I don't like that my tax money is used to spill rivers of blood in smaller, weaker countries to protect and enrich the corporate interests of weapons manufacturers, war financiers (including Wall Street), etc. Easier to bash fellow citizens over trivialities than address the collective moral deficiency of a nation.

I saw this attitude a lot growing up. I lived in an affluent commuter town, that when the bubble burst (long before it hit the rest of the country) had people living in huge empty houses they couldn't afford to furnish (because they already sold all the contents and were sleeping in sleeping bags) and couldn't sell…

"With the amount of money that car's worth, I'd be able to pay rent and bills for a year."

She and her husband paid taxes for years and will again. In those days, that was her money that other people were spending! That is how risk pooling works. One day it might be your turn and you'd probably be pretty resentful if every stranger on the street thought you were spending their money.

Too many people buy into the myth that those who receive assistance aren't working (and, therefore, also paying taxes). People like that are so far removed from low-wage jobs that they don't realize how little that pay can cover, even if you're living frugally.

I haven't seen this yet so let me post it:ww.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-being-poor/

They're operating under the delusion that food stamps are their OWN money and that, as such, they have a say in how it's spent. Never mind that most people getting SNAP have also paid into the system (and are usually working while getting assistance, too).

I love how poor people are supposed to have two entire wardrobes/vehicles/lives to "deserve" the slightest pity and compassion. When you go to get your benefit scrap you have to dress like Tiny Tim (Who, BTW, was part of an working, lower middle class family, not a beggar) and preferably cough now and then while…

Begone with your logic and truth to power, commie!

I guess it just pisses me off that people will rail on someone for their decisions when they're on assistance, but say jack shit about corporate welfare or the outrageous defense spending. Want your taxes to go down? Shift your focus. Think someone's wasting your tax money? I guarantee it's not the guy on food stamps…

I forgot that I'd read this before until reading it here again. It makes a lot of sense. Being poor can get awfully expensive.

The thing that gets me about this "Christian" nation is that people have decided that any poor person must make the sacrifice of any and all goods/services/enjoyments above the bare subsistence level, but anybody who isn't currently poor shouldn't have to make even the smallest sacrifice to help a fellow human being…

Speaking as someone who has spent her entire life driving other peoples old cars, "old", "cheap", and "reliable" are 3 words that very rarely go together when you're talking about cars. I have driven so many cars that are just total POS's, and we have dumped more money into keeping those POS' rolling than we would…

Perspective, again. I saw that as a dig at her own privilege. Like she was admitting that as a well-educated, affluent white woman, she never had to think about things like this before.

Yeah, I was just thinking back to that article about a homeless 12-year-old and her family. There were an insane number of people bitching that this family, living in a shelter, had the utter NERVE to possess a flat-screen TV. Apparently they should have just sat on their bare mattresses and watched the mold grow on…

Whenever I see those eCards, all I can think is "So not only are you an asshole, but you're also an unoriginal shit who can't think up a decent insult and has to rely on pre-assembled snark to make their point".

It's a matter of perspective. I read the same paragraph (It's not easy. To qualify, you must be pregnant or up to six months postpartum....) and read it as her trying to educate the reader that's it's not so simple as walking in and saying "give me stuff". This article was addressed to people that haven't been on…

This is another example of the smug "NOT ME!" attitude so many Americans seem to have. Unemployment and financial troubles can happen to just about anyone, no matter how well educated, skilled, or responsible a person is, but it seems that so many people love to act as though they - because of their special,…

Man, people really kill me when it comes to cars. A 2003 Mercedes is only a marginally more expensive car that Toyota Camry of the same vintage. A car that was probably $50k in 2003 is now worth about $8000. For comparison, here is a Camry, a normal, everyday appliance that does not have any clout in most people's…