Comments by "whyamimrpink78" (@whyamimrpink78) on "Ben Carson: Poverty 'To A Large Extent' Is 'A State Of Mind'" video.

  1. Carson is right. Poverty is, for the most part, a state of mind. You have people who continue to make excuses, are lazy, and whine about how poor they are. And then you have another group that works hard, does not make excuses, and are creative and they succeed.
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  2. Joshua, we have poor people with smart phones. The obesity rate is higher in people who are poor. Unwanted pregnancies are higher with people who are poor. Carson is right, it is a state of mind. Hang around people who are poor for a few months and then hang around people who are successful and you will see the differences.
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  3. I agree that correlation does no equal causation. But it is a correlation that has been happening for decades now. If you studied economics you will understand that there are a lot of psychological components to it. That is where the state of mind comes in.
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  4. Joshua, there are a lot of psychological issues tied to economics. The higher you move up in almost anything the more psychological it becomes. For example, I am pursuing my PhD. At that point it is mostly psychological in that you have to have the mindset to work long hours on a project that might work. You will face failure many times and frustration. Someone who is not a successful may give up easily and make excuses. That is not to say that they will not be well off in some way, they just won't be at the top. For those in poverty they make many excuses and give up very easily. They may have an attitude of they are never wrong and have a hard time dealing with others. All that stuff adds up. "Sociology, economics, and history teaches us that a lot of "successful" individuals are successful due to nepotism, being born into the right family, " Most of the time by the second or third generation that person is bankrupt. The idea that people are born into wealth is false. Even at that being raised a certain way changes your state of mind. Growing up in poverty keeps you exposed to a situation where you can live while being poor. Thus you develop the mindset that it is OK to work at Walmart your entire life and live in an apartment in a low income area. That is their state of mind.
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  5. Actually most people in poverty do not work a job at all. And the term "living wage" is subjective, so please don't use it.
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  6. "Is that why 50% of the UNited States Makes 30k a year or less?" You have to be careful with that number. That does not mean half of the country is poor. There are many variables you are ignoring such as 1. how many of those people receive benefits 2. how many are a second and third owner of a household as in they are a teen living with parents or have a spouse 3. how many are young and in college and quickly earn higher wage later 4. how many are retired and work a part time job just to do something but have a retirement All those people listed above earn less than $30,000 a year but are doing fine. I earn $23,000 a year as a TA and I am fine. I have my own apartment, my own car, I eat three square meals a day and so on. I know how to manage my budget well which is a part of that state of mind. " Living wage is subjective, you're right, as in a living wage in New York City is going to be higher than a Living Wage in Houston, Texas." It is based on more then that. Do you have a spouse? Are you a teen living with parents? Do you have roommates? There are many components to it. "BUt hey, guess what, no where can you make a decent living working a full time job , with no benefits, at only $7.25. " Rent in my hometown was $500 a month for a two bedroom apartment that is pretty decent. No ghetto at all. So $250 a month with a roommate. Add in say $100 a month in groceries, $90 for a cell phone bill (I am going on the high end here), I will say $200 in utilities and laundry and you have monthly expenses of $440 a month. Now at $7.25/hr let us say at 20 hours a week, so 80 hours a month. That is $580 a month before taxes. So around $500 a month. And that is not cutting the utilities in half, and at only 20 hours a week. For full time you are earning around $1000. Now do my city. My rent is $610/month. I can reduce my cell phone to $50 a month easily and still have many features. Internet is $50/month. Electricity is $30/month. Food is $100 a month, but I buy expensive food. I can reduce it down to $60 if needed. So we are at $900 a month. So $100 for laundry and other minor things. And that is because I live on my own. I can get a roommate and cut my rent and utilities in half. I suggest you put forth more effort on your political point of view.
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  7. "My point, which you completely ignored, is that regardless of where you live making $7.25 an hour for a full time job is not enough to live decently. " One, define decently. Next, it all depends on your situation. I ran through numbers with you. I earned $5.15/hr at one point and I was fine. I lived with my parents and it was during high school, but I was fine. You can't just throw numbers out there and make assumptions. "I guess the yearly average of 45,000 people that die in the United States because they lack proper health care is due to the fact that these people are just lazy and didn't work hard enough to get a decent job with benefits? " 45,000 people is around 0.01% of the population. 35,000 people die a year in traffic accidents. I guess we should ban driving, or only have public transportation to limit the amount of cars on the roads. Also, that 45,000 people are typically poor and thus are less healthy to begin with with higher rates of obesity and type II diabetes because of their own actions. You can't say that they only reason why they die is because of lack of care. There are many reasons contributing to that. Again, stop throwing numbers out there without proper perspective. " I Mean, I guess places like Canada, The United Kingdom, SPain, Netherlands, Denmark, etc, don't have as many lazy people because their yearly average of people dying due to lack of healthcare is a whopping 0." They die because of low quality care instead. They have many problems themselves. I will link you a book about that later. " Your simple minded narrative that poor people are lazy, and rich people are virtuous, is both disgusting and hilariously ignorant." Who is being simple minded? You are throwing out numbers without putting them in the proper perspective.
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  8. https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/-the-business-of-health_110115929760.pdf
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  9. Phil, if you come from an impoverished background you have a combination of nature and nurture working against you. Chances are you parents were not successful and thus, genetically, you picked up some of the same qualities they did. Also, you were raised in an environment that being poor is acceptable and you can survive that way. Or maybe you were raised to make excuses as opposed to working. But in the end that is a state of mind. What Carson said, for the most part, is correct.
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  10. Phil, work in a Title I school for a few months then turn around and work in a higher income school. You see major differences. I was working at a Title I school the other day and a high school student had on an anti-Trump shirt. I gave him the assignment to work on during class and he did not work on it. He is against Trump but refuses to do the simple work necessary to achieve a higher grade. That is a common trait for those who are poor. They just don't care. I was working at another school the other day and a student said he was going to work at Walmart his entire life because his mom does and they are fine. They have little desire to move up and do better. Sure, those who are poor have more barriers to overcome, but they can. K-12 education is offered to all. College is affordable is you play your cards right with loans. People are willing to help. You just have to try.
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