tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post8454673630901131270..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, Poverty Thoughts. From KillerMartinis.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-80691170588579718682013-11-24T20:26:53.107-05:002013-11-24T20:26:53.107-05:00Excellent point, Ursula. I hadn't thought abo...Excellent point, Ursula. I hadn't thought about that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03125007135941146815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-4127233578083283152013-11-24T20:24:54.579-05:002013-11-24T20:24:54.579-05:00Here are my two cents worth on the article: I bel...Here are my two cents worth on the article: I believe the original author's point was to open everyone's eyes to the myriad of issues and hindrances faced by the poor. Any one of us, no matter how educated, experienced, intelligent, or wise we may be, can fall into poverty. <br /><br />My mother grew up during the Great Depression, and my father was actually born on Black Friday in Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03125007135941146815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-85307238613739727522013-11-24T12:57:34.703-05:002013-11-24T12:57:34.703-05:00The linked post is, as the author admits, a bit in...The linked post is, as the author admits, a bit incoherent, and that incoherence includes not, as far as I can tell, linking to one of the sources that presumably started her thinking -- the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scarcity-Having-Little-Means-Much/dp/0805092641/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385313840&sr=8-1&keywords=scarcity" rel="nofollow">Scarcity: Why Having Too Little MeansContingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34692842706122261632013-11-24T12:33:04.357-05:002013-11-24T12:33:04.357-05:00Late to the game here, but I'd like to keep th...Late to the game here, but I'd like to keep this one open, too. Many sides of this issue to see and to be considered. I am finding the whole thing one of the more compelling debates I have seen here lately. <br /><br />It's words on a site. <br />CrayonEaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10126396989880932207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-14528298905703907682013-11-24T03:49:10.030-05:002013-11-24T03:49:10.030-05:00Acknowledged in order to dismiss. Acknowledged in order to dismiss. Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-2211012636678191822013-11-23T22:02:17.259-05:002013-11-23T22:02:17.259-05:00This is a good start, Hiram. Another problem is th...This is a good start, Hiram. Another problem is that student loans, even at 0%, are no longer so easy to pay off, thanks to college costs having gotten so out of control. Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17218204562777123292013-11-23T21:57:01.475-05:002013-11-23T21:57:01.475-05:00At this point I'd like to leave the thread up....At this point I'd like to leave the thread up. There has been a little mail asking Flamen to temper the rhetoric a bit. It's a shared space; everyone try to be aware of other perspectives. College Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-69947642621546092812013-11-23T21:47:38.764-05:002013-11-23T21:47:38.764-05:00I'd like to ask everyone to consider that this...I'd like to ask everyone to consider that this is a shared space. College Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-68753148326602398972013-11-23T21:44:12.172-05:002013-11-23T21:44:12.172-05:00Frod, you'd like me to write a reasoned rebutt...Frod, you'd like me to write a reasoned rebuttal to a guy who suggested that poor people live in weekly hotels because they might be addicts or convicts? <br /><br />And the story of his poor friend with the big tv? I cannot help but think he's baiting, and if he's baiting Kimmie, well that's just too much. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67156654765195584132013-11-23T21:31:03.794-05:002013-11-23T21:31:03.794-05:00Grumpy Sergeant, I am not talking about you. Good ...Grumpy Sergeant, I am not talking about you. Good grief. You've said nothing outrageous at all. Sorry for the confusion. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81253855515356548212013-11-23T21:10:05.529-05:002013-11-23T21:10:05.529-05:00When I first filled out a FAFSA, one still had to ...When I first filled out a FAFSA, one still had to put a name down of someone who be a guarantor of some sort. In my family, no one I knew could possibly qualify. <br /><br />Hiram and Leslie, with genuine respect, I ask that the thread not be closed. If anyone thinks I personally have done something here to be a troll, I just ask that you let me know. I am not a troll and I don't want to Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086727387857705638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-2229988036337366422013-11-23T20:54:54.340-05:002013-11-23T20:54:54.340-05:00@HIram: Why don't you write a reasoned rebutta...@HIram: Why don't you write a reasoned rebuttal, then? I'd be interested in what you have to say.Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-54748217009257867342013-11-23T20:53:57.872-05:002013-11-23T20:53:57.872-05:00And if you're not bright, of course, you can a...And if you're not bright, of course, you can always still major in education...Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5828470201969472002013-11-23T20:53:15.149-05:002013-11-23T20:53:15.149-05:00Leslie, I ask that you close this thread. I am sic...Leslie, I ask that you close this thread. I am sickened by what I have read here. I will not engage with someone who is clearly trolling. No reasonable person can think these things. <br /><br />Please shut it down. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-32559759923889258782013-11-23T20:48:48.071-05:002013-11-23T20:48:48.071-05:00Rich people get accidentally pregnant all the time...Rich people get accidentally pregnant all the time and everyone has vices. We shouldn't expect more of the poor than we do of anyone else. And the fees are a perfectly good explanation for not having a checking account. If you're exhausted and afraid you might overdraw your account due to communication issues with your husband, which I can easily see happening to me, it makes senseUntenured Ursulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12107788326951579690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12535256993303131562013-11-23T20:39:24.776-05:002013-11-23T20:39:24.776-05:00Poor people get 100% financial aid awards for coll...Poor people get 100% financial aid awards for college. Fill out a FAFSA sometime. That is still true. The only lender now for student loans for poor people is the Federal government, which accounts for the vast majority of all student loans. Those loans are at 3.5% which is almost zero at today's inflation rate.<br /><br />You can't get any Federal student aid if you have drug Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08119100121479821544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-80880468750864268632013-11-23T20:30:20.903-05:002013-11-23T20:30:20.903-05:00Actually I found that she DIDN'T answer that q...Actually I found that she DIDN'T answer that question at all--in fact she says<br /><br /><i>Well, right. My point was that I never said that I personally couldn't or hadn't, it's that the ID requirements are more cumbersome since the Patriot Act.</i><br /><br />When I worked minimum wage jobs I had a bank account. So did my equally impoverished siblings. My college roommate withAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08119100121479821544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67134892141339504932013-11-23T20:17:15.570-05:002013-11-23T20:17:15.570-05:00you assume that every single thing that has precip...<i>you assume that every single thing that has precipitated the writer into her current condition is a choice that SHE made.</i><br /><br />Actually, I explicitly said I did NOT assume that. Learn to read.<br /><br /><i> if you are born into poverty it is very, very hard to climb out of it,</i><br /><br />A fact I acknowledged. Learn to read.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08119100121479821544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89752383947572794592013-11-23T19:59:53.993-05:002013-11-23T19:59:53.993-05:00What disturbs me about this is the hopelessness. I...What disturbs me about this is the hopelessness. It reminds me of “Nickel and Dimed,” by Barbara Ehrenbach, published over a dozen years ago.<br /><br />America used to be where one went to get a fresh start. Daniel Patrick Moynihan made a famous speech in the ‘60s to a bunch of student radicals about why they should care about the economy. He pointed out that we know Europe from its novels. Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67456953683281646222013-11-23T19:42:07.532-05:002013-11-23T19:42:07.532-05:00If you read the voluminous comments on the origina...If you read the voluminous comments on the original post you will see that the author answers these questions about her circumstances quite beautifully, including the one about why she does not have a bank account.Untenured Ursulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12107788326951579690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67603100705220127272013-11-23T19:21:15.661-05:002013-11-23T19:21:15.661-05:00Flamen Portunalis, the most horrific thing about y...Flamen Portunalis, the most horrific thing about your comments is that you assume that every single thing that has precipitated the writer into her current condition is a choice that SHE made. It doesn't seem to occur to you that the cycle of poverty begins for many before they were born; that with the best will in the world, if you are born into poverty it is very, very hard to climb out ofMerely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-30224056289094446242013-11-23T18:53:36.834-05:002013-11-23T18:53:36.834-05:00Kimmie, I would give you a hug if I could.
My mo...Kimmie, I would give you a hug if I could. <br /><br />My mother was a single parent as well. She worked two jobs but still, frequently at the end of the month when money ran out, my brother and I went to bed hungry. I still remember the frustration of not even being able to get to sleep properly because of the hunger pangs. I was a bright kid and my mother expected me to attend college. She Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086727387857705638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-90290417978989224542013-11-23T16:32:49.214-05:002013-11-23T16:32:49.214-05:00I apologize for deleting my comment, but I've ...I apologize for deleting my comment, but I've realized that I'm not capable of having a reasonable conversation about this topic. The scars of my childhood and my mother's death in penury are all too fresh and too real.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-55615921567880233332013-11-23T13:34:30.756-05:002013-11-23T13:34:30.756-05:00Incidentally, I can remember times when we had to ...Incidentally, I can remember times when we had to choose between food, heat, or laundry. My parents were terrible with money and had too many kids for their income and expenses. Their children, most of them, learned better--all but one of us have grown up, gone to college, and become tight with money--the fourth is recreating the cycle of poverty. My mother had to marry out of poverty and her Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08119100121479821544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-4535459775387656092013-11-23T13:30:16.685-05:002013-11-23T13:30:16.685-05:00European style social programs work because they a...European style social programs work because they are funded by European style middle class taxation. Choosing one is choosing the other. That is not a criticism, it is a fact.<br /><br />There's three tax brackets in the UK: 20%, 40%, and 45%. 20% kicks in at 0. 40% kicks in at the equivalent of about $50K--or what an assistant professor makes. $50K in the US puts you in the 15% tax Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08119100121479821544noreply@blogger.com