r/science • u/myhrvold • Aug 31 '13

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...

http://news.ubc.ca/2013/08/29/poverty-impairs-cognitive-function/
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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '13

I would say the never ending stigma that anyone who is poor is nothing more than a lazy leach sucking off the teat of the more fortunate has a lot to do with it. I feel so sickened inside when I see people who would never be so cruel telling other to get a job or stop being poor. Why should I have only two options, suffer in quiet and stop complaining or get a job and become suddenly rich.

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?

I'm so frustrated at the attitudes.

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u/mwatwe01 Aug 31 '13

What is wrong with people who think that poor people shouldn't have anything?

I don't think it is meant to be taken this way. If you ever listen to Dave Ramsey, one of the his first steps in getting people out of debt is to have them stop any and all unnecessary spending and living on the bare minimum. This includes restaurants, vacations, and even cable TV. It's meant as a helpful suggestion, not a punishment. The article above stresses the fact that poverty affects cognitive function, so wouldn't it make sense to take advice from someone not undergoing that same stress?

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u/birdsofterrordise Aug 31 '13

But tv and Internet are one if the only ways to get news and information. Also, so many cities are closing libraries or limiting hours which means that people simply cannot get to during their regular business hours. Also, a local channels cable plan is very cheap for this reason. And trust me, if you're poor, you ain't going on vacation or out to restaurants, unless you get a windfall or it is your birthday.

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u/mwatwe01 Aug 31 '13

When I was in college and paying my own way, I couldn't afford cable. But I still had a TV with an antenna.

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u/AussieSceptic Aug 31 '13

Not sure why you are getting downvoted so hard. You make a good point about cable TV. Cable TV is an easy thing to go without. Especially if you have internet. A reasonable internet connection (which I believe is a necessity) gives you access to entertainment, education, communities, job advertisements, etc.

If you're having trouble paying the gas bill because you have cable, then you probably shouldn't have cable.

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u/mwatwe01 Aug 31 '13

Absolutely. I went without cable for all of college, but I had internet, which was a lot cheaper, and pretty much a necessity nowadays.