3 ms·

Yes. Also the advice to scrimp assumes there is a way that the person will ever NOT be poor/in poverty, and that isn't true for some/most poor people. I'm a di

by Mezzie 4y ago

Yes. Also the advice to scrimp assumes there is a way that the person will ever NOT be poor/in poverty, and that isn't true for some/most poor people. I'm a disabled American who is the breadwinner for myself and another disabled person. Saving would punish us: My sister would lose her health care and I would lose the financial assistance I get for my MS meds. Even if I make more money, it's all going to medical costs, so what's the point?

chitowneats 4y ago
There are systems that we could implement that don't have this problem. They could still be generous. In fact they could be more generous. This is classic problem of perverse incentives created by inefficient, though well meaning system.
- Mezzie 4y ago
  Yup, the incentives when you're poor are perverse. The welfare cliff is real: I still remember my mom's bitching growing up about how she got a dollar per hour raise and lost her childcare assistance, so that raise cost her hundreds of dollars a month.
robocat 4y ago
Is there nobody you can trust to look after some savings? A burden on them, and a risk for you, but one way to avoid the risk of cash/bitcoin without being in a government watched account. It is a horrific crime that the incentives are so perverse. I live in New Zealand and we have the same thing to some extent, but mostly not nearly as atrocious as the US systemic abuse. Here’s hoping that modern medicine finally finds a solution to fix MS for you - disability is often invisible - an analogue to the author’s pervasive problems with poverty. All the best.
- Mezzie 4y ago
  Nope. The reason I'm my sister's caretaker is because our parents won't/can't do it. My dad is a bootstraps guy who refuses to help and my mom isn't financially responsible. I'm the most responsible/trustworthy person in the social network, and the only one who understands the systems. And yeah, I'm pulling for medicine! Pretty hopeful about it, though with my luck they'll figure it out when I'm 65-75 and I'll be able-bodied but too old to change my financial fortunes lol

by Mezzie 4y ago

chitowneats 4y ago

There are systems that we could implement that don't have this problem. They could still be generous. In fact they could be more generous. This is classic problem of perverse incentives created by inefficient, though well meaning system.

Mezzie 4y ago
Yup, the incentives when you're poor are perverse. The welfare cliff is real: I still remember my mom's bitching growing up about how she got a dollar per hour raise and lost her childcare assistance, so that raise cost her hundreds of dollars a month.

robocat 4y ago

Is there nobody you can trust to look after some savings? A burden on them, and a risk for you, but one way to avoid the risk of cash/bitcoin without being in a government watched account. It is a horrific crime that the incentives are so perverse. I live in New Zealand and we have the same thing to some extent, but mostly not nearly as atrocious as the US systemic abuse. Here’s hoping that modern medicine finally finds a solution to fix MS for you - disability is often invisible - an analogue to the author’s pervasive problems with poverty. All the best.

Mezzie 4y ago
Nope. The reason I'm my sister's caretaker is because our parents won't/can't do it. My dad is a bootstraps guy who refuses to help and my mom isn't financially responsible. I'm the most responsible/trustworthy person in the social network, and the only one who understands the systems. And yeah, I'm pulling for medicine! Pretty hopeful about it, though with my luck they'll figure it out when I'm 65-75 and I'll be able-bodied but too old to change my financial fortunes lol