growing up my father worked 45 hours a week at a blue-collar job. We had a rotary phone. We had a B&W TV until about 1973, we never had new cars, we never went on vacation anywhere. We had to get a relative to loan us money for a mortgage at a low rate because the bank wouldn't give us a mortgage.
I'm not disagreeing with you about standards of living in certain areas, but there are some people who confuse poverty with being lower middle class. --- Pete Theisen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Monday 09 October 2006 23:30, Michael Madigan > wrote: > > Hi Michael! > > Is there a basic standard of living? Things that no > American can be without? > Will you allow that a person has to have a house to > live in, or should he/she > have to live with multiple roomates so the wages can > be less? Is a telephone > a necessity if a person wishes to work or should you > let the phone be cut off > after you land the job, never mind that all jobs are > temporary? Are clothes > optional or maybe the person should have to wear > his/her work uniform 24/7? > > Sarasota has been talking about affordable housing > for years, but it just > doesn't happen except when subsidized by the > government (the projects) or the > church (habitat for humanity) > > I can understand the drugs, alcohol and gambling > being problems, but these > problems do not explain no housing under $1500 a > month while wages are $1200 > and you might have to work three jobs to get that. > Either the "affordable" > housing has to be there (and the rich people won't > budge on it) or the wages > have to increase (and the rich people control these > as well). > > "Most" is a sweeping generalization. It may apply to > a few cases, but the > drug, alcohol and gambling around here, for example, > is as much a problem > amongst the rich as the poor. > > Regards, > > Pete > > > > A person in poverty today has cable tv, telephone, > > cellphone, car, clothes, etc. > > > > A person in American poverty is not the same as a > > person in North Korean poverty, or a person living > in > > poverty in Beverly Hills. > > > > Most poverty is self-inflicted. Drug, alcohol or > > gambling addictions, having children they can't > > afford, buying items they don't need. > > > > That's not to say real poverty doesn't exist, but > it > > isn't as much as we'd like to believe. > > > _______________________________________________ > Post Messages to: [email protected] > Subscription Maintenance: > http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox > OT-free version of this list: > http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech > ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, > are the opinions of the author, and do not > constitute legal or medical advice. This statement > is added to the messages for those lawyers who are > too stupid to see the obvious. > _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
