Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 There's no difference to me between $8 an hour or $10 or $11 an hour; they are all poverty level to me. If you are an adult and have been out of college for a few years you got SERIOUS ISSUES if you are that broke that you can't spare an extra $100 a month. It means your life is F'ed up and that you need help. I am not joking; I am serious. The only excuse for being that broke is if you are a college student, just graduated and looking for a job or are unemployed. If you are a grown adult and been working for many years and scraping by then you are pretty much a mess and need to seriously re-evaluate your life and find out where you went wrong and what you can do to fix your life. No one should be that broke that they are living on the edge of homelessness. (Trust me, if you can't spare extra money for gas, you are pretty much almost there). I am only speaking the truth. Dude.. Try some empathy on... it will grow on you. *shakes head* What you have today could ALL be gone tomorrow... Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Dude.. Try some empathy on... it will grow on you. *shakes head* What you have today could ALL be gone tomorrow... I'm not a guy (you called me dude). I actually do have empathy. I do. I just find it far fetched to file bankruptcy over gas prices. You don't think that's being a bit dramatic? Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) I'm not a guy (you called me dude). I actually do have empathy. I do. I just find it far fetched to file bankruptcy over gas prices. You don't think that's being a bit dramatic? You are demeaning the people out there who are working their asses off to scrape by and pay their bills.. Do you know what empathy is ? You work a walk or a few mins from your home.. ( I remember that from one of your other threads) Do you know what it is like to drive 100 miles per day just to go to work and go home ? I personally drive about 30 miles round trip to and from work and that doesn't include any other travel. About 8-10 bucks a day in gas is what it costs me to go to work.. I have employees that drive up to 50-60 miles per day to and from work. I can very well see someone who is on wobbly financial legs to begin with being forced into bankruptcy over gas prices.. it can happen.. Most households today have one partner out of work from the economy so your idea that they live a eff'd up life because they make 10 bucks an hour doesn't really hold water.. Edited May 12, 2011 by Art_Critic Link to post Share on other sites
djhall Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) No, I'm actually serious... I don't like Stargazer at all whatsoever but I agree with her post... It's an extra $60 or so a month... How can that make you so broke that you need to file bankruptcy? I don't see how it's possible unless you're making like $10 an hour. Honestly, I don't know anyone who is "immensely" affected by gas prices; most people that I know have good jobs and careers and could care less about losing out an extra $60 a month etc. Something like this would only affect you if you are literally living paycheck to paycheck or hand to mouth and I don't know anyone like that. Yet, that is exactly the situation a very, very large percentage of the US population is living in. 25% of US families have a total household inome of less than $24,000 a year. 20% of households have a total annual income of less than $19,000. The median full time wage for woking women is $36,000... That means that fully one half of all women in the US who work full-time earn less than $36,000. Total US median household income is $44,000, meaning half of all families in the US are living on $44,000 or less, even families where both adults work full time. Pretty much the entire workforce whose main job function is interacting wtih the public lives in near povery conditions. The people who run cash registers, stock the store shelves, man the bank teller windows... all live on terrible wages. Edited May 12, 2011 by djhall Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 You are demeaning the people out there who are working their asses off to scrape by and pay their bills.. Do you know what empathy is ? You work a walk or a few mins from your home.. ( I remember that from one of your other threads) Do you know what it is like to drive 100 miles per day just to go to work and go home ? I personally drive about 30 miles round trip to and from work and that doesn't include any other travel. About 8-10 bucks a day in gas is what it costs me to go to work.. I have employees that drive up to 50-60 miles per day to and from work. I can very well see someone who is on wobbly financial legs to begin with being forced into bankruptcy over gas prices.. it can happen.. Most households today have one partner out of work from the economy so your idea that they live a eff'd up life because they make 10 bucks an hour doesn't really hold water.. I've had a commute before so I know what it is like. It was around 20 miles each way. My current commute is like 3 miles though and no, I don't walk. I like to drive everywhere DJHall, I am a woman and I don't know any women who make less than $36k a year among acquaintances. I have many women in my family pulling over six figures or close to it and even at LEAST one female millionaire (Self made, not rich by marriage or husband). I am sure there others too but I just don't know of them because I am not close to my family and I have a huge family. However, we have many doctors and pharmacists and professionals in my family. I'm sure there are many women earning poor wages around the nation but there are also many who outearn their husbands and bf's too. Link to post Share on other sites
djhall Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) DJHall, I am a woman and I don't know any women who make less than $36k a year among acquaintances. I have many women in my family pulling over six figures or close to it and even at LEAST one female millionaire (Self made, not rich by marriage or husband). I am sure there others too but I just don't know of them because I am not close to my family and I have a huge family. However, we have many doctors and pharmacists and professionals in my family. Are you seriously this obtuse, or are you just determined to remain in denial? The point, which you are apparently either incapable of comprehending or unwilling to admit, is that your group of "aquaintances" which you use for reference is in no way close to typical or representative of the vast majority of normal families and working people in the US. Only 15% of households earn six figures with both incomes combined. Singe earners making six figures are in the top 10%... they are the elite earners of our society. Yet, dispite ample facts and evidence to the contrary, you seem incapable of comprehending that most other people don't share your experience and that of your aquaintances. Simply because you refuse to see or admit reality doesn't mean it isn't true. And if you think you don't know any women who make less than 36k, its because you don't think they are worth being noticed or included in your aquaintances. They are the women who make your coffee at the coffee shop, the ones who ring up your groceries at the supermarket, the ones that clean your office and bathrooms for the janitorial company... you know, "those people". I honestly can't tell if you are motivated by contept for the majority for not earning as much as you and your family, or if you have so much guilt about your success that you aren't willing to admit how much worse other full-time workers have it. EDIT: Actually, nevermind, I re-read your prior posts and the pompous, arrogant, condescending derision you display toward those struggling to scrape a living out of honest work makes it perfectly clear its just pretentious contempt. Edited May 12, 2011 by djhall Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I've had a commute before so I know what it is like. It was around 20 miles each way. My current commute is like 3 miles though and no, I don't walk. I like to drive everywhere The average person in Atlanta spends 4k per year on gas. I heard that on the radio this morning I'm sure it doesn't take someone like yourself very long to understand that your life and how you commute is VERY different than many people out there. Do you spend 16% of your take home pay on gas as someone living in Atl who makes what you do per year ? Link to post Share on other sites
betamanlet Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Get rid of the car and buy a moped? They get 100 mpg. Link to post Share on other sites
sanskrit Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Amazed at general ignorance and people's complete willingness to chime in with firm opinions on things they very obviouly know nothing about. I suspect there are some credit industry employees in this thread on LS while they sit at desks and hound debtors with phone calls. If so, YOU work in one of the shadiest and most corrupt industries in the WORLD, and have NO right to do any fingerpointing or make assumptions about anyone else. Should you pay your debts and be fiscally responsible? Absolutely. Are most people who take advantage of bankruptcy protections irresponsible and dishonest? Absolutely not. Most people in the U.S. do live paycheck to paycheck, and only a tiny percentage of them are living in luxury beyond their means. It is completely possible that a 20% spike in gas prices could be the last straw that drives someone to bankruptcy court. The credit industry lobby has done a bang-up job of portraying individual bankruptcy as the refuge of the morally weak and irresponsible. THAT'S ADVERTISING. Treat it like other forms of advertising. They would have you believe that instead of a simple business transaction that involves measureable risk that they undertake willingly, that they are being "scammed" somehow by people they lend to who don't pay. Nothing could be further from the truth. They knew the risk from the start and made a business decision to undertake it. Personally, there are very few people in this world I would loan to without collateral, and I certainly wouldn't make the determination based on a highly subjective and arbitrary number. But the credit industry makes IMMENSE profits doing that very thing. The primary reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. is medical bills, or was last I checked. Now, about credit cards, unsecured credit, the credit industry has also done a bang-up job of shifting all the blame onto consumers. Don't buy it. The industry is rife with predatory and shady practices, they barrage college students with ads and then continue on, etc. They would love some of the responses seen in this thread as indicative that their PR is working. The lobby is one of the most powerful in Washington, and has successively BOUGHT influence in an effort to increase its profits by limiting consumer rights. We are in a depression which was caused largely by financial chicanery between the federal government and banks. Banks are the primary unsecured lenders. As someone else points out, they got their bailout that we all paid for, where's MY bailout? Well your bailout is in the bankruptcy protections, and never be embarrassed to use those protections or by ignorant people who have no understanding of finance and economics in this country. You have a legal right to use bankruptcy protection, never ever let anyone shame you about taking advantage of a legal right, especially not living in a country where government/corporate collusion turns the economy topsy turvy every few years and interferes with average people's ability to earn a living. Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 The average person in Atlanta spends 4k per year on gas. I heard that on the radio this morning I'm sure it doesn't take someone like yourself very long to understand that your life and how you commute is VERY different than many people out there. Do you spend 16% of your take home pay on gas as someone living in Atl who makes what you do per year ? I make a decent income so 4k in gas a year would not be an issue for me. Also, my income is higher so 16 percent of my income is wayyyy more than 4k a year. Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I make a decent income so 4k in gas a year would not be an issue for me. Also, my income is higher so 16 percent of my income is wayyyy more than 4k a year. ....... Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... Right over your head........ Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Its not way over my head. I realize that's a lot of money for someone who is low income. I feel if you are enterprising enough you can make money no matter what. Being smart is not working for someone as an employee forever. You need to have a plan to go into business for yourself. I guess some people don't have that drive. Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 A job like waiting tables or working in a coffee shop is fine if you are an aspiring actor or have something on the side, like going to college or starting your own business. If it is your career then that is pathetic and you deserve to be broke for lack of ambition and drive. Link to post Share on other sites
2sure Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 The recently posted profits of the oil companies clearly reflect that gas is this high because they want it to be, not because it needs to be. So everyone should first be concerned with that. But to the people that are astounded someone could be working 40 hours a week and not be able to keep up with their regular bills and living expenses without having frivolous credit card debt....does not have enough information. Also, consider that many of us live in more urban areas and either have a short commute to work or have access to public transportation, car pools, etc. But many many people have to travel daily 25-50 miles each way just to have a job. That is not unusual. So, if you have an average car getting 30 mpg its a big piece of a paycheck that already is stretched too thin. Filing Bankruptcy before you change your circumstance, habits, and issues...isnt going to solve anything. It will just extend it. Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) Its not way over my head. I realize that's a lot of money for someone who is low income. I feel if you are enterprising enough you can make money no matter what. Being smart is not working for someone as an employee forever. You need to have a plan to go into business for yourself. I guess some people don't have that drive. Not every person out there can run a company.. hence why company's are full of employees and the only way to make money isn't just by being self employed... While owning a company may look great on the surface you will find that many times the employees are the highest paid people who work there and not the owners.. That is smart business.. you want your employees to prosper and become wealthy/happy too... Edited May 12, 2011 by Art_Critic Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 A job like waiting tables or working in a coffee shop is fine if you are an aspiring actor or have something on the side, like going to college or starting your own business. If it is your career then that is pathetic and you deserve to be broke for lack of ambition and drive. Probably one of the most misguided and judgmental posts I've seen in a while... Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Not every person out there can run a company.. hence why company's are full of employees and the only way to make money isn't just by being self employed... While owning a company may look great on the surface you will find that many times the employees are the highest paid people who work there and not the owners.. That is smart business.. you want your employees to prosper and become wealthy/happy too... Sure, a good job is a great. I am talking about people have jobs so crappy that they can't afford gas. Those people got issues. Yes, if you can't afford 4k in gas to the point where you need to file bankruptcy, which is a very extreme action, it means that most likely you messed up along the way and that you need to get your life in order. Link to post Share on other sites
Tayla Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Art Critic, I commend you for your forthright and thoughtful responses. As I read the array of density spewing from a poster it reminded me of how closed mind and blind some folks are, yet somehow the govt refuses to acknowledge ignorance as a disability. As indicated by another well versed poster, Bankruptcy is more common due to medical bills or foreclosures due to job loss's in the area. I have no moral opinion as I consider it a legal avenue. When Hurricane Katrina came along, many folks had to file bankruptcy, Mother nature took all they had. When Mudslides hit Cali, many business's were lost and houses as well. Another reason Bankruptcy can aide to get folks back on their feet. When 16% of a persons income goes to just the gas, never mind the insurance, monthly repair of the vehicle, tires, etc, you can run up quite the hefty burden. Link to post Share on other sites
CrestfallenNoMore Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 The more pedestals we build for ourselves simply mean the more falls we take throughout life, I've found. Be proud of your success and accomplishments - not arrogant. Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 They are the women who make your coffee at the coffee shop, the ones who ring up your groceries at the supermarket, the ones that clean your office and bathrooms for the janitorial company... you know, "those people". I don't have contempt for anyone. The majority of people who I see working at Starbucks are COLLEGE KIDS, or look really young like they are 20 years old and in those cases it's perfectly fine to be broke and bemoan gas prices. I don't know of anyone whose career is working as a barista at Starbucks. The majority of folks in those low paying jobs are students, at least where I live. Link to post Share on other sites
J200 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Probably one of the most misguided and judgmental posts I've seen in a while... Why? Most people with jobs like waitressing or working at Starbucks are college kids... Are you saying that's not true? So you see nothing wrong with working at a $8-$10 job for a career? If someone makes that choice in life then they should know that something like high gas prices will affect them seriously but that is the path that they chose, don't you think? Actually, waitresses can make a lot of money due to tips. I am talking about people who are making like the bare bones without any tips... You don't see anything wrong with someone around 30 years old working for $10 an hour without any other "plans" for a way out such as getting a degree? Link to post Share on other sites
OldSkool Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Art Critic, I commend you for your forthright and thoughtful responses. As I read the array of density spewing from a poster it reminded me of how closed mind and blind some folks are, yet somehow the govt refuses to acknowledge ignorance as a disability. As indicated by another well versed poster, Bankruptcy is more common due to medical bills or foreclosures due to job loss's in the area. I have no moral opinion as I consider it a legal avenue. When Hurricane Katrina came along, many folks had to file bankruptcy, Mother nature took all they had. When Mudslides hit Cali, many business's were lost and houses as well. Another reason Bankruptcy can aide to get folks back on their feet. When 16% of a persons income goes to just the gas, never mind the insurance, monthly repair of the vehicle, tires, etc, you can run up quite the hefty burden. Aren't you the one who tried to justify why a man should be able to punch a woman in the face? http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t275859/ Link to post Share on other sites
sanskrit Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Aren't you the one who tried to justify why a man should be able to punch a woman in the face? http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t275859/ How on earth is that relevant to this thread? But anyway, I went and read the linked thread. It is a very obvious troll post, and Tayla's response was much more diplomatic than mine would have been. Good job at advertising your gullibility in unrelated threads. Link to post Share on other sites
OldSkool Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 It's extremely relevant. I want to know why someone who claims to know.... "As I read the array of density spewing from a poster it reminded me of how closed mind and blind some folks are, yet somehow the govt refuses to acknowledge ignorance as a disability" Yet this person who relies on Government Enforcement of their stated "Ideals" as stated in their comment "yet somehow the govt refuses to acknowledge ignorance as a disability" cannot understand the paradox of their statement, is hopelessly lost. Read the whole thread again and realize that you fail! LOL Link to post Share on other sites
OldSkool Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 ****ing Liberals... as Stalin said... Useful Idiots..... Link to post Share on other sites
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