Right!
REH From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 4:27 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: [Futurework] FW: [TriumphOfContent] Poor People Own Appliances Because They're Cheap -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of gary Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 12:49 PM To: Triumph of Content Subject: [TriumphOfContent] Poor People Own Appliances Because They're Cheap Sent to you by gary via Google Reader: Poor People Own Appliances Because They <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/matthewyglesias/~3/fK8lKPm6mtY/> 're Cheap via ThinkProgress <http://thinkprogress.org> > Yglesias by Matthew Yglesias on 8/8/11 My colleagues Melissa Boteach and Donna Cooper have a great piece <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/heritage_poor.html> on the Heritage Foundation's "poor people aren't actually poor because they own cheap electronics" theory of poverty. This infographic nicely highlights the silliness of looking to basic appliance ownership as a standard of material welfare in an advanced capitalist country: <http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/poverty_amenities.png> The relative price shift this reflects is an astounding fact about economic history. Back in the late 1920s, a refrigerator would be worth a lot more than eight days' worth of food. And a microwave wouldn't exist at all. But in the modern day, these appliances don't represent meaningful levels of accumulated wealth. What's more, they're not luxuries. They're actually thrifty things to own. If a single mom raising three kids sold her fridge, she's be making a very imprudent call from a strictly financial point of view. Buying food at the grocery store and saving it thanks to the miracles of modern refrigeration is sound household budgeting. Given the dynamics of a modern economy, it would be pretty irresponsible for a poor person not to own basic household appliances. Or think about the market wages a person might have to forego in order to handwash all her family's clothing and compare that to the price of a low-end washing machine. <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/matthewyglesias?a=fK8lKPm6mtY:o9xzEzDiuM8:H 0mrP-F8Qgo> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/matthewyglesias/~4/fK8lKPm6mtY> Things you can do from here: * Subscribe to ThinkProgress <http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com% 2Fmatthewyglesias?source=email> > Yglesias using Google Reader * Get started using Google Reader <http://www.google.com/reader/?source=email> to easily keep up with all your favorite sites __._,_.___ Reply to <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Poor%20People%20Own%20Appliances%20 Because%20They%E2%80%99re%20Cheap> sender | Reply to <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Poor%20People%20Own %20Appliances%20Because%20They%E2%80%99re%20Cheap> group | Reply <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJyY2kydGV0BF 9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRtc2dJZAMyMzg3OA RzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEzMTI5MTkzMTk-?act=reply&messageNum=23878> via web post | <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdWdtNGQ4BF 9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsaw NudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzMTI5MTkzMTk-> Start a New Topic Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/message/23878;_ylc=X3oDMTM3a 2Q4bmxqBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRtc2dJZ AMyMzg3OARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzMTI5MTkzMTkEdHBjSWQDMjM4Nzg-> (1) Recent Activity: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcWtqMG1sBF9TAzk 3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2h wBHN0aW1lAzEzMTI5MTkzMTg-> Visit Your Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZGVmaWUwBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzE3O TM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTMxMjkxOTMxO Q--> Yahoo! Groups Switch to: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Change%20Delive ry%20Format:%20Traditional> Text-Only, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20 Digest> Daily Digest . <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe . <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Use . <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=17938639/grpspId=1705063985/msgI d=23878/stime=1312919319/nc1=5898816/nc2=3848642/nc3=5028924> __,_._,___ !DSPAM:2676,4e418f23217019709220531!
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