Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Rich Man, Poor Man

[dustup]

• Tweet

Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Rich Man, Poor Man
Posted by The Right Scoop on Aug 6, 2011 in Politics 

 Bill Whittle demonstrates a recent study on poverty by the Heritage foundation. This one gets a ‘must watch’ status:

Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Rich Man, Poor Man

[ivanm]

That was quite a story dusty.   I think that some of the statements he made might need some qualification but the priniple theme has merit.

For example, some people are house poor, or automobile poor, or have a houseful of electronic gadgetry.  They lack perspective when it comes to their basic security needs and live from one paycheck to the next.   I can remember being that foolish myself, and after years of pissing away a good salary on feel good things I met a woman with some horse sense and we set out to plan for our future. 

Hell, we are still overloaded with material things that wouldn't bring pennies on the dollar if we had to sell to raise cash for an emergency, but at least we have all those status symbols paid for and have a nice investment nest egg to see us thru some hard times if need be.

Too many younger folks are doing what I did, living beyond my means with no provisions for a rainy day, and they have gotten caught with no job and no savings to tide them over. So it doesn't take long to go from a middle class family to one that is hungry and broke and in danger of losing everything they
have.  In a way a slum dweller with only the clothes on his back is better off because he has nothing to lose, no high insurance premiums, no taxes, and low utility bills. Plus he can simply pick up his belongings in a pillow case and walk away from the bill collectors and the cares of ownership.

Talk about being fat dumb and happy, I once lived in a seedy part of town due to a divorce, and my neighbors had next to nothing in material things, but they were just as happy as I was. I can see where someone might want a more comfy lifestyle, but when they come off thinking that living good is for free
 then they are kidding themselves.

[SufferedMoreThanJesus]

My daddy told me "If you can't afford to pay cash for it, you can't afford it."