Originally Posted By skinnerbox The Daily Show knocks it out of the park again. Seriously, one of the best segments they've ever done. (Embedded Hulu/Comedy Central video in the article): <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/aasif-mandvi-third-world-healthcare_n_4919304.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...304.html</a> 'Fox Business' Commentator Tells 'Daily Show' Correspondent, 'If You're Poor, Stop Being Poor' The Huffington Post | by Carol Hartsell Posted: 03/07/2014 11:13 am EST Updated: 03/07/2014 2:36 pm EST <> After watching Aasif Mandvi's segment on Thursday's "Daily Show," two things are clear: 1) America has the greatest healthcare system in the world (if 37th place is considered the greatest), and 2) some people shouldn't do interviews with "Daily Show" correspondents. Case in point, "Fox Business" commentator and NYSE Euronext Managing Director Todd Wilemon has a couple of jaw-dropping moments in this interview about "third world" healthcare conditions in Knoxville, Tennessee, not the least of which is his statement right at the end: "If you're poor, stop being poor." Watch the clip above, and keep an eye out for one of the more awkward pauses in "Daily Show" history. <>
Originally Posted By Tikiduck "If you're poor, stop being poor." That line perfectly summarizes the conservative mentality. The callous apathy is mind boggling. It's right up there with "Let them eat cake."
Originally Posted By skinnerbox The very awkward pause was perfect. He took the bait and walked right into a dead end, unable to lie his way out. Conservative pundits like him keep spewing lie after lie about how American healthcare is the best in the world, all the while knowing full well that it is not. And when they're cornered and forced to admit to the truth, their brains simply freeze up. Classic.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<"If you're poor, stop being poor">> That is an INCREDIBLY stupid statement, but there is an element of truth in it. My wife and most of her family were quite poor when I first met them. I'm certainly no miracle worker, but I have been able to teach my wife (especially), her kids and a niece how to be less poor. Poor people tend to make very poor choices on many things because they feel that is all that is available to them (Payday Loans are an excellent example of that). They tend to never budget for unforeseen expenses... they figure if they can handle the usual expense they are OK. Then they have a car repair and can't pay rent. They waste the meager money they have. My largest TV is a 10-year-old 32" tube style JVC TV. Weighs about 150 pounds and is an antique, but it works as well as the day I bought it. Many today, even poor people, figure they need the latest and greatest. I have a nephew who just got a 60" HDTV TV from a rent-to-own place (he is very poor and lives in a dump). By the time he is done paying for the damn thing he will pay more than 3,500 dollars for a TV you could get at WalMart for half the price. Poor people are often poor because they don't know how to be any other way. They need to be given the information they need on how to NOT be poor.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Poor people are often poor because they don't know how to be any other way. They need to be given the information they need on how to NOT be poor. << Yeah, well, you don't expect the government to just HANDOUT that info for free, do you?
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<Poor people are often poor because they don't know how to be any other way.>> This is an INCREDIBLY stupid statement. Poor people are often poor because they don't have any opportunities available to them to help lift them out of poverty. Period. Truthfully, RT, I'm getting really tired of your argument. You trot it out every time there's a story about a Republican blaming poor people for their own poverty. Everyone makes dumb decisions. Everyone. But poor people often don't have the mobility to get up and move to better areas with better jobs and better schools because they simply do not have the resources because they are living paycheck to paycheck. Most poor people do not fit your examples above. And even if they did, and they magically stopped being "stupid with their money" and managed to save $50 out of every paycheck so they could afford to move from their impoverished neighborhoods, how long would they have to save to get the necessary $5,000 to pick up and relocate their families someplace else, where they might have to go weeks or months without another job? And when a medical emergency hits or the car breaks down or someone needs major dental work, where does the money come from for that? Obviously, the relocation fund. Just like the "Paradise Falls" change jug in UP. This is why poverty is so damned difficult to get out of. You're still living 20 to 30 years in the past. Times have changed and much of what you think is true about how poor people "just need to budget their money wisely" is outdated. They have no money to budget. That's the problem.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Skinner... you are just as out of touch and just as much of what is wrong with LP as Beau is. Get the hell out of San Francisco and see what the real world is like.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf Skinnerbox, perhaps I am misunderstanding your argument, are you saying you have to physically move out of a poor area to escape poverty? If so, why?
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Truthfully, RT, I'm getting really tired of your argument.<< Any chance that he might be partly right? Not for everyone, of course, but I think he makes a good point. Dollar stretching is a skill, and I think it's safe to assume that a lot of poor people don't have it. A lot of not-poor people don't either, but they don't need it as much. Better money management skills would help anyone.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>You're still living 20 to 30 years in the past.<< <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/old-economy-steven/photos">http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/...n/photos</a>
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Where did RT say anything about moving? I don't see it. All I read was different ways to spend their money. Made sense to me.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I think it's safe to assume that a lot of poor people don't have it.<< As a missionary in upstate New York, I saw this firsthand. It remains one of my most transformative experiences. It's also, bluntly, why I'm the walking epitome of the paternalistic liberal. I saw what poor people did when they got their welfare check. They didn't mean any harm, they just didn't know any better.
Originally Posted By Tikiduck I think it's safe to say that among poor people there is a fair balance between those who can manage money and those who can't. But it's pretty damn hard when you don't have any to begin with. Generalizing that poor people are inherently lousy at managing money is a bit of an insult to those who work very hard to make ends meet and still struggle due to a rigged system that gives way too much back to those at the top, who could easily settle for less. My nephew works his ass off for a company that exploits him to the max. Keeping him at a lower skill level so he cant learn enough to leave. Promising training and never delivering. Just using him for tough, dirty jobs. They have him by the cajones with the tough job market where he lives and use that advantage mercilessly. Meanwhile, the owners of the company live like kings.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Generalizing that poor people are inherently lousy at managing money is a bit of an insult<< Fair criticism of sloppy language on my part. You are absolutely correct.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I think it is worth saying that there are certain people that will never be able to aquuire anything but low paying jobs because of either mental or physical limitations. There is a wide range of IQs in this country, and let's face it, if you have a below average IQ, you're going to be at quite the disadvantage. To tell that group to just stop being poor is insulting and cruel.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ANYONE can learn how to spend what they have more wisely. To say otherwise is equally insulting. I've had to learn that myself. When my late wife and I were employed we both made very good salaries.. we never really thought about what we spent... the money was always there. Now in retirement I have about 25% of the family income I used to have. In ways it really sucks... I miss the ability to spend without really thinking about it. But I've learned to spend more carefully and still have a very good life. And yes, I am fortunate. Even in retirement I have an income that is about the U.S. median family income. But I have drastically cut what I spend and manage what I have more carefully. And yes, I've taught my own son and others how to better manage what they have. He still ain't rich, but he doesn't have bill collectors constantly harassing him either.
