Just a thought: How about we stop shaming the poor for buying things that may not be essential, and start shaming the rich for making a profit off things that are essential.
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How about we encourage the poor to not buy non-essentials so they can stick it to the rich for making a profit?
Encouraging people to be frugal and to make better choices is not shaming. It's helping people to free themselves from the prison of malignant capitalism.
And how about we acknowledge that we are fully dependent on their liquid spending. And that even if they did everything right, there is not enough room to climb the ladder. Demand for better jobs doesn’t create jobs. Jobs aren’t products - but we act like they are. Labor is bought. So screwed up.
Friendly reminder 📌: If you buy cheap, you exploit someone else who cannot defend themselves, and you exploit the planet, which is even less able to defend itself. Both the social and ecological backlash have already started to kick in.
I hate the idea that hard working people don't deserve nice things every now and then because they're poor. Being poor is a HARD, soul crushing existence and we all deserve a little reprieve.
I've never done that. I've been poor. There are reasons why someone might spend a little on frivolities, but they shouldn't have to make explanations to anyone.
Being poor is hard work that grinds you down. Giving yourself a little treat is mental health care.
And shaming the rich for competitive yacht purchase while people starve on the streets. And shaming the rich for pissing contest rocket creations while people sleep in the streets. And shaming the rich for buying elections and selling out the country for a chance at more deregulation(monopolization)
If we're going to constantly go at them for their lack of political insight and general stupidity, and we definitely do, why not go the whole hog? The contents of their shopping trolley is so unimportant I can't see why you're even posting about it.
Especially in a world of trickle-up economics where we get one life only. We wholly depend on the permanent underclass, it seems. And then act like that’s annoying to us, not them.
Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.
-Herman Melville
A million times *this!* Ideas of "essential" might not be the same either. My ankle was messed up and I had to buy good $100 sneakers. My mom gave them to me as a gift but I still felt self-conscious when I used my Medicaid card at the dr's office- the one who did the surgery on the bad ankle too
And a good thought it is.. I am coming to realize how much of a negative factor the wealthy are to improving life for the poor and working class they literally ruin everything they get involved in
Every social program that helps the less fortunate is gobbled up by the utilities, food groups, pharmaceutical companies! Their great deceit has been pointing the finger at the poor while large corporations have been the beneficiaries.
No kidding. Subsidized housing is another case in point. The owners can be close to slumlords while getting full market rate because people have nowhere else to go. Afraid of retaliation and too poor to hire an attorney.
I had a Republican coworker who used to say this all the time: "I drove past the homeless shelter and people had cell phones. If they can afford phones, they can afford a place to live." I tried to explain how necessary a cell phone was to a person without a home. She never tried to understand.
Plus, there are government programs that give out free phones to low income residents. And most phones allow wifi calling. So they can have a phone that costs them nothing & can be used w a wifi Hotspot or free wifi like a fast food place or grocery store.
And meanwhile their precious little Breighlynn or Harrison is starting a measles epidemic because mom saw that gal on Facebook who turned magnetic from getting the Covid vaccine.
In addition, we have good-hearted CEOs.. Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Mobile, gives free mobile services to low income families.
The same goes for the homeless here in CA. They get free cell phones w their free service.
Thank you for sharing this. Many people do not understand that there are programs and states that provide free cell phone services to help low-income and homeless people.
They see that a new phone costs up to $1000 and assume that is paid up front. Most people pay the phone off month by month. Took me two years to pay off my phone, keeping it until it dies for good.
Many poor folks get cheap pay-as-you-go phones so they can add minutes when they get some money or can prioritize the phone if waiting for an important call (like a job offer!). Can't get a job if you don't have a phone # they can call.
Also no point in getting on a waiting list for your turn to get a housing voucher if you can’t get a call telling you it’s your turn to get a housing voucher
True. I was also thinking that in my city, average rent for a studio is $2800. Move-in requires first, last, & security. Even if you had enough to pay $1k up front for a phone, how does that mean you must also have enough to pay $8400 up front for an apartment?
And it’s insane that people think if a homeless person hadn’t bought that phone—or that purse, or that Starbucks coffee—they wouldn’t be homeless. Someone else here just said that if a poor person buys brand name groceries instead of generic, they cannot legitimately claim to be struggling. 🤯
Not to mention just how fucking stupid that is. It takes thousands of dollars to move into an apartment. When I started out my rent was $250 and my deposit was the same.
Phones are crucial for survival and safety. We fight to make sure everyone who is homeless in Chicago gets a phone. You are welcome to follow us for daily articles about homeless advocacy.
How can people get jobs without a permanent address? At the very least they need a constant phone number to be able to apply for a job. It’s infuriating that people judge the unsheltered for having a damn cellphone.
Being shamed for buying something when you're poor by someone who thinks it's none of your business if they buy a $30,000 handbag says something about the rich.
How about people in general, make better choices with respect to the use of their own disposable income. That would be much more effective than attacking the rich - corporations? I am not standing-up for corporations. It’s just that one has to understand how they work, which would be a long thread.
As well as the more people that can participate in the economy, the better the economy and it's opportunities. Sadly that idea is to much for people that want to control all the money.
An example of basic and consequential items many would consider a luxury, poverty greatly limits who can afford, is fresh fruit and vegetables. Our society, lacking emphasis on healthy diet w the overwhelming prevalence and focus on highly processed carbs, access to basic healthy food is limited.
Nice phrasing. Yes, Scrooge has been backsliding and needs another slappy ghost visit.
Everything is stacked against us. Encouraging decent and reasonable actions is what we have.
Sounds really cool and I do share the actual sentiment.
But why would anybody do work without compensation? (rich people do not get paid a salary, they make a profit in this simplified view).
Is the author exempt because she makes nonessential things , but a wheat farmer has to work for free?
As long as they didn’t camp out at Best Buy for ten hours yesterday to make someone get up at midnight and open the store for it.
Black Friday needs to end.
That. And also, we might ask why the rich hoard wealth that they could never spend in their lifetimes while others are without essentials. Homes that sit empty while people are unhoused. How many homes does one need in a morally just society? How many planes? Yachts? Islands?…
My only criticism is for when they could buy store brands & generics but they insist upon the national brands. If you ignore simple adjustments when you’re struggling then my sympathy is lessened. But hey, your money, your choice. Just don’t bitch about being poor when you ignore an easy solution.
The point of my observation & opinion is that if they choose the national brands they’ve been influenced to buy, then perhaps they’d be better off researching less expensive options. And again, their money, their choice. But they can spare the whining if they don’t even compare simple options.
I hear a lot of sweeping generalizations & judgment related to whether someone buys a national brand or a store brand. Seems harsh. I personally think people could spend less if they bought basic ingredients & cooked at home but don't judge because someone might be working 3 jobs & not have time.
It’s clear that we both have strong opinions about this, based on personal experience (I work in retail). My main point is that if a person continues to spend $5 on a box of Kelloggs without even investigating the quality of the $3 store brand equivalent, then they can’t claim to be struggling.
When someone reaches $1 billion, we need to give them a medal, shake their hand and say “congratulations, you won at capitalism.” But then take every fucking penny from them after that.
We forget the pressure capitalism puts on consumers at all levels.
That urge to participate is real. Giving into the urge with little indulgences, eases that pressure. 😊
“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.”
Also, as if the rich don’t buy non-essential things? That’s truly rich indeed. For far too many of the them, the vast majority of what they buy is non essential. For far too many of them, they also don’t add much if any value back into society. I mean if they want to generalize we can go there
Agree, I also think we’re going to have to let go of the “we told you so, pretty soon” or we going to remain in the elitist democratic camp vs. the camp of caring and being for the middle/lower class.
True!! What someone else regards as essential is their business!! Meanwhile rich people who try to exploit buyers with no consumer watchdog should be called out!!
Can we shame billionaires for buying things that are not essential? Like enormous yachts, homes with more rooms than you could even visit in a lifetime, multiple cars and more shoes than there are feet in some countries?
It is time to shame the rich for not paying their fair share of taxes! The rich need to be pay taxes at a progressive rate so the rich pay higher rates than secretaries, firemen and working Americans. Get rid of the loopholes & lower rates for dividends & capital gains!
So much profit is the problem. But then, when there's too much profit, it could and should be taxed, in theory, and money would return to poorer citizens in various ways. But then people, even those relatively poor, won't always vote for candidates or parties wanting to tax profit and wealth...
Comments
Encouraging people to be frugal and to make better choices is not shaming. It's helping people to free themselves from the prison of malignant capitalism.
Being poor is hard work that grinds you down. Giving yourself a little treat is mental health care.
(I'm OK with shaming the rich, tho 😉)
-Herman Melville
—Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Elaborate nails treatments and hair weaves..?
Ok, I’ll shut up.
The same goes for the homeless here in CA. They get free cell phones w their free service.
Everything is stacked against us. Encouraging decent and reasonable actions is what we have.
But why would anybody do work without compensation? (rich people do not get paid a salary, they make a profit in this simplified view).
Is the author exempt because she makes nonessential things , but a wheat farmer has to work for free?
Black Friday needs to end.
I was raised on shame.
(Recovering Catholic)
Impossible to shame the shameless.
I could go on 😂😂
And I’m always on the lookout for a boating friend 🚤 😁
Boycotts work wonders!
That urge to participate is real. Giving into the urge with little indulgences, eases that pressure. 😊
“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.”
–ADAM SMITH
In their worldview people are poor as a result of their own actions, never because of any other factors.