Reply To: Some notes about what it means to be truly poor…

ZD: You begin by assuming I came here to be “applauded for schnorring,” and then say that you’re not trying to be mean. A little too late for that, don’t you think?

Here are the mistakes you and many, many people tend to make:

1. I HAVE a job, and am on benefits. All that accomplishes for me is keeping me steadily destitute instead of homeless. WITH Food Stamps, WITH WIC and WITH Medicaid, I still am not bringing in enough to meet our needs. People like yourself think that’s impossible; people like yourself have this fictional idea that all poor people are either too lazy to get on benefits or too lazy to look for a job. In your fantasy world, both of these things are easily remedied and therefore not problems.

2. So clear is your assumption that I need your approval that you even involve speculation about when we should or shouldn’t have decided to have children. Is that TRULY any of your business, or even a polite topic to bring up with someone? Am I so far below your exalted station that my most personal of issues may be chewed over by you?

Honestly, my questions are rhetorical and I’m not even angry. Your assumptions and the way you speak to me are shared by many, many people. It’s a common misconception: that somehow people only get to my situation by slacking off somehow. Here’s the skinny: my wife and I are both well-educated with degrees. We started off our marriage with decent numbers in our bank accounts and now, a few years later, we’ve lost it all. It’s not an uncommon story in today’s economy, unfortunately, but it’s quite illuminating to see how people choose to react to it.