“The working poor haven’t abdicated responsibility for their lives. They’re drowning in it.”

[laundry_queen]

6. So many good points in that article

There was recently a study that showed that if a person has to have self-control and discipline in one area, in other areas they will not be able to exert the same amount of self-control. So, for instance, if you have to work hard to make the money buy enough food to last to the end of the month, you are less likely to be able to, say, control an alcohol addiction. If you are working and in college trying to make ends meet, you are less likely to be able to retain discipline when it comes to eating habits. And so on. With the working poor, when you heap mountains of responsibility on them they make decisions in other areas that may seem like they have no self-control.

For instance, I had this online friend who worked, who was poor enough that her child received Medicaid but she didn't receive anything and she had a chronic condition. I was perplexed (as a Canadian) as to why she would spend so much money buying nice clothes and toys for her child when she, herself, didn't even have health insurance. So I asked her. She explained it to me like this: in order to be able to afford health insurance, she would have to cut ALL unnecessary spending out of her budget. Every last cent. And she would have to decrease her food budget by a small amount. And if she got sick, she still had a deductible that now she would be unable to pay anyway. At least without paying for health insurance, her child got to have a good life, they both had good nutrition (important for my friend's condition), and they both enjoyed the life they had a little bit more. Now some people would think she made horrible decisions and that her child doesn't deserve nice clothes and toys and that the mother is being irresponsible, but they haven't been there and they don't know how hard it is to pay for insurance when you have a pre-existing condition (if they'll even accept you, soon it won't matter). It's not that easy to be 100% disciplined with your money when you're working, are a single parent, have a chronic health problem, and have little hope of ever getting an affordable policy for your health.

And the author was bang on about Romney just not getting that he WAS privileged. Reminds me of my brother. My parents paid for part of his education, helped him with gas and insurance and he worked to pay for the other part, with a job that he got from my dad that paid well. I was a girl and was offered no such job, and only had min. wage jobs and had no help with my car expenses so couldn't afford to continue past my first year of university (I had scholarships for the 1st year and parents refused to pay second year). He doesn't understand that not only were my parents sexist (a girl doesn't need an education as much as a boy does so why pay for it?) but that he had many more opportunities than I did. To this day, he thinks that because I dropped out and got married and had kids that I was a 'loser' with no ambition. Now that I'm back in school full time and my ex is paying my way, he thinks I'm acting entitled and that I have it easy (yes, single mother of 4, so easy /sarcasm). He totally doesn't see how he had extra support from my parents and that his road was much, much easier than mine. He thinks he is where he is because he was a harder worker than I was. God, he's totally like Romney (and yes, he's on the right side of the spectrum, AND thinks he's right all the time.) People like that will NEVER see their own advantages, it's easier to degrade and shame those who aren't where he is than to admit he had it easier.