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"Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair

"Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars." But then there were LeBron Nikes made in China with cheap labor and sold for $225. Those were the kind of shoes poor people bought using their credit cards.

mynameishere 6y ago
Troubled Teens Mock Social Worker's Car https://local.theonion.com/troubled-teens-mock-social-workers-car-1819566938 https://local.theonion.com/troubled-teens-mock-social-worker... A lot of people on HN are from Upper-Middle-class backgrounds and it's funny how the same just-so stories and excuses come up when discussing the poor. The idea that poor folk are going to use their UBI to buy the 24 pack of eggs instead of the 12 pack, or the leather boots instead of the faux-leather boots, and spend the long-term savings towards a Coursera subscription just isn't realistic, howsoever common.
- rwmurrayVT 6y ago
  Ouch, that one hits home. My partner is a social worker and her car leaves a lot to be desired..
paulryanrogers 6y ago
Not sure why this is being down voted. Perhaps some consider it punching down? While a generalisation it is true that some economically disadvantaged spend a lot on 'luxuries' like shoes or cars. Often this is for social signally and sometimes because it's a luxury they can afford now vs those which appear completely unattainable forever. Some rich people too spend extravagantly beyond their means. It's just less obvious since they aren't obviously hurting for money on other ways.
- legerdemain 6y ago
  In college, I lived with roommates in a working class urban neighborhood three or four blocks away from campus. The block I lived on featured the convenience of only one side of the street having houses on it. The other was nose-in parking, facing a creek. The cars that lined the other side of the street were uniformly nice. Every time I remarked about that, my roommates would dump on the working poor for buying showy cars they couldn't afford. They never once considered that the street was used as free overflow parking by university employees, which even cursory observation showed to be the case. So yes, "they buy nice cars they can't afford" is a mean cliche, even if I'm sure you can find some case of it being true.

mynameishere 6y ago

Troubled Teens Mock Social Worker's Car https://local.theonion.com/troubled-teens-mock-social-workers-car-1819566938 https://local.theonion.com/troubled-teens-mock-social-worker... A lot of people on HN are from Upper-Middle-class backgrounds and it's funny how the same just-so stories and excuses come up when discussing the poor. The idea that poor folk are going to use their UBI to buy the 24 pack of eggs instead of the 12 pack, or the leather boots instead of the faux-leather boots, and spend the long-term savings towards a Coursera subscription just isn't realistic, howsoever common.

rwmurrayVT 6y ago
Ouch, that one hits home. My partner is a social worker and her car leaves a lot to be desired..

paulryanrogers 6y ago

Not sure why this is being down voted. Perhaps some consider it punching down? While a generalisation it is true that some economically disadvantaged spend a lot on 'luxuries' like shoes or cars. Often this is for social signally and sometimes because it's a luxury they can afford now vs those which appear completely unattainable forever. Some rich people too spend extravagantly beyond their means. It's just less obvious since they aren't obviously hurting for money on other ways.

legerdemain 6y ago
In college, I lived with roommates in a working class urban neighborhood three or four blocks away from campus. The block I lived on featured the convenience of only one side of the street having houses on it. The other was nose-in parking, facing a creek. The cars that lined the other side of the street were uniformly nice. Every time I remarked about that, my roommates would dump on the working poor for buying showy cars they couldn't afford. They never once considered that the street was used as free overflow parking by university employees, which even cursory observation showed to be the case. So yes, "they buy nice cars they can't afford" is a mean cliche, even if I'm sure you can find some case of it being true.