10 years ago I started roofing with zero experience, zero savings, a two kids to raise on my own. I took the job because it paid well, because nobody else wanted to do it. I worked my ass off, bought a car, put my kids in sports, and saved up a house downpayment in the first 5 years. And I was only working half the days so I could homeschool the kids. Did I get a good break? Sure. Would I have gotten it if I didn't show up, work hard, and make the company money? No.
What I didn't do was buy ice cream but once in a blue moon, because it's decadent; both unnecessary and unhealthy. We drank water, not pop or juice. We walked the 15 minutes to the grocery store instead of wasting gas and based our meals on what was on sale, not what was easy. For treats, we'd bake cookies or pie. I also made it a point to be helpful to my neighbours where possible which, while not making me rich, meant people would be thinking of me when they came into more than they could use. Anybody could've done the same.
If you're just too weak to do physical work, I have a friend who did basically the same thing but with call center tech support. He showed up every day, did his job, took all the training offered and was making almost as much as me, no experience or education required. And he was working from home.
Coincidentally, my daughter was telling me just last night that my ex got her government benefits sorted out and "has some money" so she was going to order food instead of making it. She is unemployed and living with friends and has nothing better to do than cook dinner with her daughter, which is what my daughter convinced her to do because, even at 10, she's far more sensible than my ex. Oh, and she owes me something like $20,000 in back child support.
So don't even try to pull that bleeding heart "muh circumstances" card. Maybe that works on the college kids who've never been tested by life, but the reality is that we aren't China, or India, or Africa, or even America 100 years ago. As bad as things are getting, we have more opportunities than 99.9999% of humans who ever lived so, if you're poor, it's either because you are so broken that you wouldn't even survive to adulthood anywhere else, or you consistently make poor decisions, which sounds an awful lot like making a choice, to me.
Being poor is a personal choice in the West.
10 years ago I started roofing with zero experience, zero savings, a two kids to raise on my own. I took the job because it paid well, because nobody else wanted to do it. I worked my ass off, bought a car, put my kids in sports, and saved up a house downpayment in the first 5 years. And I was only working half the days so I could homeschool the kids. Did I get a good break? Sure. Would I have gotten it if I didn't show up, work hard, and make the company money? No.
What I didn't do was buy ice cream but once in a blue moon, because it's decadent; both unnecessary and unhealthy. We drank water, not pop or juice. We walked the 15 minutes to the grocery store instead of wasting gas and based our meals on what was on sale, not what was easy. For treats, we'd bake cookies or pie. I also made it a point to be helpful to my neighbours where possible which, while not making me rich, meant people would be thinking of me when they came into more than they could use. Anybody could've done the same.
If you're just too weak to do physical work, I have a friend who did basically the same thing but with call center tech support. He showed up every day, did his job, took all the training offered and was making almost as much as me, no experience or education required. And he was working from home.
Coincidentally, my daughter was telling me just last night that my ex got her government benefits sorted out and "has some money" so she was going to order food instead of making it. She is unemployed and living with friends and has nothing better to do than cook dinner with her daughter, which is what my daughter convinced her to do because, even at 10, she's far more sensible than my ex. Oh, and she owes me something like $20,000 in back child support.
So don't even try to pull that bleeding heart "muh circumstances" card. Maybe that works on the college kids who've never been tested by life, but the reality is that we aren't China, or India, or Africa, or even America 100 years ago. As bad as things are getting, we have more opportunities than 99.9999% of humans who ever lived so, if you're poor, it's either because you are so broken that you wouldn't even survive to adulthood anywhere else, or you consistently make poor decisions, which sounds an awful lot like making a choice, to me.