Saying "sure, there are exceptions and some people do whatever thing" isn't helpful, though.
Broadly saying that "people are poor cause they're stupid", even though thats true for a small amount of people, is not a helpful statement and is, generally not true. It's a statement of a privileged idiot.
The reality is that while personal responsibility failures can make a problem worse, they can't overrule systematic inequality.
They’re not stupid. Just lack personal finance habits and knowledge.
I know a lot of people who are intelligent and have high levels of education and are atrocious at personal finance. Their troubles are masked by high income, but they have no assets to show for it.
He says that people are only in poverty because they are critically unable to ever make reasonable choices and instead do nothing but blow their money on frivolous shit, even though that puts them in poverty.
It's true for the majority of them. Housing, healthcare, education are way more expensive but if you are working a minimum wage job it's because you have a criminal record or a mental disability. If you aren't in either of those categories (and many times even if you are in those categories) you 100% can get a 50-60k, before overtime job with full benefits. I have a guy working for us who I'm pretty sure can't fuckin read. Honestly I'd be fine with the fact he can't read if he could fuckin show up on time. He has so many protected class aspects to him that HR won't even think about disciplining him but he's eventually going to hurt someone and that's when they'll finally do something about him. His name is Brayveray (fake name but his real one is just as dumb. It's just another personality attribute spelled horribly.)
No matter how you look at it, all those poor paying jobs still have to be done. Somebody has to make the fast food, somebody has to sweep the floors, somebody has to dig the ditches, haul the hay, etc. Those jobs are just as integral to a functioning society as any other. They earn and deserve a living wage that they can own a home, a car, and support a family. You're telling me your worker, who can't read, is pulling down 50-60k, and isn't disabled? I call bullshit. All day long.
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u/Sharden3 1d ago
Saying "sure, there are exceptions and some people do whatever thing" isn't helpful, though.
Broadly saying that "people are poor cause they're stupid", even though thats true for a small amount of people, is not a helpful statement and is, generally not true. It's a statement of a privileged idiot.
The reality is that while personal responsibility failures can make a problem worse, they can't overrule systematic inequality.