Avoid the poverty Tax

Good points, factor in the lost time waiting for the bus, waiting in line at the ER or walk-in clinic, waiting in general, and it's probably more than a 10% fee

This was a neat little game related to this issue. Lots of people wind up arguing the poor are poor because they are stupid, but I think this does a good job dispelling that idea.

http://www.playspent.org/

Good points, factor in the lost time waiting for the bus, waiting in line at the ER or walk-in clinic, waiting in general, and it's probably more than a 10% fee

Walk in clinic, or ER, everyone waits though.

To me, the key is to make such time productive, if one thinks about it an Ipod can be a great benefit, or a huge liability in a time spent waiting situation, or even a dirt cheap Mp3 player, or if you are really broke a walkman with cassettes.

Which for me, does not make it a question of intellegence, it's more a question of personal management.

I also think the notions we have in America, when the wave of immigrations brought forefathers to the US, actually work strongly against those who are cash poor.

Just my opinion is that the more desperate someone is for cash, the riskier it is to lend it to them. Yes, the poor usually are charged more but it is based on the perceived ability to recover your money.

Lets be honest, would you rather lend money to someone who is poor or someone who is wealthy. While the system does kind of suck for those that are stuck on the poor side, businesses cant be faulted for securing themselves from risks. I would actually be interested in seeing who owns the majority of the cash-advance stores across the country and what kind of profits they make.

It seems like the best way to break out of that cycle is for a generation of parents work hard to set their children up for success, and furthermore, the children taking advantage. I feel like parents are the key to success and am very grateful my parents helped set me on the right track with help paying for college.

People are poor because they want to be.
There's no one starving in America, if they are, they must all be on a diet.
Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders.
The free market can solve everything.

"pacadermng67 wrote:

Just my opinion is that the more desperate someone is for cash, the riskier it is to lend it to them. Yes, the poor usually are charged more but it is based on the perceived ability to recover your money.

Lets be honest, would you rather lend money to someone who is poor or someone who is wealthy. While the system does kind of suck for those that are stuck on the poor side, businesses cant be faulted for securing themselves from risks. I would actually be interested in seeing who owns the majority of the cash-advance stores across the country and what kind of profits they make.

Well, for myself this is one of the reasons why I bother with this stuff, by the time you are walking into the door of a payday lending place, you have already failed economically speaking, the idea is to arm yourself with financial knowledge enough to avoid being forced to use one of those places to meet basic needs.

Guard your money like a pit bull watches a bone, reject consumerism, build relationships with people whom you can help, and they can help you, such relationships are one of the backbones of improving ones situation even if your job, or if you do not have one.

It seems like the best way to break out of that cycle is for a generation of parents work hard to set their children up for success, and furthermore, the children taking advantage. I feel like parents are the key to success and am very grateful my parents helped set me on the right track with help paying for college.

That is the proven method of so doing, once known as Middle Class Values, work hard, stay out of trouble, value education, having a sense of Faith and Community, this is one of the things that imo, current American Society actively discourages.

In America, the culture basically forces paradigms down people's existences or face ridicule,

Say a 2 parent home, one parent works say 8 miles from home, but both parents work during the day, what normally happens is there are 2 cars bought, and the expenses that go along with them, 3.40 a gallon gas, car insurance, maintenance, the whole bit, now let's say there are bike commuter lanes to the front step of one parents workplace, in America the idea of bicycling into work would be looked upon as a nutty idea, no matter if it would save literally thousands of dollars.

Over the course of time that could pay for retirement, or a college education (if modestly invested in tax free vehicles).

And yet American culture would scoff at the notion, but when one car breaks down, there they go into the Cash Advance place...how did that happen?

:lol:

I don't necessarily agree that America, culture is forced down peoples throat. Around most metropolitan areas, there are numerous modes of public transportation. I also remember my dad used to drive his car to work and ride home, then do the opposite the next day, so that idea is not totally out of the box.

I would be extremely interested in seeing the finances of someone who goes to the CAP (Cash Advance Place) including their possessions at home. Specifically what things they needed to have and what luxuries they had at the expense of other needs. Kind of like at school when kids who get free or reduced lunch end up buying extra food like ice cream or juice.

I do agree that America has social classes that could be hard to break through, but people can do it if they apply themselves... ie( Herman Cain, Allen West, or even someone like Bess). People will fail at breaking through, but I think that if you have a hard enough drive, you can be successful. It all depends on a persons actions.

"pacadermng67 wrote:

I don't necessarily agree that America, culture is forced down peoples throat. Around most metropolitan areas, there are numerous modes of public transportation. I also remember my dad used to drive his car to work and ride home, then do the opposite the next day, so that idea is not totally out of the box.

It is not the mode of transportation, it is the manner of thinking, your father was a smart man, most are not.

And it should be pointed out that the expense of owning a second car was still being carried.

I would be extremely interested in seeing the finances of someone who goes to the CAP (Cash Advance Place) including their possessions at home. Specifically what things they needed to have and what luxuries they had at the expense of other needs. Kind of like at school when kids who get free or reduced lunch end up buying extra food like ice cream or juice.

Eh, no cure for stupid, there are treatments available to mitigate it though.

I do agree that America has social classes that could be hard to break through, but people can do it if they apply themselves... ie( Herman Cain, Allen West, or even someone like Bess). People will fail at breaking through, but I think that if you have a hard enough drive, you can be successful. It all depends on a persons actions.

Waay to general though, Americans need so much prodding to do such things, and it just is so contra culture that I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Here is what I'm clumsily trying to say:

Think of 10 dollars, but you have 12 dollars in expenses, the American way is to borrow the 2 dollars to bridge the gap, what I'm thinking of is finding ways to make 8 dollars take the place of 12, and investing the 2 dollars into future productive capacities.

That would look like:

-2 dollars of capital to use to get ahead
-2 dollars of saved claims on future earnings.

If one thinks about it, if you make 10, but borrow 2 to get to 12, you really only have 8, what one is making is simply not sufficient to cover ones' costs.

"padre31 wrote:

Waay to general though, Americans need so much prodding to do such things, and it just is so contra culture that I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Here is what I'm clumsily trying to say:

Think of 10 dollars, but you have 12 dollars in expenses, the American way is to borrow the 2 dollars to bridge the gap, what I'm thinking of is finding ways to make 8 dollars take the place of 12, and investing the 2 dollars into future productive capacities.

That would look like:

-2 dollars of capital to use to get ahead
-2 dollars of saved claims on future earnings.

If one thinks about it, if you make 10, but borrow 2 to get to 12, you really only have 8, what one is making is simply not sufficient to cover ones' costs.

But that involves planning ahead... :up:

It also involves innovation, which is what this countries economy needs most. As long as innovation continues, there is hope for the future. But when innovation ceases to be as productive, the future looks bleaker.

I know of a kid who was paying his way through college and instead of going out on the weekends, hired himself out as a driver for other drunk students. He made some pretty good money and it was also tax free.

That is the kind of person who is successful, one not thinking about the present but further down the road. When you build yourself a sturdy foundation, you can begin to live more off of desire, but it truly depends on planning ahead. How do you get this into the minds of the next generation is the million dollar question?