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Well, you know, I've been homeless and poor. I've spent most of my adult life unemployed. I lost everything I owned. I had to learn adulting under duress. Many

Well, you know, I've been homeless and poor. I've spent most of my adult life unemployed. I lost everything I owned. I had to learn adulting under duress. Many poor people don't know (or they fear) basic things like how to prepare meals, wash clothes, pay bills, clean the house. Many people choose the freedom of homelessness over the burdens of operating a household. SNAP is a supplement, of course, and totally unnecessary even if you're dirt-poor. You can get by on food boxes and other donated food, free meals in parks and at churches, etc. SNAP does have a lot of hurdles in place. Once again, there's no poverty in these United States for those who are determined and not overly impaired. Perhaps we're into "No True Scotsman" territory but I wouldn't even label as poverty someone's life in a shelter, where they can access 3 squares a day and comfortable hygienic bathroom facilities and usually a spot to try and land a job and increase their opportunity. I've seen poor people living in garbage, like literally they scour garbage pits and they live among them. Poor people with children who have distended bellies and they're stretching bowls full of rice with dirty water because there's just nothing else to be had. Abject poverty such as that is just unheard of in our borders, because there's too much subsidy and programs and infrastructure that exists.

Mezzie 4y ago
There are 12 million people under 65 living on social security benefits due to being disabled. ~38 million people are in poverty in the US right now. You can't just dismiss almost a third of people in poverty to make your argument work. And that's just the people too disabled to work at all. Plenty of people can only work part time. And elderly poverty is also a thing.
1attice 4y ago
Well, I've been homeless and poor as well, and I've spent significant chunks of time down. I too have had the experience you describe, of losing everything owned. Then, I got a job at a big tech company and got to see how the other half lived. I had a very different experience than you describe, and I think that your definitions of poverty are still doing work for you -- perhaps different work than I suspected, at first, but you are still rationalizing the horror. There are many degrees of poverty -- by minimizing all but the most abject cases, you're moving the goalposts. I also strongly suspect you're still in your twenties, but that's another matter.

Mezzie 4y ago

There are 12 million people under 65 living on social security benefits due to being disabled. ~38 million people are in poverty in the US right now. You can't just dismiss almost a third of people in poverty to make your argument work. And that's just the people too disabled to work at all. Plenty of people can only work part time. And elderly poverty is also a thing.

1attice 4y ago

Well, I've been homeless and poor as well, and I've spent significant chunks of time down. I too have had the experience you describe, of losing everything owned. Then, I got a job at a big tech company and got to see how the other half lived. I had a very different experience than you describe, and I think that your definitions of poverty are still doing work for you -- perhaps different work than I suspected, at first, but you are still rationalizing the horror. There are many degrees of poverty -- by minimizing all but the most abject cases, you're moving the goalposts. I also strongly suspect you're still in your twenties, but that's another matter.