Being Poor by John Scalzi
I attacked this Scalzi post almost five years ago.<p><a href="http://tjic.com/?p=1386" rel="nofollow">http://tjic.com/?p=1386</a><p>Leftist propaganda on how we comfortable middle class folks have no
idea of what money management is, and no idea how hard the poor are
oppressed by The Man, with some observations sprinkled in between:<p>>    <a href="http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003704.ht.." rel="nofollow">http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003704.ht..</a>.
>
>    Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs.<p>Being middle class is knowing how much things cost; being
low-class is not knowing and just spending money.<p>>  Being poor is getting angry at your kids for asking for
>  all the crap they see on TV.<p>Being low-class is letting your kids watch TV all day long,
when there are free libraries, parks, playgrounds, Boy
scout, Girl scout, and church organizations.<p>> Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends' houses but
> never has friends over to yours.<p>Being a low-class is keeping your home, no matter how large
or small, in a manner that is embarrassing to you.<p>> Being poor is coming back to the car with your children in
> the back seat, clutching that box of Raisin Bran you just
> bought and trying to think of a way to make the kids
> understand that the box has to last.<p>Being low-class is buying expensive name-brand cereal,
instead of bulk oatmeal, at a fraction of the price.<p>> Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying
> when he says he doesn't mind when you ask for help.<p>Being low-class is getting yourself in a situation where you
need to ask folks for loans you won't pay back.<p>> Being poor is off-brand toys.<p>Being low-class is caring about the brand of toys.<p>> Being poor is knowing you can't leave $5 on the coffee
> table when your friends are around.<p>Being low-class is considering people who would steal money
from you your "friends".<p>> Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up
> before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn't
> have make dinner tonight because you're not hungry anyway.<p>Being low-class is stealing.<p>Being low-class is choosing meat over pasta when you can't
afford it.<p>> Being poor is Goodwill underwear.<p>Being low-class is not shopping sales at Sears.<p>> Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with
     you.<p>Being low-class is having more kids than space.<p>> Being poor is relying on people who don't give a damn
     about you.<p>Being low-class is worrying what other people think about
you, instead of just living your life.<p>> Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your
> dad, begging him for the child support.<p>Being low-class is leaving your spouse, or settling for the
kind of person who might run off.<p>> Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach
> skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if
> your kid saw.<p>Being low-class is leaving garbage around enough that
cock-roaches breed.<p>> Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around
     in the mall.<p>Being low-class is shopping at the mall, when your money
would go much further at other places.<p>> Being poor is not taking the job because you can't find
> someone you trust to watch your kids.<p>Being low-class is having kids with out the spouse or means
to support them.<p>> Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.<p>Being low-class is discarding garbage on sidewalks.<p>> Being poor is people thinking they know something about
> you by the way you talk.<p>Being low-class is walking in a way that demonstrates
attitude.<p>> Being poor is your kid's teacher assuming you don't have
> any books in your home.<p>Being low-class is not having books in your home.<p>Being low-class is acting such that people would assume that
you don't have book in your home.<p>> Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no
     way to close the gap.<p>Being low-class is not budgeting.<p>> Being poor is having to live with choices you didn't know
> you made when you were 14 years old.<p>Being low-class is letting your children make bad choices
then they are 14.<p>> Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a
> relationship on shelter.<p>Being low-class is whoring.<p>> Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck
>  on a Lotto ticket.<p>Being low-class is wasting money on lotto tickets, then
stealing meat for dinner (see way above).<p>> Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the
> same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them
> against doing so.<p>Being low-class is not having an intact family to set a good
example for your children.<p>> Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch,
> just in case you have to give it back before the lease is
> up.<p>Being low-class is eating and drinking in the living room.<p>> Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that
> takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.<p>Being low-class is living beyond your means.<p>> Being poor is people wondering why you didn't leave.<p>Being low-class is refusing to listen to advice.<p>I feel bad for the poor, but in a rich, capitalist,
free-market place like America, ALMOST ANYONE can become
middle-class or better, if they just act like responsible
adults.<p>Yeah, by the time you've pumped out four kids by three
different fathers, and picked up $10k in credit card debt,
you're reasonably screwed…but the fact that bad choices
have consequences doesn't negate the fact that every day
people come to this country with nothing but a shirt on
their backs, a set of morals, and a work ethic, and end up
retiring to a nice air-conditioned three-bedroom in Florida
a few decades later.<p>Enjoy this article about how a 37 year old manual laborer
who came to the country at 21 just bought a condo in NYC for
$1.4 million.<p>If you want to work two shifts, and save your money, and eat
oatmeal, you can become a millionaire.<p>If you want to label yourself as a victim, rent furniture
you can't afford, buy name brand crap food you can't afford,
and watch TV all day, you can live like the white (or other
colored) trash that you are.<p>What this society needs is more accountability, not less.<p>Poor people shouldn't be spoon-fed aggrieved resentment
sauce by middle class leftists; they should be reminded that
they wake up every day and face a set of choices, just like
the rest of us.