5 ms·

geez that was depressing.

miles 17y ago
The only depressing thing is how the family is handling their situation: "Scott and Kelly spend much of their time watching TV, or playing games on their cellphones since they lost their jobs. Every day has become a slow-motion version of the one before, sitting around the house, each in the same spot, Kelly in the recliner, and Scott on the couch. Scott has gained 40 pounds since his last day on the job... On Monday, Scott picks up his and Kelly's unemployment benefits. After paying some bills, he sometimes goes to the Winners Circle bar, the tan building reflected in the glass, where he recently won $100 in a NASCAR betting pool." Something tells me that is probably not the best approach. I have written to the reporter for their address so I can send a copy of Napolean Hill's Think and Grow Rich. A single passage from the book lifted me from a deep depression while stuck penniless in Japan to creating and surpassing my most cherished goals.
- swolchok 17y ago
  It should be striking how our newly poor and unemployed get fat instead of battling starvation, and how we nonetheless tacitly disapprove of the family for going nowhere and having no initiative to do something with their lives. Perhaps the problem is that coasting on our safety net represents a significant local maximum in quality of life, and that we have a hard time getting the incentives lined up so that we can offer aid for the long term and actually enforce long-term decision-making. We find government intrusion into personal choice distasteful, but I for one don't want to provide more to people who aren't going to use it for upward mobility for themselves and their families. How can we provide messaging and examples of every day people who have made a difference for themselves and their families through study and hard work?
  - swombat 17y ago
    You could tie the unemployment checks to reskilling programs. E.g. you earn 20% more unemployment benefits if you sign up for one of these local programs to teach you various skills that are actually in demand. Seems pretty straightforward - the hardest part is determining which skills are in demand, but anyone with a newspaper's job ads section in hand should be able to do that.
    - swolchok 17y ago
      The problem is tying the money to a good faith effort, not just signup. That's probably hard and costly to enforce.
- mrbgty 17y ago
  Can you tell us more about this passage?
  - il 17y ago
    Think and Grow Rich is an amazing book. You should read the book itself, it's not long, but the premise of the book is basically that most wealthy people got wealthy the same way: 1. Making a through, detailed plan on how they will get rich. 2. Doggedly and relentlessly following that plan with incredible perseverance and not giving up. It's simple. but if you think about it, it could change your life. Personally, I don't feel bad for these people at all. It's not the economy, it's mindset. Some people have an entrepreneur mentality, and some people have a victim mentality. If I sat around all day drinking beer and buying lottery tickets, I would probably be in the same place he is. Instead, I'm going to spend the next 12 hours setting up advertising campaigns with the expectation that 90% of them will fail. I will continue working until I hit that 10% that will succeed, which enables me to live comfortably and earn more than I could at a day job running my own business. My point is that the bad economy often makes an all to convenient scapegoat for some people. Living paycheck to paycheck is not a good financial strategy regardless of economy.
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
      - pyre 17y ago
        Please expand on this if you want to be view as anything but a troll. Making inflammatory comments like this is not a way t convince people that your way of thinking is right. On the contrary, it's much more likely to close people's minds to anything you have to say. As a counter-point, think about what the 'conservative' members of Congress would say if the public were to demand that they take a reduction in pay and benefits (members of Congress have the best health/retirement benefits of anyone in this country). From my point of view, they would probably play themselves up as victims of some sort of 'liberal conspiracy' rather than debating the motion on its merits.
    - 17y ago
- ja27 17y ago
  I used volunteer for the Red Cross. Several times a week I would work with families after they had house fires. Whatever money we spent on them (clothes, shoes, food, medications, a place to stay while the found new housing, etc.) was nothing compared to spending time helping them make a plan to get their life back together. It reached the point that I always wrapped up with them by making them promise that they weren't going to just "lock up" and sit in the hotel for a couple days watching TV and avoiding life. I know of a local church that now has a career helping program. One night a week they'll get people together with others that can help with resumes, networking, and financial planning.

miles 17y ago

The only depressing thing is how the family is handling their situation: "Scott and Kelly spend much of their time watching TV, or playing games on their cellphones since they lost their jobs. Every day has become a slow-motion version of the one before, sitting around the house, each in the same spot, Kelly in the recliner, and Scott on the couch. Scott has gained 40 pounds since his last day on the job... On Monday, Scott picks up his and Kelly's unemployment benefits. After paying some bills, he sometimes goes to the Winners Circle bar, the tan building reflected in the glass, where he recently won $100 in a NASCAR betting pool." Something tells me that is probably not the best approach. I have written to the reporter for their address so I can send a copy of Napolean Hill's Think and Grow Rich. A single passage from the book lifted me from a deep depression while stuck penniless in Japan to creating and surpassing my most cherished goals.

swolchok 17y ago
It should be striking how our newly poor and unemployed get fat instead of battling starvation, and how we nonetheless tacitly disapprove of the family for going nowhere and having no initiative to do something with their lives. Perhaps the problem is that coasting on our safety net represents a significant local maximum in quality of life, and that we have a hard time getting the incentives lined up so that we can offer aid for the long term and actually enforce long-term decision-making. We find government intrusion into personal choice distasteful, but I for one don't want to provide more to people who aren't going to use it for upward mobility for themselves and their families. How can we provide messaging and examples of every day people who have made a difference for themselves and their families through study and hard work?
- swombat 17y ago
  You could tie the unemployment checks to reskilling programs. E.g. you earn 20% more unemployment benefits if you sign up for one of these local programs to teach you various skills that are actually in demand. Seems pretty straightforward - the hardest part is determining which skills are in demand, but anyone with a newspaper's job ads section in hand should be able to do that.
  - swolchok 17y ago
    The problem is tying the money to a good faith effort, not just signup. That's probably hard and costly to enforce.
mrbgty 17y ago
Can you tell us more about this passage?
- il 17y ago
  Think and Grow Rich is an amazing book. You should read the book itself, it's not long, but the premise of the book is basically that most wealthy people got wealthy the same way: 1. Making a through, detailed plan on how they will get rich. 2. Doggedly and relentlessly following that plan with incredible perseverance and not giving up. It's simple. but if you think about it, it could change your life. Personally, I don't feel bad for these people at all. It's not the economy, it's mindset. Some people have an entrepreneur mentality, and some people have a victim mentality. If I sat around all day drinking beer and buying lottery tickets, I would probably be in the same place he is. Instead, I'm going to spend the next 12 hours setting up advertising campaigns with the expectation that 90% of them will fail. I will continue working until I hit that 10% that will succeed, which enables me to live comfortably and earn more than I could at a day job running my own business. My point is that the bad economy often makes an all to convenient scapegoat for some people. Living paycheck to paycheck is not a good financial strategy regardless of economy.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
    - pyre 17y ago
      Please expand on this if you want to be view as anything but a troll. Making inflammatory comments like this is not a way t convince people that your way of thinking is right. On the contrary, it's much more likely to close people's minds to anything you have to say. As a counter-point, think about what the 'conservative' members of Congress would say if the public were to demand that they take a reduction in pay and benefits (members of Congress have the best health/retirement benefits of anyone in this country). From my point of view, they would probably play themselves up as victims of some sort of 'liberal conspiracy' rather than debating the motion on its merits.
  - 17y ago
ja27 17y ago
I used volunteer for the Red Cross. Several times a week I would work with families after they had house fires. Whatever money we spent on them (clothes, shoes, food, medications, a place to stay while the found new housing, etc.) was nothing compared to spending time helping them make a plan to get their life back together. It reached the point that I always wrapped up with them by making them promise that they weren't going to just "lock up" and sit in the hotel for a couple days watching TV and avoiding life. I know of a local church that now has a career helping program. One night a week they'll get people together with others that can help with resumes, networking, and financial planning.