r/povertyfinance • u/pastisPastisBandole • Jan 24 '23
You’re all crazy Success/Cheers
This is not a tip or anything useful but I feel like I need to say it.
Just reading some of your stories I came to realise that Americans are made of a different thing.
You often have multiple jobs, sometimes study and the same time, have kids or taking care of someone. Have no healthcare, pay everything out of pocket and somehow you still make it. And for the most part with a smile.
You guys probably don’t realise this but it’s unbelievable for a lot of folks in Europe. You’re very hard workers and kuddos for that.
Keep it up.
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u/27Believe Jan 24 '23
Wow this didn’t go the way I thought it was going to go! Where are you from?
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 24 '23
Just needed to say something about it because it makes no sense to me. I’m from France
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u/27Believe Jan 24 '23
How are things in France these days?
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u/buslyfe Jan 24 '23
They’re rioting right now cause they are trying to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. While here in the USA it’s nearly 70 before you get full social security lol.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 24 '23
This sums it up
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u/AnonymousCat21 Jan 25 '23
I wish we could riot without getting murdered by cops :L
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u/momentmaps Jan 25 '23
It’d be nice to riot all in unison too.
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u/AnonymousCat21 Jan 25 '23
That’s also very true. There’s no way we could get the whole country to stand together like that. So many people live paycheck to paycheck and have important things like health care tied to employment.
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u/glasswindbreaker Jan 25 '23
It’s no coincidence that MLK was killed shortly after starting to gain traction for his Poor People’s Campaign. The people would have held too much power if his success in social movements carried on through joining workers together to fight for change.
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Jan 25 '23
I say this constantly! The MLK that is celebrated is very different from his real legacy and his actual work included workers rights. It’s almost as if the glossed over portions of his work was done intentionally to erase the conversation.
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u/Mk1Md1 Jan 25 '23
Almost like that's on purpose eh?
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u/Wastenotwant Jan 25 '23
I realized years ago that they WANT us exhausted and treading water. I don't have kids. My heart goes out to the single parents.
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u/Jsc_TG Jan 25 '23
Yeah that’s the biggest issue. They keep us so busy we don’t have time to riot without risking our livelihood
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u/plinkoplonka Jan 25 '23
That's exactly how they want it.
Classic divide and conquer tactics. Meanwhile, we're all being robbed blind in the biggest heist man has ever seen.
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u/bow_m0nster Jan 25 '23
Half the poor people in America bootlick the police and consistently vote against their interests. 🤷🏻
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u/thepumpkinking92 Jan 25 '23
Just reminded me...
I got a call yesterday while waiting on a lawyer to ring me. I answered in my usual, pleasant "you've reached thepumpkinking, how can I help you?"
Immediately get "good afternoon! This is 'so-n-so' with the county sheriff's dept, if we send you this letter in the mail, can we count on your donation and support to help our fellow offic-"
Just cut him off with a very blunt and straightforward "no" Before hanging up the phone. Tf would I help yall for?
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u/anonymousart3 Jan 25 '23
I was getting a bunch of those, and eventually i would say hi, hear that pitch, and then I'd say "put me on your do not call list"
The calls slowed down and eventually stopped. Now I don't know if that's just correlation or if it's actually causation, as that was around the election time, but... It could be something to start doing as well.
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u/Pineappleninja91 Jan 25 '23
Facts, would you like to donate? Stfu and donate to me, we out here taking out loans while the cops get grants for drones and other things.
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u/QuokkaNerd Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
Hard to coordinate among 50 countries of varying sizes.
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u/ReverendEnder Jan 25 '23 edited Feb 17 '24
crowd drunk include fuel cable juggle shame plate marry nutty
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/spaztiksarcastik Jan 25 '23
Got a ten day notice to vacate, emergency repair moved up the date, unable to call in to work, three day suspension.
But I got the ten day notice because my job failed to pay me for two weeks and then screwed up my payroll and shorted me on my check 🙃 still suspended without pay.
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u/ReverendEnder Jan 25 '23 edited Feb 17 '24
elastic ask detail price boat like tart history beneficial deserted
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/amscraylane Jan 25 '23
I am not even allowed to protest for better wages for my teaching job in Iowa.
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Jan 25 '23
Union solidarity makes this easier. An easy way to riot that hopefully prevents clashes with the armed forces is by just not going to work. Easier said then done but a good union with some savings could do it
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Jan 25 '23
Cops beat up French protesters too. The only difference is they still do it anyway
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u/AnonymousCat21 Jan 25 '23
That’s fair. I just feel like American cops would probably escalate quicker and with more-likely-to-be-deadly force.
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u/bipolar79 Jan 25 '23
Cops here will kill protesters or let "counter protesters" shoot folks, it's not just getting beat up, there's a risk of getting killed.
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u/Stentata Jan 25 '23
Before current 70 year olds get full social security. I’m in my 30’s and don’t expect to ever see a dime of it in my lifetime.
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u/cupittycakes Jan 25 '23
Boomers go to Florida to retire. Millennials and younger will go to the mountains to die.
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u/reidenlake Jan 25 '23
Gen-X here. We put 16% of our income in our 401K. When I saw what we would have to live on in retirement the other day, I thought, well, guess we'll just die. And I question weather SS will even be around by then.
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u/sparkle___motion Jan 25 '23
doesn't freezing to death make you feel like you're on fire towards the end? that's why they start peeling their clothes off. honestly I'd just take a bunch of fentynol & go to sleep. that's my retirement plan 🎉
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u/dividedconsciousness Jan 25 '23
“Hey so how are you saving for retirement?” “When I can no longer work I will take a bunch of fentanyl and go to sleep. That’s my retirement plan 🎉”
I mean I really want to use the 💀💀💀 emoji to indicate how much that made me laugh, but also don’t want to convey a literal meaning because of the retirement by death thing
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u/sparkle___motion Jan 25 '23
"that sounds nice & peaceful, but then what if some hikers find my frozen dead body later? I wouldn't want to traumatize them for life :/
maybe on the beach? fuck, someone will find my body there too.
hmmm maybe OD in the woods, but like, near a bear cave, so the bears can just eat my body, so it'll go to good use at least...
but wait, no. could the bears OD from fentynol after eating my meat? that would be awful. make a note to google about that later..."
-- me, planning my retirement
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u/dividedconsciousness Jan 25 '23
I mean Budd Dwyer showed us the quickest painless way out. I don’t know what the future holds or what the world will be like in 20 - 30 years. I’m just gonna wait and enjoy my life in the meantime. I don’t think about the more distant future because I don’t think there really is one. No faith in this country or the human species.
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u/buslyfe Jan 25 '23
Don’t worry stranger, I’ll do you the honor and take you out behind the barn when you’re no longer a useful tool in the Capitalist machine
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u/tanyababy7 Jan 25 '23
So what you’re telling me is we don’t riot enough here? 🤔🤣
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u/secrettruth2021 Jan 25 '23
Rioting is done wrong in most of the world. When riots happen these destroy property belonging to people like themselves. Riots should be directed to politicians and wealthy peoples properties. Go to their residential areas, destroy banks insurance companies, offices, their private property, private planes, yachts etc... Not your mom and pop grocery store or your neighbors car.
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u/The_TesserekT Jan 25 '23
Also life expectancy is almost 3 years lower in the US (78.7 years) compared to France (81.5 years). So that makes US retirement is 11 years shorter?
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u/Nayr747 Jan 25 '23
It's also the only major country where life expectancy has been falling for years.
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u/I__Know__Stuff Jan 25 '23
Remember that "life expectancy" means life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy at age 70 is considerably higher.
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u/Wastenotwant Jan 25 '23
My friend says there's a couple 80-year olds working where she works.
A year or two ago an 86 year old worker was fired and killed his boss.
I look, easily, 10 years older than all my friends (so-called "essential worker" during the Pandemic).
I love France! I'm looking forward to revisiting your museums!
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u/mayowarlord Jan 25 '23
Also, anyone under 50 has serious doubt's there will be anything left in social security when we're finally meant to have access.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 24 '23
All things considered it’s going good, we’re definitely in a low because of inflation but didn’t lose major quality of life.
A lot of strikes going on atm for increased cost of living and retirement age going back a few years. But we still have the basics covered (health and education).
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u/Refund-me Jan 25 '23
Man, lucky Frenchies.
Over here back when i was younger and at a shittier job; they forced us to work 12 hour shifts, no lunches and at 7 days a week.
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u/sgobby Jan 25 '23
I dont know if I’d call them lucky since the French have a bit of a history of fighting for better quality of life for the masses. Kind of the opposite of the way the U.S. went, unfortunately.
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u/maurfly Jan 25 '23
Legit people in France don't have two jobs? I worked two jobs from 18-30 when I started going to school at night for an MBA and could only handle one job. I grew up in Kentucky which is not a well off state and To be honest until I was 30 I assumed most people worked two jobs at some point in their life. I have family who emigrated from Alsace maybe i need to see if I can get back to France lol it sounds awesome there!
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23
Some probably do, but I don't know a single person who has two jobs.
One job is supposed to be 35h a week and enough to support a family in most places. A lot of people work 40h a week and/or have 2 working people in the household to support their family if they live in an expensive place (think big city).
I'm not saying it's an easy life, but it doesn't require 2 jobs.
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u/FinchRosemta Jan 25 '23
Legit people in France don't have two jobs?
In my country people don't have 2 jobs unless you turned a hobby into a business for extra money. Like you have a normal job you do some photography on the weekend, or makeup, bake cakes etc. 2 jobs are not a thing. You go to work from 830 to 5 or 6 pm and then the rest of the day is yours.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 26 '23
It's not perfect here, it has its flaws. Some things are great in America, that aren’t in France. But I like to believe we in France have the basis covered
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u/Icedcoffeewarrior Jan 25 '23
I worked 3 jobs + school from 19-21 I don’t think I could do it at 20
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u/maurfly Jan 25 '23
I’m 41 now and there is no way I could do what I did in college. And I would still get off at the restaurant at midnight on Saturday and meet my friends at the bar. I have no clue how I operated on so little sleep but I assume that is the gift of youth.
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u/HotMinimum26 Jan 25 '23
We're a nation of slaves who are happy as long as someone else has it worse
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u/IndyWineLady Jan 25 '23
What exactly doesn't make sense, please? Thank you for the kind words, by the way. You are very sweet for saying such nice things. 😁
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23
So I didn't give much context, but reading a lot of posts here before I traveled to the states made me feel that people there are very deserving and are able to endure a lot more then us.
Then, while travelling across the US I've met a lot of people who were struggling and all had a big smile and an incredible attitude considering the situation.
For exemple a lady offered me and my friends a pack of beer for no reason while she clearly didn't have much, she also offer advice on where to eat for cheap which really helped us a lot. We also slept in our car at Walmarts parking lot for quite a few nights because of money issues (living the American dream) and many of the people there at night, also sleeping in their cars were so nice (while staying discreet, understandably). A guy offered a spare window cover he had when he saw my friend and I struggling to cover our windows for the night. He had been in that situation too.
So yeah, I'm thinking of all the people I know in europe (myself included) and I'm not sure if any would be able to approach life with such a good attitude in the same shoes.
So yeah in my opinion you guys are pretty amazing. Thanks to you
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u/IndyWineLady Jan 25 '23
My favorite thing to remember is the lows are just as important as the highs. Without lows, you can't appreciate the highs. Also, I tend to believe we're all in this life together. 💖
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u/continue_improve Jan 25 '23
Seriously… I would’ve reached a completely different conclusion even after most of the third paragraph from op post.
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Jan 25 '23
But I'm tired, boss. Real tired.
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u/TheDusai Jan 25 '23
When I ask people I work with what they look forward to the most on weekends, it's always sleeping
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u/FlowerOfLife Jan 25 '23
I spend my mornings during the week wanting it to be Saturday morning so I can sleep in and ruin my entire day.
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u/ChiliCheeseFriesPlz Jan 25 '23
You just encapsulated how I feel every weekend. I need the rest, but I feel as though I’ve ruined the potential for anything fun because I’m exhausted and have to sleep.
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u/queynteler Jan 25 '23
Honestly, I don’t think we are. We are just trying to survive. If you were born into this system, you’d be in the same boat.
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u/KrustenStewart Jan 25 '23
That’s exactly what I thought when I read this post. Most of us don’t think we are hard workers. We are just doing what it takes to survive
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u/anabelle156 Jan 25 '23
I think that's an important distinguishment then...we need to give ourselves credit for how hard we really work. We get told we aren't, but in reality, we really are, it's just the insane expectations.
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u/whoocanitbenow Jan 24 '23
I wouldn't say "with a smile". I have no dental, or eye care. My "affordable healthcare" is not really affordable. And I get no vacation pay at all. It's kind of depressing, actually. 😞
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u/LoeyRolfe Jan 25 '23
Yes! My grandparents literally couldn’t afford to have teeth so they just had all of them pulled when they were in their thirties. I wish I was kidding.
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u/GreenOnionCrusader Jan 25 '23
I don't have dental either. It's not a tooth-showing smile, but there's a lot of smiling all around.
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u/DGAFADRC Jan 25 '23
Your local university dental school offers free or reduced dental services. An eye exam costs ~$120 out of pocket and a pair of nice glasses on Zenni costs ~$30.
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u/Josselyn24 Jan 25 '23
Glasses are hella expensive without insurance. $5 frames cost me $300+ once they add the lenses
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u/HiddenA Jan 25 '23
You should hopefully be able to find cheaper eye exams, I know Costco by me in LA they had one for $60 out of pocket, and you don’t have to be a Costco member to use their service.
If you go with Zenni, ask the eye doctor for your PD (pupillary distance). Zenni will ask for it and it can be difficult to get it yourself.
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u/Gimbu Jan 25 '23
There was a solid year where, after being attacked at work and losing my job while unconscious, then getting denied unemployment for having three no-call no-shows (while freaking unconscious!), I had two jobs (one full time, as a State worker, one part time, at Best Buy), and I was homeless.
Really taught me that I can't depend on anything or anyone, and America is broken to hell. I did everything right, and was taken out by someone else's bad day. Then I had to work so hard to work my way back up to to just being in poverty, then years more to feel like I was safe if I blew a tire... I'm in a better place now, but: you say kudos and keep it up? I say I wouldn't be terribly sad if it all burned down.
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Jan 25 '23
Listen, I really had a terrible day but this just made me cry. How the hell did you keep yourself sane going through all that?
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Jan 25 '23
As an American fighting the fight of surviving in this economy these days, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Americans don’t get praise often from other countries. It’s a little confusing, albeit nice.
I hope you have a lovely day!
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u/Sometimesnotfunny Jan 25 '23
You're only seeing the ones that made it.
Lots of us don't.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23
That is true
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u/2everland Jan 25 '23
In Los Angeles, there’s ~70,000 homeless and ~2,000 died in 2022. 383 of them died on the sidewalk or pavement. Some of the dead are children. Many are elderly. Poverty in America is being one unlucky month away from homelessness and risking dying on the sidewalk. Even being housed isn’t safe - disease, substance abuse, domestic violence and suicides are an epidemic.
If you think our stories are unbelievable, you haven’t heard the stories of the dead.
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u/ianmoone1102 Jan 25 '23
The so called "American Dream" is just that, a dream. It existed at one time, though. A man could work at the local factory and afford to buy a house, at least one car, and support a family, while taking a nice vacation each year. Now, if a man works at the local factory, he has to work 60 to 80 hours a week,and his wife must work at least 20 to 30 hours a week, just to rent an apartment or maybe mobile home while supporting a child or two. Any earned vacation time often has to be cashed out to bail them out during tough times, which inevitably come, either with medical issues or car maintenance expenses.
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u/Disintergr8tion Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
That's why it's called the American Dream, cause you gotta be asleep to believe it.
- George Carlin
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u/baconatbacon Jan 25 '23
When I was young, he was an angry old man. My view 20 years later? Carlin was just delivering scathing yet funny honesty, and I have a newfound appreciation for him.
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u/Redqueenhypo Jan 25 '23
My late great uncle who, as far as I can tell, was the son of a Polish immigrant with no formal education of his own, worked his way up from factory worker to factory owner. There is approximately a zero percent chance that could be repeated today
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u/SimplyRoya Jan 25 '23
The American Dream was real until mid 80’s. That’s when the middle class started to vanish.
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u/hawtpot87 Jan 25 '23
I got COVID in December, didn't work for 3 weeks, came out with post-covid anxiety, hospital bills and a blown transmission to start the year. Renting a car to do my job while my work truck gets repaired. I'm gonna default on some bills but I'll be ok if my string of bad luck can end.
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u/Anxiety_Fox Jan 25 '23
I feel you dude! 2022 was hell for me. Got COVID, then was hospitalized ($$), my grandmother died which then my parents who lived with her got foreclosed on, they're currently homeless and living in a church, I had to have emergency wisdom tooth removal (bout 2k), then my dentist billed my cleanings later than the wisdom tooth removal so it maxed out my insurance and I owed them $1.4k. My u ncle died and I have 0 paid time off. I also had to move so 1.2k down payment. I basically blew through all my savings and now paycheck to paycheck woohoo...
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u/Flickthebean87 Jan 25 '23
I’m sorry that sounds super rough!
My 2022 was a nightmare but one part of it was pure bliss. My son and bf. I lost my dad and my stepmom. (Not to Covid. To suicide) That was the last of my immediate family. I also gave birth to my son. Hardest year I’ve ever had in my life. My boyfriend had Covid at the beginning of the year while I was pregnant.
I truly hope anyone who had a terrible 2022 or life that it gets better.
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u/LegendOfDarius Jan 25 '23
Wait, both of them killed themselves? Im so terribly sorry for you... I lost my little brother like this 3.5 years ago, I couldnt imagine losing 2 in one go...
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u/Flickthebean87 Jan 25 '23
I’m sorry to hear about your brother.
Unfortunately yeah. I couldn’t get a hold of him and although he had been acting weird he would normally text. She found him on Father’s Day. She did it 2 days before thanksgiving. All 3 of us spent the holidays together every year. They were no longer together. I honestly thought I was in some shitty dream all of last year. My mom had already passed when I was 18.
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Jan 25 '23
I'm sick and making almost no money so I'm on Medicaid (free healthcare).
Problem is, very few specialists take Medicaid. One neurologist I've had for over a decade now is only keeping me as a patient because I was already a patient--he wouldn't take me as a new patient with my state coverage.
However, he has become so difficult to coordinate with, I'm at the point where I am pretty confident I'm not getting the attention I need simply because I have Medicaid. I think if I had better insurance he would pay more attention.
Medicaid is far from useless, but it sure feels that way sometimes.
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u/tinycole2971 VA Jan 25 '23
I had Medicaid my whole childhood and as a young adult off and on. For the past decade, I went without insurance completely.
This year is my first year having my own insurance through work.... and the difference in care disgusts me. I got seen for a new patient appointment within 2 weeks of getting my insurance. The doctor emailed me back herself on the health communication app when I had a question. They're taking my health concerns seriously.
Before, when I paid out of pocket or had Medicaid just getting an appointment could take up to 4 months.
I like my new doctor, but I doubt she'd treat me the same without my current insurance.
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u/Background_Tip_3260 Jan 25 '23
My daughter’s doctors are amazing and she is 26 with medicaid and numerous issues. I work and have health insurance, middle class. I pay about $7000 a year in medical care.
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Jan 25 '23
Can someone please explain how the health system works in the U.S? I don't understand that. It seems like people struggle a lot to get access to health care.
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u/AllTheyEatIsLettuce Jan 25 '23
Let's dispel the notion that a system exists outside the VA.
Markets exist. Stores exist. Vendors exist, customers exist, payment processors exist, payment processing schemes exist, and payment processing products exist.
Americans' access to necessary health care is dependent upon the payer that's processing the payments to health care vendors.
Americans' access to the schemes that process payments to health care vendors depends on their income, zip code, age, employer, employer size, employment history, trade union membership, marital status, family composition, parental interpersonal relationship, educational enrollment, educational institution, military service record, ethnicity, health status, and/or dates on a calendar that denote events other than their birth or their death.
Americans' access to the payers' products that pay a portion of the payments to health care vendors is dependent on what they can afford to pay the payer.
The payers Americans pay to process payments to health care vendors for delivering necessary health care to them are overwhelmingly private, for-profit, NYSE-listed trading symbols. Their sole fiduciary duty: increase shareholder value.
$140,000,000,000 in health care-induced debt would seem to indicate that Americans can't afford to pay the health care vendors what the payers don't and won't pay the health care vendors.
For a nation that supposedly elevates independence to a level of godly reverence, Americans' access to mere partial coverage for necessary health care is ultimately about nothing more than dependency.
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u/jpog07 Jan 25 '23
Everybody in this comment stream just got my upvote for being cool examples of humanity.
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u/ninthtale Jan 25 '23
What's crazy is what people will do to survive or to improve their lives by a tiny modicum. We all want that "better life" but it's an unreachable star for most of us. We chase it and it either only gets farther away or only a tiny fraction of a bit closer by the time we die.
It feels futile but we're programmed to survive and keep fighting so we just kind of ignore how impossible that dream is and breathe in and out day to day.
It's stressful and cumbersome and scary. I wish we didn't have to keep it up like this..
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Jan 25 '23
Unfortunately, Americans often have to give up what really matters - quality relationships and personal health - in order to do work this way. And most of us don’t want to do it. Many are aware the conditions are forced on us by an especially corrupt form of capitalism.
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Jan 25 '23
True words. This is the reality in Europe as well for most of us. This is what got me into severe depression. The reality.
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u/sold_myfortune Jan 25 '23
Yeah, unfortunately modern day America is not for the faint of heart.
During the Cold War there was a vested national interest in proving the American free market system to be superior to the Soviet system. American companies used to take pride in the high standard of living for their workers and Soviet visitors to the US often thought that American factory workers owning their own automobiles and houses was a big show and not really possible.
Once the Soviet Union collapsed and American unions weakened there was really no reason to worry about the standard of living or security of workers anymore. Profits for shareholders and the executive bonuses connected to them became the priority and the standard of living for most Americans has been on the decline ever since.
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u/Steel_Stream Jan 25 '23
So what you're saying is that any pretense of caring about the living conditions of the working class dissolved as soon as the dick-measuring contest with the Red Menace ended?
War... War never changes.
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u/Mental-Chemistry-829 Jan 25 '23
As an American I've been thinking about this a lot. I used to view ppl with multiple jobs while going to school as go-getters and now that I am one I view them as average because that's just the expectation here in America
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u/eresh22 Jan 25 '23
We're not hard-working as much as we are invested in survival. To do less than what we do leaves us houseless and starving to death. You'd do the same, if you were in our position. The thing that really kills me inside is how many people honestly believe this is a good way to live life.
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u/Local_Vermicelli_856 Jan 24 '23
I don't know if you've heard... we've had more mass shootings than days of this year.
Suicide, depression, generalized anxiety... all through the roof. Don't get me started on morbid obesity.
We don't need a pat on the back. We need a revolution. Yesterday.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
I'm not giving a pat in the back to the system, I believe the US system is terrible *at the moment.
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Jan 25 '23
I was watching a documentary about poverty in the U.S. and there was this young lady who was a single mother, lived in a motel with her baby and her mother which was disabled and had 3 fucking jobs!!!
Obviously she was beyond exhausted and depressed but kept going. I literally couldn't sleep that night because I was just imagining what it is like to be in her shoes.
It's crazy how things seem to be going in America right now. I live in Europe and I've worked for some American companies but I quit shortly as they were very abusive and exploiting people. I worked for Verizon, Apple and Netflix. All 3 have very toxic work policies, environments and the exploiting is real.
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23
Seems like big companies had a big role to play in the state of the US today...
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Jan 25 '23
Yeah. I'm not saying that where I live is better because it certainly isn't. We face similar socio-economic issues. But I realized these huge companies are exploiting people and I don't want to be part of that again. I don't use their services or products. I'd rather work for startups and small businesses.
I've watched another documentary about how Jeff Bezos got rich and it's really depressing. The level of abuse within Amazon it's shocking.
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u/Grand_Nectarine_1 Jan 25 '23
"Obviously she was beyond exhausted and depressed BUT KEPT GOING" Well, I bet she had no other choice, like if she doesn't take the jobs how could she support her baby, her momma AND hersef??? Like there's no other way but keep on going. Suicide? I bet she thought about it, but would mean leaving a baby and a disabled persons to their own when you know they won't make it alone...
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Jan 25 '23
Yes. Whenever I get into a dark spiral, I tend to get a somewhat strength and courage to keep going from other people's stories. Because many times, I can't find that within myself.
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u/Cultural-Chart3023 Jan 25 '23
And literally die trying to make ends meet. As an Aussie I don't envy Americans at all. Its hard enough with Medicare!
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u/AddictedtoBoom Jan 25 '23
We are not actually made differently. We just are stuck in a shitty system with very little we can do about it.
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u/Witty-Choice5545 Jan 25 '23
We don’t wanna keep it up bro 😂 there’s no other choice
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u/conway1308 Jan 25 '23
Hustle culture is literally killing us. Yes, work hard. But do it because you want to not necessarily because you have to. It's a real problem.
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u/yanicka_hachez Jan 25 '23
It's actually the system. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Start with insane debt from education, add low job security and top everything with health care linked to said job makes a very compliant population.
Who has the time, money and energy to fight for your rights when you barely have enough to not be homeless?
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u/The-Pusher-Man Jan 25 '23
This is exactly the design they want to keep us struggling. Handcuffing healthcare to your employer was a brilliant move in terms of maximizing how much you can exploit people.
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u/Icedcoffeewarrior Jan 25 '23
Btw I’m starting to think it’s not necessarily the food that makes Americans fat but the stress. It’s a chain reaction - Americans are always on the go so fast food is convenient. But the stress levels alone also make us gain weight - cortisol makes you gain weight.
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u/NoBodySpecial51 Jan 25 '23
As I wake up at 2:30 am to make my coffee and start working a 12 hour shift at 3. LOL! Thanks! I wish things were different. We do this because we have to. I don’t enjoy this. But I do enjoy paying the bills and feeding my household.
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u/amscraylane Jan 25 '23
Iowa: I was a nanny for two year old twins with neuroblastoma cancer. One is now a sophomore and the other didn’t make it to their third birthday.
The mom was a teacher and that is where they got their insurance and the husband was a grocery broker and his paycheck was the money.
I had someone on here say they didn’t care for their kids because they were able to afford me (granted it was $200 a week) but what many don’t think about is insurance. Without it, they would have been slammed with medical bills. If the sad didn’t work, they would have lost their house. Plus, we really thought the girls would be okay.
My friend’s daughter the following year got Ewing’s sarcoma and she never made it to her 9th birthday. Her father, my friend’s husband was killed in a car accident. She did take a leave of absence from school (also a teacher) and for the next 5 years, with insurance, my friend had to write a check covering her daughter’s medical expenses. Can you imagine your child dying and having to pay each month for 5 years?
Also, some clown on Reddit says children get free medical care. Wrong, so wrong. Most funeral homes with not charge for the funeral for a child, but there are still other costs.
Side note. There are angels who work in children’s hospitals. I couldn’t do it. There was a hospice worker which helped my friend’s daughter plan her funeral. She got to pick out what she wanted to wear, what music was played, what pictures were being shown, she got to write a will.
We can do better in this country, we just don’t.
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Jan 25 '23
Our house is under foreclosure. We both have good jobs and education and kids. One little 7mm kidney stone and a couple surgeries later...we are ruined.
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u/buslyfe Jan 24 '23
I’ve said it before but the USA is a third world country wrapped in a Gucci jacket
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u/SimplyRoya Jan 25 '23
We don’t make it. We all have massive credit card debts and sometimes have to declare bankruptcy to get out of the nightmare. We have zero security when it comes to our financial health.
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u/earthscribe Jan 25 '23
The thing is, most of us don't want to 'keep it up' and we'd rather live more European style. But thanks for the comment.
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u/passionate_slacker Jan 25 '23
Damn. This actually made me get a bit emotional. It’s pretty rough here sometimes and as much as I have problems with America, it feels good to see these uplifting words.
Thank you.
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u/MountainHighOnLife Jan 25 '23
I love your kindness but I don't want us to be this way. I wish we had the ability to be collective fighters and force change. We deserve a good quality of life too.
ETA: Any tips for hosting a revolution by chance? :)
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u/pastisPastisBandole Jan 25 '23
I wish the same too, of all the people I met there all deserved a better life.
I think people need to realise that more expensive is not more better, there's a French Billionaire that created a free school in France then all over Europe. He then proceeded to open one in the US. Free school, free dorms free everything (incredible right).
The one in the US closed down because people didn't trust a free school...
You can look it up, 42 school.
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u/whoeve Jan 25 '23
We live our lives to get as much money for the top as possible. All in the hope that one day we'll be the ones stepping on others.
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u/Josselyn24 Jan 25 '23
I don’t know. For a little bit, I worked three jobs while I was going to school. Then one of my jobs caught on fire and I got unemployment, food stamps, and after 2 months I was in a Section 8 apartment.
Then, I just kept going to school (almost completely paid by FAFSA). I got my associates while paying $38 a month in rent, $0 a month in utilities, $0 a month for food, and $0 for school.
Then I moved to the city, rented a small room for $250 while I went to school for my bachelor’s. After FAFSA, I graduated with $20k in debt, managed to pay that off within 1 year.
Now I work a 9-5 style job and life is waaaaayyyy better than it was for me growing up and in early adulthood. And much of that progress was paid for by the US government. All I had to do was present the correct paperwork once a year.
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u/Penya23 Jan 25 '23
Keep it up.
No, don't keep it up! Working multiple jobs with, while taking care of a family or trying to finish school while have zero health care is not fucking normal and no one should be "keeping it up"!
People should be able to make a living without sacrificing their lives, health and families.
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u/Ok_Skill_1195 Jan 25 '23
The ones who are smiling are largely middle class. I know very few poor people who aren't miserable/anxious
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u/dontlikeshit24 Jan 25 '23
Moronic fucking country i hate it here more and more every day
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u/ComprehensiveUse5988 Jan 25 '23
Actually, this is a sad thing, poor people are constantly in a survival mode, no life at all , no relaxation, no enjoyment, just work.
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Jan 25 '23 edited Jul 01 '23
I found reddit in 2009. I'm deleting my account today, July 1st 2023, specifically because of theapi pricing changes. Reddit has suffered from enshitification. Fuck u/spez -- mass edited with redact.dev
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u/spark99l Jan 26 '23
Ya but we don’t enjoy it….. why do you think we have so much depression, anxiety, addiction, suicide, heart attacks, and other health issues
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Jan 25 '23
Fake it til you make it. My life is a joke. But eh I still wake up every day and do what I need to do. Thanks!!
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u/risketyclickit Jan 25 '23
And most of us get only 2 weeks vacation. Some of us, one. Some of us, none.
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u/DeflatedDirigible Jan 25 '23
I once went over a year without more than one day off at a time…one job. And that day would change from week to week or none that week.
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u/LightofNew Jan 25 '23
American in Europe, everything is half the cost and these people have 2 months of vacation, everything is closed on Sunday, restaurants aren't open between lunch and dinner, and the public services are amazing.
We need to start setting things on fire.
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u/Guazzora Jan 25 '23
Ha. I'm just banking on dying before I need to be taken care of. America is a fucking joke.
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u/chaparrita_brava Jan 25 '23
Thank you. I feel seen. I work two jobs and haven't had a day off since December 29th. My next day I have off for certain will be the second week of March. I'm also trying to finish master's degree. This shit is exhausting.
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u/robotatomica Jan 25 '23
this is very kind of you to say. I’ve had two jobs or had to work massive overtime since I was a teenager. Approaching 40, no end in sight, and the dream of owning a house is gone. I wish so badly we would take notes from other countries who are getting some of these things right.
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u/GrandPatient2 Jan 25 '23
Yeah As I speak I’m getting my visa to live abroad. America is tragic it just keeps going downhill... You can’t even enjoy yourself because you have to be on high alert or have a gun with you at all times now. The shooting is getting out of hand here.
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u/Unhappy_Ad_666 Jan 25 '23
Thank you. We’re all fucking tired and it’s nice to be recognized for what we all have to do.
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u/spacemane1 Jan 25 '23
Now you know why we had to legalize weed over here. (Or are in the process I should say)
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u/wtfumami Jan 25 '23
I mean thanks? But it sucks and we don’t like it. Culturally we have to work or die.
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