square head soft heart

The Hungry Hungry Hipsters

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:58:00 -0500

This is an interesting development, perhaps it’s mostly hype, but the newest group to go on social assistance are twenty-somethings using their food stamps to buy organic vegetables.

Via: Salon

Let's All Party as America Reverts to its Prehistoric State [Recessionomics]

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:45:16 -0600

Let's All Party as America Reverts to its Prehistoric State [Recessionomics]:

Not a bad idea since Detroit is already full of urban subsistence farms (or as full as a deserted city can be.)

Unemployment Around The World. Visually Via: Visual Economics

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:46:25 -0500

Unemployment Around The World. Visually

Via: Visual Economics

Apparently, lobbyists are paying homeless people to stand in...

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:58:49 -0500

Apparently, lobbyists are paying homeless people to stand in line for them. I realize this should piss me off, but on the other hand, the homeless people are at least benefiting and the corporate lobbyist gets to see the person he just screwed over. So, some homeless guy is reaping the rewards of corporate interest. Oh what a twisted world.

Via Gawker

America's Meanest Cities for Homeless

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:05:46 -0500

America's Meanest Cities for Homeless:

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) and the National Coalition for the Homeless released a list of America’s Meanest Cities for homeless Americans based on anti-homeless laws and the way the homeless are targeted in these cities. Some of these cities are surprising because you would think, cities associated with prestigious academic institutions would work harder to help. Almost every city on this list has a prestigious college in or around it and several are known as college towns. It’s possible these cities are afraid of being seen as dangerous. I can only speak about the two cities I’ve lived in or around. First, Bradenton I would imagine their laws were stiffened in response to the strict homelessness laws in neighboring Sarasota a few years ago. St. Pete has one of the worst records on homelessness tha I can remember. The mayor, Rick Baker in 2007 directed the Sheriff’s Dept to cut up the tents of homeless people living in a particular area of the city called Tent City.

Top Ten Meanest Cities:

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. St. Petersburg. FL
3. Orlando, FL
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Gainesville, FL
6. Kalamazoo, MI
7. San Francisco, CA
8. Honolulu, HI
9. Bradenton, FL
10. Berkeley, CA

Via: National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

How Americans Spend Their Money: A visualization of the US Dept...

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:09:16 -0500

How Americans Spend Their Money: A visualization of the US Dept of Labor Consumer Expenditures

This was a project to raise $5,000 to help feed the homeless....

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:27:34 -0500

This was a project to raise $5,000 to help feed the homeless. They started buying signs from the homeless. One guy used some of his money to make a new sign:

“GOD IS GOOD, SO IS PEOPLE”

via: Swiss Miss

"I’m responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain, I understand that,” Mr. Madoff..."

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:03:00 -0500

““I’m responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain, I understand that,” Mr. Madoff told the court.
“I live in a tormented state now, knowing all of the pain and suffering that I’ve created. I’ve left a legacy of shame, as some of my victims have pointed out, to my family and my grandchildren.”
Addressing his victims seated in the courtroom, he said: “I will turn and face you. I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t help you.””

- Bernie Madoff before he was sentenced today.

Fascinating look at rural poverty in America, otherwise known as...

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:45:00 -0500

Fascinating look at rural poverty in America, otherwise known as “white trash” (hate that term.) I’ve dealt most with this kind of poverty and I must say this is pretty accurate. Heartbreaking, but also, kind of hopeful? These people are spending quality time with their kids, and they seem to love each other. This is better than some people I’ve met because there are two parents, and they have a trailer. Many times with rural poverty you meet people who have to move from place to place, and these people don’t have to do that. Also, they must be more stable than other family members because another family member’s child lives with them. I know that doesn’t take away from the sad reality of this, but they have each other.

Via: Burn Magazine

TARP CEO Wife As Vile As You Imagined

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:57:34 -0500

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

tryingtofollow: I need no job (do something) Perspective I...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:08:56 -0500

tryingtofollow:

I need no job

(do something)

Perspective I guess.

Via: Ffffound!

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:34:01 -0500

Via: Ffffound!

Poorgeoisie

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:37:00 -0500

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 consequence of high unemployment among the already poor is a larger strain on social services and “doubling up.”

More and more of the generational poor are moving into smaller spaces, living with family and friends. These invisible poor are becoming more prevalent and yet most recession articles are not about them. They are sinking farther down the economic ladder.

Instead, we focus on the “Poorgeoise,” those that wear poverty like a badge of honor and grow their own vegetables. The guy that went from 6 figures to like, 5, and the family that started cooking at home rather than eating out three times a week. Those stories give us good feelings about human endurance.

“Family had it all, loses it, goes on.” That’s inspiring. The lady who lives with her daughter and her grandchildren that almost lost her dilapidated trailer to foreclosure is just depressing. It only demonstrates that life is not at all fair. “Poor family sinks even further into poverty.” That’s a bummer.

I admit I’ve been among the Noveau Poor. I guess that’s what I set out to do, to experience poverty like some kind of exotic vacation, and then I ended up becoming part of it. (The recession, not poverty. Just for clarification.)

Via: NYT

abhishekmittal: Education Pays! Then why am I having so much...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:12:45 -0500

abhishekmittal:

Education Pays!

Then why am I having so much trouble finding a job?

Have to be rich to be poor

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:00:58 -0500

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 Honey” The Dandy...

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:46:00 -0500

“All The Money Or The Simple Life Honey” The Dandy Warhols

This Is Why You're Poor

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:15:00 -0500

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 financial situation accordingly.
Anyway I digress. I read this blog post on one of those financial responsibility blogs that some refer to as “sancta-money” blogs. I’m not opposed to responsibility in personal finances, but I’m skeptical of the types that tend to champion it. It’s fine and good they want to save money and I think it’s great they share their experience as I do mine. BUT, I don’t like all the finger pointing. When it comes down to condemning the poor I start seeing red. The post I’m referring to is on Free From Broke “25 Traits Of The Not So Well To Do.” It boils down to this: if you don’t have a high-yield savings account, and health insurance but have cable, then this is why you’re poor and if you fall in this category don’t complain because if you listened to me then you wouldn’t be so irresponsible. One commenter said they were surprised he didn’t mention bling or rap music. Apparently, I’m not alone in recognizing his bias.
If you don’t care to read it, I’ll summarize. Seven items are related to having cable, a flat screen TV, a cell phone, a new computer, nice clothing and things he calls “gadgets.” I’m not sure what he means, but I’m guessing iPods and the like, (but of course this guy didn’t deny himself one.) Three are eating habits, like being overweight, drinking soda, and eating at restaurants. He chides people for buying or leasing a car. Then he complains about buying Christmas gifts and picking up the tab at restaurants. (Cheapskate.) Only two directly relate to finances; which are not budgeting and not knowing monthly expenses. The others are purely value judgments like not going to college, not owning a home not recognizing their situation or having financial priorities (I’m guessing that means not agreeing with him), no high yield savings account, and not taking care of their things. He concludes by saying all of these people don’t take personal responsibility.
The guy who wrote this article lives in NYC and doesn’t have cable and that makes him a better person. Good for him. But why come down hard on other people? The people that the article describes are people not working off a five-year plan and for this author “responsibility” seems to come down to what his priorities are. Economics is behavior. Money is scarce and we spend our money based on our preferences. That’s it. People who love cable, eat out a lot, drive a two year old car, and rent are not better or worse than the smug prick who saves every penny and eats marked down fruit. Does he not realize crappy fried food, (and often fast food) is cheaper than cooking a healthy meal at home? I can eat a McDonalds for $2.00. You know what I can eat at home for $2.00? Mac & Cheese or Ramen.
This guy unknowingly (presumably) stumbled upon a class divide. He is imposing his social class values upon them. Yes, they may choose to have nice car because they know they’re depending on it to get to work and likely after a long period of having unreliable cars that require thousands in repairs or worse are beyond repair. He also fails to mention a lot of this stuff is for their kids. They buy newest toys and electronics because they want to give their kids what they don’t have or didn’t have growing up. They don’t have a 401k plan or a money market account. Even if they could give save a portion of their wages, it wouldn’t be enough to retire on. He doesn’t seem to realize that they are spending a good portion of their income on just getting by often because while he thinks they’re walking around with credit cards, he doesn’t realize most of these people don’t have credit. What he fails to realize is what separates the rich from the rest is not about tangible things like iPhones and new cars, it’s access to health insurance, upward mobility and a decent wage.
Secondly, while hating your job is a luxury these days, even when it wasn’t, not everyone has the option of working in a career they love. So, if you give up one job you hate, you’ll just have find another dead end job you will end up hating just as much. Education isn’t always an option. I loathe people who think everyone should go to college. He even says that, but yet he still condemns people for not going! So, you can save the money for the savings you won’t be able to keep because the cost of living is so freaking high and inevitably stuff will come up like a medical emergency because you either don’t have insurance or you do but it sucks or you can choose not to have cable and Internet.
These financial gurus often go mute when it comes to desperate situations when people have make a decision between running up their credit cards and being homeless. They repeat the same line about six months of savings yet these are the same people who actually have a “disposable income.” It doesn’t hurt their budget to save, so when they get to a point where they can reduce their spending or income without giving up things, they look back and say “See how easy that was?” You started off in a better position than most people, wow, good job staying there. That could be said for any middle class person. I hate hearing the middle class pat themselves on the back for “making it.” You could’ve been locked in a closet and probably still would’ve “made it.”
Ultimately I don’t think this guy intended to be an asshole. He was just pointing out (in his own myopic way) how different working class values are from his middle class values. He needs to be more mindful of such differences if he’s going to critique them. I think what infuriates me the most about this is because he is reinforcing the idea that poor people are poor because they choose to be. This thinking seems perfectly logical to him (and others like him) because they have different expectations, experiences and think about money in a very different way. For this guy money is a tool to be leveraged and expects his income and wealth to accumulate over time. This is very unlikely for a working class person. He needs to remember one thing: The most important decision regarding your wealth in life is who your parents are. So, can we just lose the smug?

Via: Free From Broke

Medical Bills! Cause Bankruptcy

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:02:00 -0500

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 bankrupt

It’s better than the alternative:

Skip college
Get a dead end job with no health benefits
Drop dead from undiagnosed disease

Via: CNN

Dead End Street by The Kinks

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:52 -0500

Dead End Street by The Kinks

Don’t have insurance? Don’t go to the ER.

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:02:00 -0500

Don’t have insurance? Don’t go to the ER.