Do You Live In Poverty?

[Meowtown]

I lived in poverty my entire life up until about two years ago when my small business took off and the bfs business. Its been tough but its rewarding.

We also don' have kids

 

[krazikomi]

I live in a self imposed poverty better decisions and money management could solve all my problems. But i by no means am naked, hungry or homeless. So it depends on what you consider poverty. 

 

[Hammerblow]

This is obviously an old thread but op makes a valid point. I may not be American but the system in the UK is very similar if not better and people universally have similarities. I’m from Glasgow and there are a lot of people who can work but won’t work. There are jobs if you really want one but there’s this toxic mentality that it’s easier to ‘play the system’ then get a job. Why work when they can claim x,y,z benefits and have a higher monthly income than those working a standard working week. These same people are the ones blaming all the foreigners for stealing all the jobs...bullshit!! They actually have self respect and want to make a living and try to better themselves. It truly disgusts me that unfortunately  those in need find it the hardest to receive support because they are honest and don’t have a masters degree in deceit.

We also have a term called ‘Giro Babies’ a Giro is the old fashioned termed for when you received your benefits in the form of a cheque which you’d take to the post office to cash. Before BACS. Giro babies are young teenage girls purposely getting pregnant so they can claim a house from the council(they get priority housing), all the benefits you can possibly imagine so they don’t have to lift a finger. And once that child is old enough that their benefits are reduced...they’ll just get pregnant again!!

Obviously in city like Glasgow there is real genuine poverty which we need to address and I work in partnership with a company to help those in need (which feels like a pebble in an ocean at times tbh) but there is self imposed poverty where people just aren’t willing to work and would prefer to play the system and live a life of drink, drugs and crime. 

I’m not on this forum to judge we’ve probably all been pretty low and done some bad if not terrible m things, perhaps we still do but I guess my point is poverty can be a mindset as much as a reality, if we change the mindset we change the reality. 

Peace 

Rx

 

[Mary79]

According to the link I'm at 92.08 so under 100 is poverty level, but like the OP said poverty is not what it used to be. I have a cellphone galaxy S7 I've had for years that was bought in refurbished condition, I've had to do a battery replacement once. I have air conditioning in my home. I drive a nice vehicle. I never go hungry. Poverty level today seems a lot better than it was in the '80's.

I grew up in true poverty. Dad left when I was 2, mom was a meth addicted waitress. I remember having no phone (I'm talking no landline), no air conditioning, no vehicle (good old public transit), and sleeping on the couch in the living room of our one bedroom roach infested shack. I remember times there was no food in the house for days. I started shoplifting from grocery stores at 8 years old, hunger will make you do things you'd never even consider otherwise.

To me my current situation does not feel at all like poverty, maybe it is my perspective from my childhood or the criteria has changed, or a little of both.

Sadly I'm sure that there are kids growing up in similar situations to mine, but I hope things are changing for the better.