Poverty Measures

[barbara]

Thanks for all the welcomes....

Pete, not a whole lot of difference between rural and inner city poor... I've been both.
The biggest challenge is the mindset of those that are poor which comes from the desperation. Hard to think about honing job skills, networking, or anything else when you haven't got food to put on the table or, even a table to put it on.
And, most 'poor' people work very hard, many times at two or three minimum wage jobs just to try to make ends meet.
My situation is different now, but I won't forget the struggle.

One more thing..... I look forward to learning more about your good sense of humor and accept that your friends here know you better than I do so maybe my initial words were a bit harsh until I get to know you better.

[piece-itpete]

No worries Barbara. It's difficult to show nuance in this format and they are emotional topics.

I'm not saying I know what it's like to be desparately poor, I'm simply sharing what I've seen / am seeing among many who never seen it. Some of my friends are among the working poor, but they are lucky enough to have a relatively functional family for support.

Hope to see you around!

Pete

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by barbara

Thanks for all the welcomes....


And, most 'poor' people work very hard, many times at two or three minimum wage jobs just to try to make ends meet.
.

and live with similar family members to survive.

This is just not the image the greedy want so we never hear about how industrious MOST poor people are, we hear about how lazy they are or how they dare go to talk on a cell phone or have the nerve to earn an SUV while being poor. Don't they know that they should not earn any rewards for their efforts when they are poor? They should be content to have crumbs after standing in line in the cold?

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by barbara

Thanks for all the welcomes....

Pete, not a whole lot of difference between rural and inner city poor... I've been both.
The biggest challenge is the mindset of those that are poor which comes from the desperation. Hard to think about honing job skills, networking, or anything else when you haven't got food to put on the table or, even a table to put it on.
And, most 'poor' people work very hard, many times at two or three minimum wage jobs just to try to make ends meet.
My situation is different now, but I won't forget the struggle.

One more thing..... I look forward to learning more about your good sense of humor and accept that your friends here know you better than I do so maybe my initial words were a bit harsh until I get to know you better.

My Florence did that at one point, at a better point her company had 80 employees. She had one distinction I cherish, she told the people from Standard and Poor's to get the hell out of her office.

I never wanted a management position here although I was Section Manager - Long Range Planning back at Bell, too much mushroom management here. Was self employed in a consulting business for a while. All that onerous paperwork was filing with the IRS every quarter, took all of about 15 minutes. Finally retired at 73 because work was no longer fun.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by barbara

I'm laughing at the person who 'lived in the hood' and thus, knows all about poor.
When you are desperate enough to pick the oranges off the ground of your neighbors tree when they aren't looking to feed your children while at the same time you are raising them to respect others property and not steal, then, may be you will get a clue.....

Yes, welcome, Barbara.

Dave

[BlueStreak]

Working poor?

My sister will be coming to live with me soon. Her home has just been sent into "short sale".

What drives me nuts is the fact that she works for one of our largest, most profitable corporations in th country, if not the world.................But, these days they avoid letting anyone get in full time hours if they can---After all, it saves them money on benefits.

Dave

[Bigerik]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Working poor?

My sister will be coming to live with me soon. Her home has just been sent into "short sale".

What drives me nuts is the fact that she works for one of our largest, most profitable corporations in th country, if not the world.................But, these days they avoid letting anyone get in full time hours if they can---After all, it saves them money on benefits.

Dave

Which is again where things like health insurance cannot be trusted to employers. Their is a basic conflict of interest when it comes to "benefits". It is in the interests of the nation to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is in the interests of the employees to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is now NOT in the interests of the employer to have to pay out health insurance benefits.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Bigerik

Which is again where things like health insurance cannot be trusted to employers. Their is a basic conflict of interest when it comes to "benefits". It is in the interests of the nation to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is in the interests of the employees to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is now NOT in the interests of the employer to have to pay out health insurance benefits.

This is why I conssider all righties as having their heads in a dark and smelly place. Half the populace is running on 4 out of 8 cylinders, yet we are alleged to have the most productive workers in the world. Get them firing on all 8 and nobody could touch us.

If only management could see beyond the end of the quarter.

[barbara]

Originally Posted by Bigerik

Which is again where things like health insurance cannot be trusted to employers. Their is a basic conflict of interest when it comes to "benefits". It is in the interests of the nation to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is in the interests of the employees to have as many people with good health insurance as possible. It is now NOT in the interests of the employer to have to pay out health insurance benefits.

Well said! I agree completely.

[piece-itpete]

Seems like a good place to mention, on PBS the other day (NPR? Newshour?) it was said that American manufacturing workers are over 10 times more productive than the Chinese.

Pete