On Being Poor.

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<rant>

I usually don't start threads, and especially not in The Haven, but, lately, I've been running into the sentiment on WP that the only possible reason one could be poor is that they're weak/stupid/lazy. As someone who brings in a paltry $13,000 a year, I could reasonably described as "poor."

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I wash dishes for a living, which some would assert is a "job a monkey could do," and will eventually be done by a machine, begging the question from whence do I derive any pride or self-worth?

First of all, my skill set isn't "washing dishes," it's doing the dirty unpleasant jobs that most other people don't want to do. Even when I was in the Air Force, my job was to crawl inside of aircraft fuel tanks and fix whatever needed fixing. Oddly, most folks don't fancy spending long hours in cramped spaces, soaked in cancer-causing chemicals, so that lovely privilege fell to me. I get dirty so others don't have to.

As for my job being replaced by a machine, as technology marches ever forward, I don't imagine there will be many jobs left that AREN'T either replaced by a machine or by some immigrant will to do the same job for much less money. Funny thing about American Capitalism is that our Corporate Overlords will always find ways to pay workers as little as possible, so, yes, even when all of the "menial jobs" are mechanized, the nurses, lawyers, and engineers will be the next to get fed into the wood-chipper. For anyone who thinks that can't possibly happen, I say, pass the bong because I'd love a hit of whatever you're smoking. In a society where people are commodities, we're ALL expendable.

Plus, "menial jobs" will always exist. The only thing that's going to change is what's considered "menial." Humans are apes, and social hierarchy is written into our DNA. Many people just aren't happy unless they're standing on someone else's neck. If everyone at "Company X" is an engineer, then the employees will just decide among themselves which positions are the "most important" and which ones a "monkey can do," and the ones at the top will proceed to sh_t on the ones that find themselves at the bottom.

Secondly, based on my personal experience, having a "disposable underclass" is one of the pillars that prop-up the American economy. True, anyone can be rich, but not everyone can be rich. After all, we can't expect the upper classes to go fight wars, and what have you. When the chips are down, I'm quite essential in my non-essential-ness. You're welcome Kochs and Waltons. Anyone who thinks my underclass status gives them the right to treat me like crap, kindly go find a short pier and take a looong walk.

Lastly, the only thing I give a damn about is taking care of my dog and my mother. I couldn't care less about social status, or impressing anyone. Once my mother and my dog are gone, I don't care if I get hit by a bus. I was born disabled, and most likely never have a "real" job, but if I can ensure my mother and dog are comfortable, I'm happy going through life being a nice person. If my lack of money makes me less worthy in the eyes of some, that's fine because the list of people whose opinion I actually value is extremely short.

</rant>

Your attitude is very impressive.

The funny thing is going a long ways up, there's always plenty of people who have a much smaller income and less impressive job than others. Most people have others that can look down their nose at them. I do wish we lived in a more balanced society. But you gave a very good although disappointing reason why it is not so.

Very well put, XFG! I agree with you completely.

Thanks for posting that! XFilesGeek's rant may easily be the best thing I've ever read on WP!

Nice rant XFG ...no point in half doing a job
I've noticed it too on WP, sometimes luck is not with us and people delude themselves into believing that they are different or better because of this random luck. Like illfortune cant happen to them too!
Lol everything changes, good and bad.
It was the similar here in the economic crash, complacency was rampant in the comfortable parts of society, with a judgemental/entitlement attitude towards those who were thrown under the bus by our government, myself included.
We deserved it apparently. In group out group stuff was fostered, so that they (our crooked government) could get on with the business of letting white collar crooks off the hook and selling off the countries silverware.

They went after the comfortable parts of society once they had established a pattern of cuts to the poorest and most vulnerable. They seemed surprised and a bit outraged when they too were hit financially. What I learned is that people only start to care about social issues when it impacts on their lives.

I spoke with an American lady about this recently, she was so upset by her peers of an older generations conclusion that today's youth are lazy and entitled and that is why they are poor/struggling. Her adult children's prospects are so much less than hers were at the same age, she felt that the older generations had skimmed the cream off the top, gotten lucky by virtue of the era they grew up in and had pulled the ladder up behind them.

A mis-sold dream.

Yep. Well said.

I don't like it when people look down on me for being on my job 39 years with no promotion.

Perhaps I've been complacent-----but perhaps it was good that I wasn't given so much responsibility. Who knows?

Wow. The same job for 39 years? My record was 9 years and it almost killed me! The pay was good though and the job was based on my main special interest, and also, the job was quite varied so it was rare to have a day the same as the next.

My average time in a job is about 2 years. I thought long and hard as why I find I need to move on after two years. It occurred to me that two years is about the maximum time I can mask for. Longer then that and the masking starts to fail.

Lately though I have tried working again on a short term low hours temporary part time job and though I did it, inside of me everything was screaming! I went from one partial shutdown to the next so often that it was almost as if I was in one continual partial shutdown throughout the working day. I was only doing 4 or 5 hour shifts three or dour days a week which gave me a day off inbetween....
I struggled soo much I can't see how I can take even a part time job again.It is just too much for me the way I feel at the moment.


Anyway. Back to being poor.

The main issue with being poor. Little or no money.

But.... How does one know when one is poor? I am not poor as I have all my needs met at the moment. I do need to find a way to get an income of sorts. Selling my spare trains that I collected over the years is one way to keep the bills paid when they come. Bills. I have only a few bills to pay a year. These are to keep my lovely little car on the road. And praise God! I have a car.

I apologise for being on a different tangent. I do that at times.

Very well said XFG, thank you. You have your priorities right.

I'm glad you can take care of your mom and your dog. Having lost mine to kidney failure earlier this year was tough - they are part of the family. What breed is your dog? Mine was Miniature Pinscher and he had a great big heart. He sustained me when I was staying in a homeless shelter years ago.

Well said, XFG. These threads have been a source of discomfort to me also. From my perspective, the people who do the work no one else wants to do are the truly indispensable ones. Thank you for washing the dishes.

I have new-found respect for you, XFG.



Now ... if only I had a job for you too...

I work retail and a lot of people see and treat us like servants. Beneath them, they consider us stupid, ask us things then don’t Believe us. Wast my time. A lot of the other workers treat me similarly though, they just there temporarily. Making extra money for college, while driving a car mommy and daddy bought them. They use the mo eh they make for fun things as they don’t have bills. Otheres are working this as side job for extra money, or retired. Most of not all are conservatives. I’m odd one out.dont dare tell the. I’m on disability. “You can have a truck like this too it’s only $300 a.p month” that’s like more then I have in a month after taxes and bills. Why don’t I get w real job they ask, why aren’t I married yet? Why aren’t I having kids? Times running out they say .

I've been middle class, poor, lower middle class. But never rich... When I was middle class, I didn't know it because I was little. Poor as an adolescent and young adult, other than not being able to buy and creature comforts, I don't know that it registered much then either. I was focused completely on school and thought of little else. Now, we're lower middle class and I'm just grateful to pay bills on time.

There's honor in every state of economic status, as long as you feel good about it. It sounds like you feel good about it and that's great. I'm happy not having a lot to spare. And I think that's really all we can ask for in life.

I find it ironic that any disabled people would be so prejudiced on the poor. It doesn't surprise me why anyone would question their autism. If you're poor and disabled because you are so unfortunate, then you would be for welfare programs and socialism and not judge people being on WIC and Food stamps and you wouldn't be against national healthcare either. It's so strange they would even think this way about the poor and judge them too. Maybe they are just trolls.

I will continue existing and using their money to live comfortable to piss off the right wing. Sorry, but not sorry.