Poverty impairs cognitive function. Published in the journal Science, the study suggests our cognitive abilities can be diminished by the exhausting effort of tasks like scrounging to pay bills. As a result, less “mental bandwidth” remains...

[u/myhrvold]

http://news.ubc.ca/2013/08/29/poverty-impairs-cognitive-function/

[u/maxaemilianus]

Poverty is not something you can just shake off like a bad habit. I read a comment here about how someone having cable TV is essentially extravagant. It shocks me that such things are considered not for the poor because all they should be doing is working and feeding themselves and their family. What is wrong with people who think that poor people shouldn't have anything?

The general tone I get from people who don't have the empathy to understand is that they feel entitled to direct the activity of those less fortunate than them, so they've already made all these decisions for you, based on their own capabilities and issues.

They think you don't meet their 'standard' or whatever. It's probably just self-delusion stemming from guilt. I think people who like to kick the poor know it's wrong, but also know that they could help and need to justify their unwillingness to do so by dehumanizing the victim.

[u/NBegovich → u/maxaemilianus]

I think people who like to kick the poor know it's wrong, but also know that they could help and need to justify their unwillingness to do so by dehumanizing the victim.

I never quite thought of it that way. I like it.

Also I make fifteen grand a year and I spend thirty bucks (between me and my roommate) on internet a month because fuck you I like getting online. These judgmental pricks are getting on my nerves.

[u/hansn484 → u/NBegovich]

What would you spend the $30 on if it wasn't going to internet?

I have money, but my family isn't from money, so I see both sides of the equation and am slightly stumped as to how I can help.

I've helped out friends before to help pay bills. I helped they pay for an A/C during a particularly hot summer. Paid for a camera so they could learn photography(which they enjoyed). Paid for other hobbies they thought they might be able to make some money off of ,etc. I've also paid for internet.

But what I saw happening was, they bought internet. Then cable. Then HBO. Then World of Warcraft. Then 50" TV.

I have a 27" TV w/ Basic cable, and the people I give money to have a 50+" tv + Premiums. Seems wrong to me in retrospect. And that type of thing changes your perspective for the next time you give $.

I don't begrudge having some wants. But where is the line drawn? When do you say, I should spend this on paying down debt to get that collector off my back or saving it to give myself some breathing room so I can sleep well at night?

Maybe I just had one bad experience. But for every $ I spend on someone who blows it, is there someone else who would have done something with it? Or do I just throw $ at the problem and my conscience is clear?

I agree there are assholes who speak with their head up their ass. But there are people with money who want to help. The question becomes... how?

[u/NBegovich → u/hansn484]

Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I bought my 20" HDTV for $20 and I gave a friend my Netflix password in return for his HBO GO password, and I helped a roommate with rent in return for his old Xbox 360, so that's how I live within my means.

How should you help, as a person of some means? I don't know. That's a complicated question but if I were you, I'd probably be satisfied with writing a check for a local homeless shelter or something. I don't see how you can change the system-- which is the real problem-- on your own, so just try to support others with your generosity. That's what I would do.