http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/20/on-being-poor/?iref=allsearch
On September 20th, this 3 appeared over McDonalds-- then this story and following posts appeared on CNN about being poor-- you can see the outlined three photo below the blog posts.
On being poorBy Moni Basu, CNN
September 20th, 2012
05:02 PM ET(CNN) The Census Bureau released a depressing statistic Thursday: 46.2 million people in America fell below the poverty line last year. One in five children are poor.
What does it feel like to live in poverty?
Writer John Scalzi knows.
He remembers a Southern California childhood marred by a broken family. His mother put her two children in the back of the car and drove away from the home they’d known.
She bought a box of Raisin Bran and warned her children: “That has to last.”
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/20/on-being-poor/comment-page-5/#comments
John wrote the original text September 3, 2005 to see the whole text from 2005 go to:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/
The responses to this news story had many focused on McDonald's and the poor--in regards to eating and work see below:
closet atheist
Complicated issue.
We all know that junk food from McD's is just as cheap as veggies from the store. Laziness is the key factor that leads to poor eating decisions (I don't buy the education argument). Said laziness could also, in many cases, be the very same personality trait that leads to being poor in the first place.
September 21, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Jamanta
Having a car is being poor? Having a microwave is being poor? Let me tell you something, where I come from the poor live in a cardboard box, eat trash from the landfill and don't have shoes to wear. Quit whining, I'm sure you can get a job at gas station, McDonalds or something.
September 20, 2012 at 7:09 pm | Report abuse | Reply
jimmy
And why are "poor" people in America so fat? You want to see "poor", look at people in third world countries that are actually hungry. Look at the photo above? See anyone that isn't overweight?
September 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm | Report abuse | Reply
Wintercity
Peace Lily
Jobs? Really? What most do not understand is that jobs are dependent on where you live. Some of you out there may be seeing some job growth. Where I live you can't get a full time job even at McDonald's and Walmart! My step-daughter searched for several months before she was actually hired for McDonald's and was told there are no full time jobs, only part time, and this was AFTER being offered less than 20 hours a week at Walmart! You think it's easy to get two part time jobs? Well employers just don't want to deal with juggling your schedule for you to have two jobs. It's all stacked against you before you ever walk out the door to look for a job here. How are people supposed to survive on this and put gas in their car? Buy proper food to eat? Buy the necessities that none of us can ignore? We do not have wide range public transportation here so a car is ones lifeline. Yet, the prices of gas and food and all necessities have gone up so much that we get poorer by the day! Wake up people! We have an entire segment of the population right now who make too much money to get assistance but are hard working and want to make their way so they take whatever they can get. This often means doing without the basic needs that a lot of you take for granted. I don't think most in this position want handouts. I think most want our government to make it possible for all to survive. If a family of four gets $200 a month in food stamps while another family of four with workers making just a little better than poverty level...who do you really think is suffering here? I can assure you that the ones getting assistance are faring better than a lot of folks here who cannot get assistance. The margin for getting assistance is so low that those who do not qualify are left to flounder. This is what is a disgrace in our country! Go check the income levels that one must hit in order to get assistance. Then take into account that, in order to get assistance, you can own NOTHING!!!!! We have different layers of poor in this country. We have the ones who walk around figuring out new ways to milk the system. Then you have those who legitimately deserve and get assistance. Then you have the ones who, from no fault of their own, have lost everything and cannot find jobs and cannot get a break no matter what. This last group is the one that suffers from the misguided assumptions that most others in our country make. These are the ones that not only deserve our support but deserve at least the chance to take care of themselves. This is what the government needs to focus on. Why, at this point in time and with the economy as it is, are the prices of everything from soup to nuts going up so fast when people cannot buy when they do? Just make it possible for people to survive on their own...that's all. If things keep going as they are, my own household will be floundering soon. We were making out okay until recently and the cost of everything rising at phenomenal levels is killing us. Forget luxuries! And don't even start on my internet! It's my way of trying to find ways to make ends meet which is more valuable than not having it at all! I will cut many other things in my household before I would cut my internet because, once I do that, we are cut off from possibilities! My point is, that most of you are commenting on things that you do not know of. All you see are the ones who cheat. For once, try to see the ones struggling and working and getting more poor with the tick of the clock. Redistribution of wealth? To be opposed to that politically correct term is the most pompous, self serving, egotistical, excuse I have ever heard of for pounding the poor further into the dirt! Call it what it really is...making it possible for ALL to have a dream! Just possible! I don't want anyone else's money, but I sure would love the opportunity to survive with as few worries as possible and without having to short change my life just to exist. What are the rest of you "haves" going to do when you find yourselves knocked down a peg or two as costs continue to rise? Will you change your tune then?
September 21, 2012 at 8:45 am | Report abuse | Reply
castrawberrygirl
My family struggled for many years– we wore thrift store clothes or got them from the "missionary barrel" at our church. We did not have health insurance. Our splurge was eating at McDonalds. My hand me down clothes had patches on them and my shoes rarely were the proper size. I was thankful for a few toys at Christmas and on my birthday. We owned one TV- no cable of course. My parents bought a barrel of gas in Mexico and pumped it themselves because we couldn't afford regular gasoline. Yes- I got school lunches for $.25.
But being poor was only temporary- I got an education. My parents worked hard and saved and bought real estate with what they had. They are now very comfortable and other people are somewhat envious. So my point is that poverty does not have to be permanent. People go through phases of life and sometimes need assistance. It doesn't have to be a way of life. And it's not the government's job to provide everything all the time.
September 21, 2012 at 3:55 am | Report abuse | Reply
Kodak
It is true that many people need legit help. Shame on us if we the people don't step up and help. BUT, there are many who do take advantage of the system. There are many jobs available but some people would rather do nothing than work at McDonalds or building a house for a contractor. Yes, I know those jobs won't pay to support a family but something is better than nothing. How is it that a typical illegal can get a job in front of 7-11 and support two or four families with that income?? We have a lot to learn here in the US of A about responsibility.
September 20, 2012 at 10:49 pm | Report abuse | Reply
A poor person
Finally, someone saying some sense. If people would just take time to cook and not stuff themselves and their children with fast food, it would cost less and be way healthier. "Healthy foods are expensive" is a myth perpetrated by lazy people. Sure, feeding the family at McD will cost less than taking them all to a ritzy restaurant. But going to a grocery store and buying some meats and veggies would cost about the same as fast food or even less. I guarantee it as a poor person who eats healthy.
Also, people need to learn how to budget and stop letting the consumerist society to tell them they are poor just because they don't throw away their iPhone4 as soon as 5 came out.
On September 20th, this 3 appeared over McDonalds-- then this story and following posts appeared on CNN about being poor-- you can see the outlined three photo below the blog posts.
On being poorBy Moni Basu, CNN
September 20th, 2012
05:02 PM ET(CNN) The Census Bureau released a depressing statistic Thursday: 46.2 million people in America fell below the poverty line last year. One in five children are poor.
What does it feel like to live in poverty?
Writer John Scalzi knows.
He remembers a Southern California childhood marred by a broken family. His mother put her two children in the back of the car and drove away from the home they’d known.
She bought a box of Raisin Bran and warned her children: “That has to last.”
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/20/on-being-poor/comment-page-5/#comments
John wrote the original text September 3, 2005 to see the whole text from 2005 go to:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/
The responses to this news story had many focused on McDonald's and the poor--in regards to eating and work see below:
closet atheist
Complicated issue.
We all know that junk food from McD's is just as cheap as veggies from the store. Laziness is the key factor that leads to poor eating decisions (I don't buy the education argument). Said laziness could also, in many cases, be the very same personality trait that leads to being poor in the first place.
September 21, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Jamanta
Having a car is being poor? Having a microwave is being poor? Let me tell you something, where I come from the poor live in a cardboard box, eat trash from the landfill and don't have shoes to wear. Quit whining, I'm sure you can get a job at gas station, McDonalds or something.
September 20, 2012 at 7:09 pm | Report abuse | Reply
jimmy
And why are "poor" people in America so fat? You want to see "poor", look at people in third world countries that are actually hungry. Look at the photo above? See anyone that isn't overweight?
September 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm | Report abuse | Reply
Wintercity
- One of the reasons is because the cheap food they can afford (ramen, mac & cheese, McDonalds) has very low nutritive value and is high in carbs, calories, fat and salts, not to mention chemical preservatives and artificial ingredients.
September 20, 2012 at 8:13 pm | Report abuse |
WJ
Ever try to eat healthy on a limited budget? Check out how much chicken and veggies cost versus McDonalds dollar menu or top ramen. I used to look down at fat people using food stamps, thinking "Looks like you have enough to eat." until I later realized that most cheap food is full of fat and sodium. So now you have overweight poor people with health problems.
September 20, 2012 at 8:17 pm | Report abuse | Reply
Dan
Ok, Let us rip apart your post a little, (some I will say ok to)
If you have a cell phone-your not poor – WRONG you get one for free from say Assurance Wireless
If you have cable TV-your not poor – Still Technically WRONG Basic is 12.95/mo but If you have that you have some money. (still can be poor though)
If you eat in any restauraunt-your not poor – Depends what you call a restaurant Mcdonalds – $1 for a double cheese, White castle 50c for a slider
If you turn down ANY jon offers-your not poor – (I agree since you can get a job and still qualify if the job pays too little, Frankly your refusal should be suspension of benefits)
If you dont go out and look for a job-your not poor – (same as above but I will say most poor look for work or hang out by HomeDepot or Lows for the contractor needing a day labor)
If your reading this on your computer instead of looking for work-your not poor – Still could be wrong, My public library has computers and internet, Jobs post free on job sites on the internet, so they could be on there, The also are checking the news FREE because a paper costs 75c on weekdays and 1.50 on sunday.
September 21, 2012 at 10:08 am | Report abuse | Reply
Peace Lily
Jobs? Really? What most do not understand is that jobs are dependent on where you live. Some of you out there may be seeing some job growth. Where I live you can't get a full time job even at McDonald's and Walmart! My step-daughter searched for several months before she was actually hired for McDonald's and was told there are no full time jobs, only part time, and this was AFTER being offered less than 20 hours a week at Walmart! You think it's easy to get two part time jobs? Well employers just don't want to deal with juggling your schedule for you to have two jobs. It's all stacked against you before you ever walk out the door to look for a job here. How are people supposed to survive on this and put gas in their car? Buy proper food to eat? Buy the necessities that none of us can ignore? We do not have wide range public transportation here so a car is ones lifeline. Yet, the prices of gas and food and all necessities have gone up so much that we get poorer by the day! Wake up people! We have an entire segment of the population right now who make too much money to get assistance but are hard working and want to make their way so they take whatever they can get. This often means doing without the basic needs that a lot of you take for granted. I don't think most in this position want handouts. I think most want our government to make it possible for all to survive. If a family of four gets $200 a month in food stamps while another family of four with workers making just a little better than poverty level...who do you really think is suffering here? I can assure you that the ones getting assistance are faring better than a lot of folks here who cannot get assistance. The margin for getting assistance is so low that those who do not qualify are left to flounder. This is what is a disgrace in our country! Go check the income levels that one must hit in order to get assistance. Then take into account that, in order to get assistance, you can own NOTHING!!!!! We have different layers of poor in this country. We have the ones who walk around figuring out new ways to milk the system. Then you have those who legitimately deserve and get assistance. Then you have the ones who, from no fault of their own, have lost everything and cannot find jobs and cannot get a break no matter what. This last group is the one that suffers from the misguided assumptions that most others in our country make. These are the ones that not only deserve our support but deserve at least the chance to take care of themselves. This is what the government needs to focus on. Why, at this point in time and with the economy as it is, are the prices of everything from soup to nuts going up so fast when people cannot buy when they do? Just make it possible for people to survive on their own...that's all. If things keep going as they are, my own household will be floundering soon. We were making out okay until recently and the cost of everything rising at phenomenal levels is killing us. Forget luxuries! And don't even start on my internet! It's my way of trying to find ways to make ends meet which is more valuable than not having it at all! I will cut many other things in my household before I would cut my internet because, once I do that, we are cut off from possibilities! My point is, that most of you are commenting on things that you do not know of. All you see are the ones who cheat. For once, try to see the ones struggling and working and getting more poor with the tick of the clock. Redistribution of wealth? To be opposed to that politically correct term is the most pompous, self serving, egotistical, excuse I have ever heard of for pounding the poor further into the dirt! Call it what it really is...making it possible for ALL to have a dream! Just possible! I don't want anyone else's money, but I sure would love the opportunity to survive with as few worries as possible and without having to short change my life just to exist. What are the rest of you "haves" going to do when you find yourselves knocked down a peg or two as costs continue to rise? Will you change your tune then?
September 21, 2012 at 8:45 am | Report abuse | Reply
castrawberrygirl
My family struggled for many years– we wore thrift store clothes or got them from the "missionary barrel" at our church. We did not have health insurance. Our splurge was eating at McDonalds. My hand me down clothes had patches on them and my shoes rarely were the proper size. I was thankful for a few toys at Christmas and on my birthday. We owned one TV- no cable of course. My parents bought a barrel of gas in Mexico and pumped it themselves because we couldn't afford regular gasoline. Yes- I got school lunches for $.25.
But being poor was only temporary- I got an education. My parents worked hard and saved and bought real estate with what they had. They are now very comfortable and other people are somewhat envious. So my point is that poverty does not have to be permanent. People go through phases of life and sometimes need assistance. It doesn't have to be a way of life. And it's not the government's job to provide everything all the time.
September 21, 2012 at 3:55 am | Report abuse | Reply
Kodak
It is true that many people need legit help. Shame on us if we the people don't step up and help. BUT, there are many who do take advantage of the system. There are many jobs available but some people would rather do nothing than work at McDonalds or building a house for a contractor. Yes, I know those jobs won't pay to support a family but something is better than nothing. How is it that a typical illegal can get a job in front of 7-11 and support two or four families with that income?? We have a lot to learn here in the US of A about responsibility.
September 20, 2012 at 10:49 pm | Report abuse | Reply
A poor person
Finally, someone saying some sense. If people would just take time to cook and not stuff themselves and their children with fast food, it would cost less and be way healthier. "Healthy foods are expensive" is a myth perpetrated by lazy people. Sure, feeding the family at McD will cost less than taking them all to a ritzy restaurant. But going to a grocery store and buying some meats and veggies would cost about the same as fast food or even less. I guarantee it as a poor person who eats healthy.
Also, people need to learn how to budget and stop letting the consumerist society to tell them they are poor just because they don't throw away their iPhone4 as soon as 5 came out.
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