UrbanBaby

02.27.12, 16:55 PM General Topics
20 replies

Does no one understand what the actual definition of "poverty" is? I get that an HHI of $200K or $250K can feel like it isn't going very far in NY, but how can people come on this board and claim that they feel impoverished at that income level? It's so absurd. What the hell is behind this? Is the new definition of middle-class being able to afford 2 private school tuitions and 4 vacations a year? [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 02.27.12, 04:55 PM Flag

when I read ppl say they're poor with 200k, I roll my eyes. Because of medical disability I have to live on a tenth of that [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 04:59 PM Flag

My husband makes 80k and we are fine. I am staying home right now and it isn't a stretch. Granted we live way out in Brooklyn and go on vacation once year to the beach,but I never feel poor. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:01 PM Flag

THIS. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:05 PM Flag

Ugh, I so agree. I grew up MC (probably LMC?). My parents budgeted everything. We didn't get new toys unless it was a special occasion or we saved up our own money. We did not get hundreds of dollars worth of gifts at Christmas or birthdays. We went on one vacation a year, for which my parents saved all year long. There were a couple years that were tight, and we did not go on vacation, or went to a town a couple hours away for 2 or 3 nights and played laser-tag and went to the park. I was 14 before I saw the ocean, and 16 before I ever flew on a plane. My parents didn't buy us cars, nor pay for our car insurance. They helped with college as much as they could, which was not much. And THEY do not feel impoverished. They feel the pinch, they worry about retirement, etc-- but they do not feel impoverished. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:14 PM Flag

I was raised that way too,I never felt poor and I still don't. I also don't pay attention to much of the consumerist hype. I recognize that just trying to sell me crap. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:19 PM Flag

it's priorities. for my family, it's a priority that i SAHM. so we live on one income of ~80k. for us, that means only buying used clothes, not having a car, living in a cheap rental, and shopping at Aldi and Trader Joe's. i'm grateful for everything we have and how i'm able to spend this time with my children. we make more money than my FIL who has been an electrician for decades. i don't believe i have the right to feel poor, i think that feeling poor on 80k would be grossly ungrateful and spoiled. however, if all someone is going to do is strive to keep up with the Jones's, then they will feel poor no matter how high their HHI. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:18 PM Flag

IA but it also makes me nuts when people claim that some family making 15k a year isn't "really poor" because they have a fridge or something. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:33 PM Flag

np. I've never heard anyone argue that. It's true that even the poor in America are "rich" in relation to the poor in many other places, but that doesn't mean they're not poor. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:35 PM Flag

I have, on this board. I've never known anyone to say that in real life, however! Maybe they save it for the anonymous internet forums. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 05:41 PM Flag

I believe the example was an iPhone. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.28.12, 08:23 AM Flag

Stop with this nonsense. Our two income 600 K Gross hardly covers it. DD in Rodeph Lower School. DS at Trevor. UWS Town House: Mortgage and Upkeep. All the lessons. A week at Telluride. A week in Anguilla. Two summer camps. Mandatory Israel for the kids. DH actually played golf last year on a public course and I do spinning at Soul Cycle only twice a week . [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 06:33 PM Flag

Wait this is a joke, right? Or are you trolling without trying? [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 06:37 PM Flag

This is not a joke. This is real life. We do not even have a live in just a 3x/week housekeeper.I am not claiming to be in poverty but but in "our circle" we are considered to be struggling. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 07:19 PM Flag

WOW. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 10:32 PM Flag

Then you need a different circle my friend [ Reply | More

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General Topics 03.01.12, 01:35 PM Flag

then everyone in your circle is an ignorant asshole. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 03.01.12, 01:44 PM Flag

everything is relative. You can't tell people that their feelings aren't valid [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 10:33 PM Flag

np I can and I will tell someone in the top Gag me with a spoon. [ Reply | More

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General Topics 02.27.12, 10:59 PM Flag

so,if i weigh 800 lbs and tell you i feel skinny, that's valid? [ Reply | More