How much poverty is a choice?

You post several aspects of this particular case without insufficient detail. You then made the judgment that these people were in poverty voluntarily. You may not have openly stated that this couple was poor because they wanted to be, but the subtext was there.

 

Do you not agree the decision to have high cell & cable bills was solely their decision?

 

Without knowing more about the situation I can't. Why do they have these bills? We don't even know when the wife stopped working and why? We just know the tidbits you gave us. For all I know the high phone bill represents an emergency lifeline for a seriously ill child in which case having it outweighs everything else. All we know is that they have x-bill and you think they shouldn't. A judgment call.

 

If you couldn't pay your utility bills would you have fancy cell phones or cable service that costs $150 a month?

For what it's worth, they didn't have any type of unforeseen circumstances pop up. No one was ill. The wife stayed at home ( I never said she had "stopped" working) with the kids who were all under 5 (it probably was cheaper that way). Their only explanation for needing our help was "bills". In addition to the cell & cable bills they paid $500 in rent & had a car payment of around $350/mo....the guy made about $2000 per month.

 

OK. Then in this case they could have made better choices.

On the cable. My Cable Internet service is invaluable for my work. I do a lot of work remotely and therefore its a utility like any other. I could have paid $100 for the Internet service alone with the possibility of a rate increase at any time or pay $140 as a bundle with cable with a two year contract which locked the price in for the two years. Having a cable bill isn't always a lark and sometimes is just as essential as having electricity and water. BTW. I save a couple of hundred dollars a month by working from home therefore saving on gas, vehicle maintenance and other aspects.
Having a phone is essential in this day and age. You can't really operate in modern society without one and having one for work is absolutely essential in many areas. They could pick a cheaper cell phone system, but the lowest rate you are likely gonna get even with pay as you go is about $30-40 per person per month. The idea that poor people shouldn't have cell phones is a carry over from a time long ago when Pay phones were everywhere.

 

Which gets us back to my reason for posting this thread and my original question.....

 

Hummmm? Just how well does your internet (let alone TV) work without electricity? Around here, people die without electricity and it is impossible to live without water. Yet, I have never heard of anyone dying for lack of cable or cell phone.

BTW, you liberals have lost track of all the give-away programs you have. My guess is that they would readily qualify for one of those government sponsored cell phones. They run from $0.99 to about $2.00 per month while the tax payers pick up the rest of the tab.

 

So according to your study, Conservatives are more generous with their money. According to the study I cite, Conservatives are more likely to have lower IQ’s. So, let’s just imagine for a moment that both studies are completely accurate and that we are not permitted to pick and choose which studies we want to believe and which studies we don’t.
Essentially, conservatives are more generous and dumber. Why am I reminded of the old adage that a fool and his money are soon parted. Hum?


Conservatives have lower IQ’s.
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/03/02/Higher-IQ-linked-to-liberalism-atheism/UPI-68381267513202/#ixzz1MRF8B44p

 

Reminds me of one of your quotes;

 

Reminds me of the old saying "Conservatives give their money, Liberals give someone else's money".

Hey moen, I will remember your comments about Conservatives & giving the next time you call us "greedy" or your fearless leader calls on us to "share the pain".

 

You can find stats for any argument. Such as this one that proves that Democrats are much dumber than Republicans:

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1478/

 

It even goes all the way to the Obama administration;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...et-resolution/2012/02/12/gIQAs11z8Q_blog.html

The White House Chief of Staff and one time budget director for Clinton does not know how to pass a budget - FOR REAL!

 

HAHAHAH...! Typical for the brainless liberals in the Obama administration.

 

What total load of BS. All that research shows is that Republicans knew at one point in time a tiny bit more about specific issues but you disingenuously post it as "proves that Democrats are much dumber". If you can't understand a study, don't post it and then lie about it.

So if you can find stats for any argument, you should know that posting a study that skews charitable giving by including churches is just a pile of manure yet you post it as proof. Hum? That would make one tend to believe that you believe the studies that you want to believe and ignore the studies you don't want to believe.

 

BTW, If you had read the rest of your "study", it also states conservatives are more generous than liberals;

read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/291215#ixzz1mUPevXJi​

It further adds;​

​

 

If you don't agree with a study, you attack the messenger. I see how you operate.

 

I don't agree with your characterization of what the study says. I actually read it. You couldn't be more wrong or just plain lying.

 

Your lying again fool.

 

What, you can read my mind now? Good one!
Or are you just throwing out insults because you have given up trying to debunk the facts?

 

You might consider getting your eyes examined. I'm not wrong nor am I lying. Folks here can read the article for themselves and form their own conclusions. Here's a snippet from the study:

Republicans More Knowledgeable on Many Issues

Republicans, on average, answered one more question correctly than Democrats (5.9 vs. 4.9 correct). These differences are partly a reflection of the demographics of the two groups; Republicans tend to be older, well educated and male, which are characteristics associated with political and economic knowledge. Still, even when these factors are held constant, Republicans do somewhat better than Democrats on the knowledge quiz.



Republicans averaged 5.9 correct answers. Independents correctly answered 5.6 on average and Democrats answered 4.9 correct on average.