# I pit Poverty and the current economic crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487 "2009-01-01T18:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/61 "2009-01-02T00:47:01Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t know about the OP, but I believe that the lack of resourcefulness exhibited by **Broomstick** with respect to finding want ads is fairly characterized as a poor choice or poor effort. We’ve learned from **Sateryn76** that there are multiple pages of want ads in the local paper **Broomstick** is using. For **Broomstick** to throw up hands and say, “there are NO, repeat NO” want ads is a pretty good indication of either a tendency to exaggerate to the point of lying, or of a complete inability to bring ordinary adult skills to a relatively simple task – in either case, frankly, not qualities I’d seek as an employer. Uh I looked at that cite and saw a handful. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/62 "2009-01-02T00:48:12Z")
Unskilled laborers need food and shelter too, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/63 "2009-01-02T00:50:21Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > He hasn’t been to college. He has no ability to get work other than as an unsilled laborer. It occurs to me that we have no way of knowing what the OP’s age is based on this thread… if he’s 30 and never went to college that’s quite different than if he is, say 19 or 20. Would you _expect_ a 20 year old to have a college degree completed? > [@](#): > > I’ll never find myself in the position of not being able to find a job. You know why? I’ve worked my ass off since I learned to walk and I have developed skills and experience that are in high demand. So I’m not going to pat some loser on the head when he hasn’t gone to college and complains about not being able to find work as an unskilled laborer. > > You can wish for the same thing as the OP to happen to me all you want but it won’t because I’ve made it impossible. I may at some point have to take a job that pays less than my current job (or less than I’m making at that point), but I won’t be on the streets. It is never impossible to lose employment. Don’t fool yourself. Shit can happen over which you have no control. As I pointed out, there is nothing to indicate the OP’s age in this thread. I have no idea if we’re talking about someone 20 or 40 or 60 years old. I, too, have “worked my ass” off, I have a college degree, I made contingency plans, and yet here I am. Yes, I am working “unskilled labor” and you know what? I was chosen over younger people with less experience in working. Should I call someone 20 years old who asked for the same job I now have a “loser” because I won the spot and they didn’t? I HAVE taken a lower paying job. Despite that, I may yet find myself on the street. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/64 "2009-01-02T00:51:31Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m just saying that the OP failed to do anything to be able to get jobs as other than an unskilled laborer. You’ve conveniently ignored by response to your post on this above. And you’ve conveniently ignored the point that you don’t know enough about the OP’s circumstances to be able state with any certainty that he’s in this boat due to his own poor decisions. He may well be, but with no evidence either way, you’re just ass/u/me-ing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/65 "2009-01-02T00:52:09Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > He hasn’t been to college. He has no ability to get work other than as an unsilled laborer. Your Mom goes to college. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/66 "2009-01-02T00:53:00Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > So, each and every person who wants to get a degree in a field in high demand can get it? Regardless of his circumstances, regardless of his capacities? > > Also, did you miss the part where the OP wants to go to college but can’t due to the circumstances? Yeesh. These responses are like the thyroid people in the fat threads (i.e., there’s a small group of people that have every possible obstacle in their way so that gives everyone else a free pass because they could have had one or more of those same obstacles in their way). Also, to reiterate, I never castigated the OP for not going to college. I castigated the OP for not doing anything to better himself (college being just one example). Finally, as a French person, you are probably constitutionally incapable of understanding concepts such as personal responsibility and all that, so you get a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/67 "2009-01-02T00:55:09Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > We’ve learned from **Sateryn76** that there are multiple pages of want ads in the local paper **Broomstick** is using. No we didn’t. Unless I missed something, **Sateryn** did not say he was looking at the same paper **Broomstick** was using. He just said it was a local paper _somewhere_ in NW Indiana. It may or may not be anywhere near where **Broomstick** actually lives - unless **Sateryn** has some extra knowledge of **Broomstick’s** actual address which he hasn’t brought to the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/68 "2009-01-02T00:55:49Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > And you’ve conveniently ignored the point that you don’t know enough about the OP’s circumstances to be able state with any certainty that he’s in this boat due to his own poor decisions. He may well be, but with no evidence either way, you’re just ass/u/me-ing. Wait, so you are saying it is possible for someone who can only get work in unskilled labor to have arrived at that position through a series of good decisions? I would agree with this only in extremely narrow circumstances. For example, if the OP were physically abused as a child in a third-world country but now he has come to America to work, then he’s alright with me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/69 "2009-01-02T00:56:10Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Not sure how any of that is relevant. I’m just saying that the OP failed to do anything to be able to get jobs as other than an unskilled laborer. You’ve conveniently ignored by response to your post on this above. Ahh do you know why he “failed”? Maybe he’s been stuck in a bad life situation. Also you fucking douche bag he’s trying to go college to fix that. How the hell is he supposed to go to college when he can’t even get enough money for food and rent? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/70 "2009-01-02T00:56:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t know about the OP, but I believe that the lack of resourcefulness exhibited by **Broomstick** with respect to finding want ads is fairly characterized as a poor choice or poor effort. We’ve learned from **Sateryn76** that there are multiple pages of want ads in the local paper **Broomstick** is using. For **Broomstick** to throw up hands and say, “there are NO, repeat NO” want ads is a pretty good indication of either a tendency to exaggerate to the point of lying, or of a complete inability to bring ordinary adult skills to a relatively simple task – in either case, frankly, not qualities I’d seek as an employer. First of all, the only link provided that goes directly to the want ads lists **SEVEN** , which is _hardly_ “pages and pages” - who’s exaggerating now? Second - there appears to be a difference between the hardcopy papers and the paper’s website. Silly me - I’ve been looking in the _hardcopy_ for the want ads! Nevermind I never saw anything that said “sorry - we’ve moved all our want ads to the internet. If you don’t know that, or don’t have an internet connection, you’re fucked! Ha-ha!” Fine, call me a liar, say it’s all my fault, it’s still the party line that the poor are poor because they choose to be poor and deserve to suffer. I’ve been hearing it for decades, and even more since I was laid off because management decided to eliminate wholesale an entire job category and not because of a conduct problem. That couldn’t _possibly_ happen to any of the privileged characters who enjoy pissing on people going through a hard time. After all, if it’s _not_ the poor peoples’ fault then - OMG! - _you_ might one day have bad luck yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/71 "2009-01-02T00:57:08Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I castigated the OP for not doing anything to better himself (college being just one example). You do not know what the OP has or has not done, or why. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/72 "2009-01-02T01:00:45Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > No we didn’t. Unless I missed something, **Sateryn** did not say he was looking at the same paper **Broomstick** was using. He just said it was a local paper _somewhere_ in NW Indiana. It may or may not be anywhere near where **Broomstick** actually lives - unless **Sateryn** has some extra knowledge of **Broomstick’s** actual address which he hasn’t brought to the thread. **Sateryn** actually did give the paper editions he was looking at which, although _near_ my location are not \*precisely \*my location. That, too, might also account for why the paper copy I picked up did not have want ads and his did, as they might have been targeted towards a particular edition of the paper for some reason. I hadn’t though of that, frankly it did not occur to me that with locations grouped fairly close together that that might happen but perhaps it is. I will have to investigate this more thoroughly. I am willing to travel 40 or 50 miles for a job with a paycheck I can live on but some employers may be assuming otherwise and thus not listing as widely as I might have thought they would. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/73 "2009-01-02T01:01:21Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Ahh do you know why he “failed”? Maybe he’s been stuck in a bad life situation. > > Also you fucking douche bag he’s trying to go college to fix that. How the hell is he supposed to go to college when he can’t even get enough money for food and rent? Le sigh. Yes, you can come up with possible scenarios why the OP is a saint who has had the very bowels of life open up goatse-like upon him since day one. But that’s not very likely. You can also think of ways that he can’t do things to better himself. However, I find it much more productive for people to take responsibility over what they’ve done and what they need to do. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/74 "2009-01-02T01:01:26Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Wait, so you are saying it is possible for someone who can only get work in unskilled labor to have arrived at that position through a series of good decisions? Yes, that’s what I’m saying. It’s also possible to end up with a great career despite having made a whole shitload of bad decisions. Life’s funny that way. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/75 "2009-01-02T01:02:19Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Yeesh. These responses are like the thyroid people in the fat threads (i.e., there’s a small group of people that have every possible obstacle in their way so that gives everyone else a free pass because they could have had one or more of those same obstacles in their way). > > Also, to reiterate, I never castigated the OP for not going to college. I castigated the OP for not doing anything to better himself (college being just one example). > > Finally, as a French person, you are probably constitutionally incapable of understanding concepts such as personal responsibility and all that, so you get a pass. Wow. Are you drunk or just a tool? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/76 "2009-01-02T01:02:23Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > You do not know what the OP has or has not done, or why. But I know where he is (in loserville) and his attitude about it (it’s not his fault). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/77 "2009-01-02T01:03:01Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > However, I find it much more productive for people to take responsibility over what they’ve done and what they need to do. Once again, you conveniently ignore the point that _he’s trying to go to college_. Or maybe you just have the attention span of a retarded gnat. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/78 "2009-01-02T01:03:30Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > No we didn’t. Unless I missed something, **Sateryn** did not say he was looking at the same paper **Broomstick** was using. He just said it was a local paper _somewhere_ in NW Indiana. It may or may not be anywhere near where **Broomstick** actually lives - unless **Sateryn** has some extra knowledge of **Broomstick’s** actual address which he hasn’t brought to the thread. Are there other papers in NW Indiana besides the Times and the Post-Tribune? I mean, given the size of the area that could be called “NW Indiana” I don’t see how anyone who is supposedly turning over every stone in search of a job could FAIL to search those papers. Can you explain to me how a good faith, leave-no-stone-unturned job search for a person living in northwest Indiana could justify excluding either paper? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/79 "2009-01-02T01:04:22Z")
> [@FarmerChick](#): > > Wow. Are you drunk or just a tool? I vote drunken tool. But then, I’m a little cynical these days. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487/80 "2009-01-02T01:04:37Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yes, that’s what I’m saying. It’s also possible to end up with a great career despite having made a whole shitload of bad decisions. Life’s funny that way. Possible in both instances, but not very likely. Will you acknowledge that? For instance, if someone says “Each and every day I eat 4 calories and work out for three hours, but I still can’t lose weight,” do you think that it’s more likely that this person is lying or that they are one of the very few people with an actual medical problem that could cause that to be the case? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-poverty-and-the-current-economic-crisis/479487.md?page=5)