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who then come back with stories on what "real" poverty looks like. Then they compare american poor to third world poor and say crap like america has no poor people, I been to BFE and I saw what poor was really like. The sad thing is they don't understand, sure american poor have car's, ahhh yeah and most of those cars are on the verge of a major break down, even though they have shiny paint jobs, the up keep on the drive train doesn't get done, oil changes and the like are often neglected until the engine starts knocking. Then theres tune ups that don't get done, so you end up with a car that could get 30 mpg but only gets 20. The costs of insuring the car also hurts the poor, so they usually are under insured or let the insurance lapse after getting the plates for the car, which in some states leads to massive fines and other punishments. The average life of a poor persons used car is anywhere from a few months or if they are lucky, the thing will last up to 5 years before becoming scrap metal.
Then theres the complaint that american poor have brand new TV's and computers, along with cable TV and the internet. Where do the poor find the money for these things? Well for one thing theres these stores called RAC, where you rent the things you'd like to have, you pay a low monthly rate but if you want to actually own what your renting, the costs are way out of whack. My SO bought a Dell that cost $500 from Dell, by the time she paid it off it cost her $2,500, so RAC made $2000 off the deal, because the PC was used, 1 month after the warranty wore off and it crapped out on her, so SO has a $2,500 dust collector. But where RAC really makes their profit is from the folks that rent the crap for a month or 2 then take it back.
Same with the cable and internet, They get the deals for the introductory low price then after the price ends for the introduction period, they drop the services, until they can get another introduction price for cable and internet. Just a few weeks ago I saw posts in DU complaining about how food stamps were being used for things like soda pop. That to most food stamp users is a small treat for themselves or their kids and it usually means having to skip meals at the end of the month, but hey beans and rice get boring by the 5th or 6th day in a roll you ate them and 3 meals a day, yeah right most food stamp users are lucky if they get to eat once a day.
But according to the wing nuts thats traveled, americans don't know what its like to be poor. None of these things are looked at and these are just some of the ways the poor get by, then you have heating and power bills each month as well as water, sewage and garbage collection, if you own your home. If you rent, Then your find yourself living in a roach infested fire trap where repairs are rough shod at best and barely meet city codes. That is if you have a land lord that is willing to lift a finger before the place falls down on your head.
Sorry for the rant but thats the american life as I see it from below the poverty line, where everything you do has a price for it and travel means making it to the next city 20 miles away from where you live.
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