Poverty charges interest

When it chocolate rains, it chocolate pours.

Don't worry, guys. I've been assured that this system is perfectly meritocratic.

Man.

I’ve always taken care of my teeth.

I’m getting older and they’re falling apart. I can’t afford to get them “fixed” but hey, “we’ll yank ‘em out fer ya.”

K…

Thanks.

Worse than the direct cost is opportunity cost. Wealthy have money to invest and over time it snowballs. An eventful day in the market can swing their net worth more than the average person will earn in a year or maybe even a lifetime.

Think about what that means for an economy too. It means tons of folks are trapped in poverty cycles instead of innovating, starting businesses, or going to school and getting training etc. Because these things are all risky and require investment, which they can't do.

Terry Pratchett said it pretty well https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-rich-were-so-rich-vimes-reasoned

Paying for healthcare is already bizarre as is. I still do not comprehend how Americans do not immediately revolt over this. Why exactly are you paying taxes for? If everything is privatized and costly... what's the explanation given for your taxes? I'm not being ironic, I truly do not understand.

breathes away from microphone

He's right tho.

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms: The Play

I've said this before as "being broke is expensive af."

If you have cancer and can't afford the treatment, you should just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and take care of that tumor yourself at home. Maybe start a small tumor removal business.

That sweet man, I'll love him forever.

And that's not even talking about late fees, overdraft fees, etc.

My experience living in the USA has also illustrated that, in order to benefit from certain assistance programs such as income-based discounted rates on internet services (namely Xfinity in my region), you must first be actively receiving public assistance. In other words, to receive aid, you must already be receiving aid.

I have not found consistent work for over 15 months but earn enough money to pay rent, utilities, and cover basic meals. However, I don't want to receive public assistance as it would make me feel like I am "officially in need" or "poor" rather than overcoming a temporary obstacle. I say this because, for the average person, there may be very little blocking the temptation to pursue the maximum amount of public assistance possible, as corroborated by supplemental internet service rate programs. I simply wish to accept only what is needed and nothing more.

Hence why the minimum wage has been stuck at $7 in the US for fifteen years, no matter who we elect.

People like getting wealthier, and that includes our multi-millionaire Congress and president.

Being poor is so incredibly expensive.

It’s the fear your leaders call control.