# "Sympathetic" news articles that los you right off the bat **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626 "2019-07-25T18:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/21 "2019-07-28T13:19:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not all insurance companies offer loaners; some people use public transportation but rent a car when it doesn’t take them where they need to go. That’s entirely true - but it has nothing to do with the point. Enterprise, more than other car rental companies, depends on local business\* - whether it’s from insurance company contracts or people renting on their own dime. And a fair amount of that business in many touristy places comes from insurance company rentals- few people rent a car because their car is in the shop a day or two and people visiting will rent from a company that’s located at the airport . Taxes on rental cars ( like hotel taxes) are often pitched as imposing a burden on out-of-towners, not local folks. And in this case apparently the Enterprise employee was against the tax because Enterprise has a lot of local customers. However, it’s likely that few local customers would be taxed , because it’s entirely possible for a particular Enterprise location to be almost entirely dependent on insurance company business. I have been driving for over 35 years and have had cars in the shop many times. I’ve rented one on my own dime once- at that time, I worked at a place that’s very difficult to get to by public transportation and my car was going to be in the shop for about a week. The other times I’ve either borrowed a car/gotten a ride from a friend or relative, used public transit , took a cab or gotten a free rental/loaner from either the insurance company or the dealership. - That’s why they have/had the “We’ll pick you up” slogan - no need to advertise picking people up if you mainly rent to people at the airport. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/22 "2019-07-28T13:19:33Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > If you’re spending $ 650 a month on rent in Chicago, you’re living in a war zone. > > I suppose you could try to find a roommate. $ 1200 a month could get something decent but still working class. No shit you find a roommate. That’s what I did until I was nearly thirty and making way less per hour. Or multiple roommates. Or get a second job. Or all of the above. To the OP, any story about massive student debt that isn’t for something like med school. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/23 "2019-07-28T13:30:06Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > If you’re spending $ 650 a month on rent in Chicago, you’re living in a war zone. > > I suppose you could try to find a roommate. $ 1200 a month could get something decent but still working class. With a roommate, it’s absolutely doable. Hell, I rent out my entire _house_ here for $1200/mo in Archer Heights, and it is not a war zone. A studio at that price, though, would be hard to come by. But you can probably get a basement apartment around here for $700 or so. (And, yes, right out of college, I did have roommates to bring living expenses down. Is this not usual anymore?) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/24 "2019-07-28T14:23:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > (And, yes, right out of college, I did have roommates to bring living expenses down. Is this not usual anymore?) I have gotten the impression (mainly from this board) that expecting to have roommates is very location-dependent. I have lived in NYC my whole life, and do not know a single person ( not my age and not my kids’ age) who grew up here and moved out of their parent’s home and into their own NYC apartment right after high school/college. They all moved into apartments with either roommates or spouses/SOs or didn’t move out until their income has increased a few years after finishing school. But that’s apparently not the case everywhere , judging by the number of people who are surprised that it’s almost impossible to afford an apartment on a single minimum wage income. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/25 "2019-07-28T14:42:23Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Yes, but not this one. People are going to rack up school debt just trying to have enough qualifications to apply for a job. Cellphones are basically essential equipment these days, and folks with no money may have consumer debt just trying to “keep up” with the luxuries bought by the typical Buddhist monk. > > My examples are more like this [one.](https://www.neogaf.com/threads/the-poor-poor-rich-of-the-wall-street-journal.508794/) Yeah, I’m sure if people just glanced superficially at a good friend’s financial situation about ten years after college they’d’ve tsked at it, not realizing that despite a good job she was literally one pay check away from declaring bankruptcy due to medical bills. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/26 "2019-07-28T14:57:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not all insurance companies offer loaners; some people use public transportation but rent a car when it doesn’t take them where they need to go. And sometimes your insurance covers one week and the car is in the shop for six (thank you, Just In Time! Thank you, guy who tried to total my car and his girlfriend’s simultaneously!). On my side: Anything involving food which includes stuff such as references to the dangers of chemicals. Bonus points if it’s a bad translation from English to Spanish, with “chemicals” translated as _químicos_: I must admit people with degrees in chemistry are indeed dangerous, specially when we’re the ones cooking the food of morons 😛 ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/27 "2019-07-28T15:49:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …Bonus points if it’s a bad translation from English to Spanish, with “chemicals” translated as _químicos_… Please explain. Is that word only an adjective in Spanish? (If so, I would have to assume it’s the same in Portuguese–thus _substâncias químicas_–and I have been using it incorrectly for decades). ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/28 "2019-07-28T16:15:16Z")
Let’s victim-blame the poor, yet again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/29 "2019-07-28T17:45:36Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Please explain. Is that word only an adjective in Spanish? > > (If so, I would have to assume it’s the same in Portuguese–thus _substâncias químicas_–and I have been using it incorrectly for decades). In Spanish, _químico_ (n) refers to the people; _química_ (n) to the science of Chemistry itself. If you mean the stuffs, it’s an adjective: _sustancias químicas, productos químicos_… According to [this Portuguese dictionary](https://dicionario.priberam.org/qu%C3%ADmico), the usage of the noun to refer to the stuffs is correct in Portuguese (meaning 5). ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/30 "2019-07-28T23:37:31Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In Spanish, _químico_ (n) refers to the people; _química_ (n) to the science of Chemistry itself. If you mean the stuffs, it’s an adjective: _sustancias químicas, productos químicos_… > > According to [this Portuguese dictionary](https://dicionario.priberam.org/qu%C3%ADmico), the usage of the noun to refer to the stuffs is correct in Portuguese (meaning 5). Thanks. After looking at my go-to thick dictionary, Michaelis, it seems that Portuguese has the same usage as Spanish; Perhaps the linked dictionary indicates an uncommon use or something creeping in from English. I learn something new every day! It’s humbling how stupid words that any child knows in another language always sneak up on us to trip us up. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/31 "2019-07-29T03:18:58Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Yes, but not this one. People are going to rack up school debt just trying to have enough qualifications to apply for a job. Cellphones are basically essential equipment these days, and folks with no money may have consumer debt just trying to “keep up” with the luxuries bought by the typical Buddhist monk. > > My examples are more like this [one.](https://www.neogaf.com/threads/the-poor-poor-rich-of-the-wall-street-journal.508794/) I also know quite a number of people who use a cellphone rather than a landline. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/32 "2019-07-29T03:40:15Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I also know quite a number of people who use a cellphone rather than a landline. That’s not unusual. I would guess a majority of my friends don’t have a land line. Heck, I abandoned my landline about 15 years ago, but my wife wanted an extra line in the house when we got married, so we actually do have a VOIP line since 2012 or so, if that counts as a landline. If it were just up to me, we’d still be cellular-only. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/33 "2019-07-29T04:14:03Z")
Right. Which is why having a cellphone shouldn’t necessarily be considered a luxury anymore. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/34 "2019-07-29T04:20:08Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Any article about parents claiming they don’t get enough government cheese. > > Nobody forced you to have kids. You know, sometimes people have kids, and then suffer financial setbacks like large medical bills or job loss. I do have less sympathy for people receiving welfare benefits who then proceed to have more kids. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/35 "2019-07-29T06:37:51Z")
My local news did a story a while back that had feel-good as the intent, and it totally backfired. This elderly couple were “raising” ALL FIFTEEN OF THEIR GRANDCHILDREN because none of their 6 kids were capable of caring for them. Think about it: Where did the parents go wrong in the first place that none of those 12-plus parents (the kids themselves and the people they chose to breed with) were able to raise their kids? ---
**Author:** ![dhricenak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/47e85d/32.png) [@dhricenak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhricenak)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/36 "2019-07-29T14:13:20Z")
I remember an article in my local paper The Tennessean about a single mother who couldn’t afford to feed her children. It featured a photo of the woman holding a cigarette and wreathed in smoke. I confess my first thought was “you can’t afford food but you can buy tobacco.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/37 "2019-07-29T22:02:16Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I just saw one of those the other day, and thought of the Dope. Some autistic boy’s mother had the whole class invited, one little girl showed up, so a high school football team came and gave him a helmet and jersey. Interesting how these people always seem to have a backup plan and a TV station handy. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/38 "2019-07-30T02:53:45Z")
Years and years ago my Father read a puff piece in the local paper about a local family that had 12 children, with another one or two on the way. The family was interviewed, and the father said, (as was reported drippingly in the article) that as long as the good Lord sent him children, he would welcome them. Dad’s immediate comment was “If somebody would cut off his balls, he’d find out who was sending them”. ---
**Author:** ![drivekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@drivekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drivekiller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/39 "2019-07-30T05:23:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Read a newspaper article yesterday (Chicago Trib - sorry, can’t find a link), that was discussing whether even $15/hr was a “living wage.” > > I tend to be a supporter of wage/wealth parity, and am concerned about the types of jobs that will allow a decent lifestyle in today’s/tomorrow’s economy. So I started reading the article. > > In the first paragraph, it described a young woman who recently got a raise to $13/hr, but was barely able to cover her “school debt, cellphone, and accumulated consumer credit debt.” I believe the young woman was under 25 and lived with her parents. > \*\* > > Do you ever see a similar article in the news, which appears intended to elicit sympathy, but the fact situation they describe leaves you cold? I know this isn’t what you are asking. But the information is out there. Speaking to minimum wage, all you need is a graph of historic minimum wages showing real dollars against current dollars. The high point in minimum wage buying power was around 1969, and it’s been dropping in the years since. [US minimum wage by year](https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/business/us-minimum-wage-by-year/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626/40 "2019-07-30T12:31:55Z")
I was reading a letter to the editor by a self-described millennial on the subject of how baby boomers have ruined everything, and I was sympathetic\* up until the point the writer protested the absence of opportunity for people in their early 20s to buy a house - as if young folks of any generation could routinely do this in the past. \*well, not really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathetic-news-articles-that-los-you-right-off-the-bat/837626.md?page=3)