June 2009
19 posts
“I’m responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain, I understand...”
– Bernie Madoff before he was sentenced today.
TARP CEO Wife As Vile As You Imagined →
This is an article one of the wives of a TARP recipient wrote. She is a rich, obnoxious, woman complaining about her life. She bemoans having to act like a human being and shows no signs of concern for the people whose lives were destroyed by the economic disaster her husband helped create.
On the upside, Vile Plutocrat makes fun of her.
Via: Conde Nast Portfolio
Poorgeoisie →
We all lament our situations, giving up luxuries, like Starbucks, like Bath & Body Works, during this recession, but while we struggle there those that suffer. It’s the bum-proof bench of the recession. Those who were already poor, are doing worse than ever, but rarely do we here about them in relation to the recession. The highest rate of unemployment is among unskilled laborers. The...
Have to be rich to be poor →
I know I’ve blogged about this before, but after that last post I think it bears repeating. It is expensive to be poor. Poor people pay more for food, housing, to wash their clothes, to even get their freaking paycheck. So, here is an article from WaPo illustrating this point again.
Via: Washington Post
“All The Money Or The Simple Life...
This Is Why You're Poor
Before I start ranting I want to apologize, because I have been erroneously categorizing my financial situation. I’m not poor; I’m broke. You would think I would know to recognize this distinction but I misinterpreted the longevity of my financial state as equivocal to not being able to bring myself out of it, which is the very definition of poverty. I’m sorry and from now on I will refer to my...
Medical Bills! Cause Bankruptcy
Contrary to popular belief (by popular I mean stupid), most bankruptcies are not caused by housewives let loose with credit cards. A new study indicates the majority (62%) of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. 75% of these debtors actually had health insurance and most were college educated and middle class.
I guess the plan is:
Go to college
Get a good job with health benefits
Go...
Dead End Street by The Kinks
WatchDon’t have insurance? Don’t go to the ER.
MAN APPLIES FOR 300 JOBS AND GETS NOWHERE.
the405club:
-By Janet Raiffa, Contributing Writer, Member & Recruiting Manager
If you’re getting depressed about your job search and your low hit rate on resumes this month’s “Esquire” may provide some consolation. While the cover photo of Israeli model Bar Rafaeli clad only in body paint will likely delight 90% of the male population (and 10% of the female population if statistics are...
Government Must Now Support Me
Benefit spending (or what some might call entitlement spending) has steeply increased this year to the tune of 209 billion dollars.
33 million people on Food Stamps, 5 million more than last year
10-15% increase in retirees collecting Social Security benefits. Now that they no longer have jobs or any retirement left, why not just give up and start collecting Social Security? Hey, Medicare...
Living Near Rich Kills
My last post illustrated that in fact, being poor makes you sick because you are constantly reminded you don’t have a dvd player, iPhone, or “me time.” It turns out that living in a wealthy neighborhood exacerbates these problems. Well first off, if you are poor and live in a rich neighborhood, you’re probably working for rich people, some who treat you like an indentured...
Poverty Kills
We already know poverty is expensive, and now I’ve learned it can kill you. I just read a 2005 report on poverty by Robert Sapolsky linking poverty and ill health. I can already hear a chorus of “well, no kidding,” but bear with me. This study controlled for things like access to healthcare and violence. It also addresses the complications of poverty like, say, income insecurity...
16.4% U.S. Under/Unemployment →
Currently 16.4% of the workforce is either unemployed, underemoployed or otherwise beaten down by the current economic condition. That sucks. What sucks even worse- I’m one of them.
via BLS