Why do you complain so much, can't you just get a better job?
If it were simple as a snap of the fingers to get another job, I would not be complaining. Sometimes there are other jobs available, but they are no better. They pay no better or they have worse conditions. I would rather stay with the crappy job I have time invested in, until I can find a better opportunity, instead of being labeled as a “job hopper” and blow any opportunity I may have had when the right job comes along.
Why can't you just go back to school to get a better chance at a higher paying job?
Trust me, school has crossed my mind, several times. However, my income is too high to get financial aid, and I don't make enough to foot the bill on my own. Schooling also takes time, and I have a job and a family to tend to. Not much room for studying.
Why can't you save your money, even if it $10 a paycheck?
If ends are not meeting now, where is this magical $10 for savings coming from? Furthermore, if I save $10 a paycheck, I will have acquired about $260 a year. If I lose my job or get sick or hurt, what will $260 pay? A small percentage of my rent or one bill? An ER visit costs way more than $260.
I've seen you out and about, buying fast food, and having a date night with your spouse. If you are so broke, why can't you just live within your means and stay at home?
Because I am a hard working member of society. I not only work to pay bills. I, as you, would like to enjoy a comfort of being a human being. I need social interaction with my spouse, instead of sitting at home, arguing because we are so miserable from sitting at home all the time when we work hard. Also, the fast food industry has oftentimes made it cheaper to eat off the dollar menu than to buy groceries and cook a meal at home.
Why can't you follow the rules? They are there for a reason!
I don't like to break rules, but what am I to do? If we have utility bills, rent, and car insurance due, and we can afford all but one, guess what is not going to get paid? We know there are more expensive ramifications from not having the insurance, but my children will be taken away from me if I do not have electricity and running water in my home. No brainer.
Surely if you are working a full time job and you're that broke, you must have a bad habit you are spending your money on. Why can't you just get off the drugs/sauce?
I don't have any money to support a habit. Don't assume because I am poor or work in a low wage job, or I have to go to the emergency room for basic medical care, I am on drugs. Most of us are decent, contributing members of society.
Why don't you get saved? You are cursed and you must live a moral life and have faith, so the curse can be lifted and only then will you find prosperity!
Baloney. Firstly, moral living is subjective. Secondly, most of the people who are caught in “scandals” are people who are in the uppermost classes and spiritual ranks. The most “prosperous” people of society. How did they slip through the cracks?
You're a nice looking person, why don't you “marry up” to better yourself?
I will marry for love. I want to help make my my own way. I refuse to be a gold-digger to make others feel as if I accomplished something.
Why do you have children/pets? That is why you are poor, you have too many mouths to feed!
Once again, I am a hardworking , contributing member of society who wants the American dream. Why do you and your spouse have a dog, and a couple of children? What will happen if unfortunate events happen to you and, God forbid, you fall into the lower class? Will you be giving up Fido and the twins? Probably not. Every poor person is not the stereotypical 'welfare queen' with a bunch of kids.
Why don't you take advantage of public assistance? The programs were made for people like you.
Not quite. These programs are designed to keep poor people poor and dependent on the system. Working class people often fudge their income levels, marital status, or number of people in their household just to qualify for food stamps and child care assistance, things they must have to keep afloat.
Why can't you just pull yourself up by the bootstraps and work hard like I did? I came from nothing and made something out of myself. You are just lazy.
Excuse me, I am a hard worker. Long gone are the days when you could work at a factory from age 20 to age 60 and live comfortably in your old age. Perhaps I didn't have the lucky breaks you did. Perhaps I became this way from something I did wrong. Perhaps it was something that was out of my control. But don't tell me I'm not trying as hard as you to make it!
I am young, I am elderly. I am white. I am black. I am single. I have a family. I am the person you hate to look at because you know you could very well be me one day. But I am here. And I do my job so you can be more comfortable in your life. I am the working poor.
