If he was caught with a milkshake that was probably an even bigger sin.

"The American dream isn't built just upon the promise of success, it's also about the threat of failure."

FWIW, I have been so poor that I couldn't afford to cut my hair, and my employment suffered, so I have a really hard time seeing her haircut and color as a treat or indulgence. The unfortunate reality for women is that they have to look nice to advance in their jobs. Should she have spent it on the prescriptions…

I feel the need the explain "poor" money to "not-poor" people, because if one more gosh darned well meaning person explains to me that buying a super-pack of t.p. on sale could save me money, I will actually scream. I have promised myself that!
Let's say my grocery budget is $50 a week (generous). No, I can't take…

Im surprised no one has brought up how damadging it is, especially for a woman, to look 'poor'. Wearing outdated clothes, having grown out roots, etc can so easily derail your chances of getting that second job/ raise/ anything.

Thank you for this piece. Poverty has so little to do with personal choices, in the grand scheme of things, that the scrutiny of choices makes me crazy.

That Florida thing was crazy, didn't the politician that pushed that legislation later get busted for drug use?

The thing Americans love to forget is that hard work isn't even inherently good...it depends what kind of hard work you're doing. This woman works her ass off in a nursing home; that's good, because it's hard work for a good cause! If somebody else works her ass off at a tobacco company, and makes lots of money, and…

It's like any oppressed group. You don't get the privilege of being human, of making mistakes, and not the best choices sometimes without criticism from outsiders. Your humanity is always up for scrutiny.

we call hoarders of money " inspirational leaders of our society" and hoarders of everything else "lunatics"

The $87 hair cut. When you are living paycheck to paycheck or worse, you have to make hard choices. You have to decide if you are going to get a loaf of bread and just drink water all week, or if you will get milk instead. You have to decide if you can get your medication or pay the electric bill. You have to choose,…

I like this...

The criticisms of her are pretty bizarre. It's like they're justifying her struggle because she made some bad choices. No one is a saint... Why should poor people be held to a higher standard because they're poor?

"People who work hard and try harder still can't get a break"

Very poignant. It's about…

And, as someone else pointed out, personal appearance isn't just a luxury. Looking neat and tidy can be a big part of getting a better job or earning a promotion. Also, a lot of women I know will splurge on an expensive haircut once or twice a year and then rely on a much cheaper stylist to maintain the style with…

These criticisms are absolutely on point. You only deserve to not be a poor if you are an absolutely perfect human being morally & physically. Anything less, and well, look what it gets you. She just needs to learn to be perfect, you know, like all rich people.

I was talking about this with my students the other day. I'm from the UK and while people in Britain can be just as materialistic and money-driven as anyone else, I had never encountered anything like the loathing of poverty driven by fear and paranoia before I came to America.

It doesn't matter how poor you are. You can live in a refugee camp where you and the other residents eat dirt and lay around starving. Someone will focus on that one questionable decision you made to waste your last scrap of cloth on a hair ribbon, or something. It saves them from having to look at the real problem,…

It kills me when commenters (I'm thinking more of the Slate piece than here) begrudge poor people their little indulgences, like whining about how they still buy cigarettes or get an expensive haircut. They'd have so much more compassion if they tracked how many times a day they delegate hated chores, have devices or…

I genuinely do not understand any argument I have ever heard against a social welfare system. Reading stuff like this reminds me of an interview I saw Bush doing with a woman who worked four jobs to support her family, and he said something like; "Now that is a true patriot ladies and gentleman!" - or something…

the other day, I was on my way to campus when I saw a man on the median holding a sign that read "Independent Contractor Injured on Job-site and now Homeless. Anything helps."

This documentary was great but sadly it's just preaching to the choir. Those few Conservatives that watch it will, as you pointed out, find reasons to criticize her but I believe most will force themselves into believing she's the exception not the rule.