. By the way it was not me who downvoted you. I didn't upvote you either though, lol. I grew up around the tone of superiority that you are, knowlingly or not, expressing. It really just sounds like you blame the poor for their own poverty. That's kind of niave. For one, the economic conditions in our country have changed. So managing to save now is a little harder than it was in the past. Another thing is you blame the poor for being too lazy to do this long list of things but if your hatred were actually sincere you would have had enough introspection to realize that growing their own food is not something they are capable of doing. etc. The class gap is widening and it's not pretty.
- Scott_Sanderson 8y ago
  Wait there are downvotes on HN?
  - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
    Yes, but you have to have at least 501 karma to be able to downvote. Until then, the arrow never appears.
sharkmerry 8y ago
seems like you created a strawman you created and are arguing against that. >> and know that the inability to save for the vast majority of people is just bullshit. Its an inability to sacrifice and “suffer” in a consumerist society. How do you know this? median income (50th %) in US is 37k before taxes. The average rent is 1k, so 33% of pretax is going to housing but its definitely lazy people? >> I’ve been so poor my calculated net per month was minus $1000 for about 16 years while supporting a family. I worked and saved my way out of it How did you save while having a net of -$1000/month?
- naveen99 8y ago
  Where are you getting 37k ? First hit on google for usa median income is 59k https://amp.businessinsider.com/us-census-median-income-2017-9 https://amp.businessinsider.com/us-census-median-income-2017...
  - TheCoelacanth 8y ago
    It depends exactly what you are measuring the income for. 59k is per household while the median per person 15 or older is about 31k[1]. Median wage for full-time workers is about 45k[2]. Not sure where they are getting 37k from. Maybe income per person for some narrower age range. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N [2] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
    - sharkmerry 8y ago
      50 percentile for individuals. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109731-united-states-income-brackets-percentiles-2017 https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109731-united-states-incom... it was a very quick google, so i could've been misled
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - sharkmerry 8y ago

Mc_Big_G 8y ago

Downvotes are cool but counter-arguments are more convincing.

the_gastropod 8y ago
People read these kinds of comments as "pull yourself up by your bootstraps!". There are impoverished people who probably cannot do this. But if you're middle class, and you're healthy, you almost certainly have 0 excuse to not be able to retire.
trexpersecond 8y ago
You sound like my sister. By the way it was not me who downvoted you. I didn't upvote you either though, lol. I grew up around the tone of superiority that you are, knowlingly or not, expressing. It really just sounds like you blame the poor for their own poverty. That's kind of niave. For one, the economic conditions in our country have changed. So managing to save now is a little harder than it was in the past. Another thing is you blame the poor for being too lazy to do this long list of things but if your hatred were actually sincere you would have had enough introspection to realize that growing their own food is not something they are capable of doing. etc. The class gap is widening and it's not pretty.
Scott_Sanderson 8y ago
Wait there are downvotes on HN?
- Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
  Yes, but you have to have at least 501 karma to be able to downvote. Until then, the arrow never appears.

sharkmerry 8y ago

seems like you created a strawman you created and are arguing against that. >> and know that the inability to save for the vast majority of people is just bullshit. Its an inability to sacrifice and “suffer” in a consumerist society. How do you know this? median income (50th %) in US is 37k before taxes. The average rent is 1k, so 33% of pretax is going to housing but its definitely lazy people? >> I’ve been so poor my calculated net per month was minus $1000 for about 16 years while supporting a family. I worked and saved my way out of it How did you save while having a net of -$1000/month?

naveen99 8y ago
Where are you getting 37k ? First hit on google for usa median income is 59k https://amp.businessinsider.com/us-census-median-income-2017-9 https://amp.businessinsider.com/us-census-median-income-2017...
- TheCoelacanth 8y ago
  It depends exactly what you are measuring the income for. 59k is per household while the median per person 15 or older is about 31k[1]. Median wage for full-time workers is about 45k[2]. Not sure where they are getting 37k from. Maybe income per person for some narrower age range. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N [2] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
  - sharkmerry 8y ago
    50 percentile for individuals. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109731-united-states-income-brackets-percentiles-2017 https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109731-united-states-incom... it was a very quick google, so i could've been misled
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- sharkmerry 8y ago