• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Oh By The Way...

BSM1

What? Me worry?
Although the market is responding to the C-virus scare, the big driver of the market today is the 'oil war' Saudi Arabia declared on Russia over the weekend. Oil was down to twenty-eight bucks a barrel this morning.
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
BTW, my eldest made a killing this morning an a 'Put' option he was worried about.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I don't.

I have a few working class friends - folks who are on hourly wages who get no paid time off. They would all meet this criteria. They live paycheck to paycheck. I also work at a university and interact with college-aged students. Many of them are in the same position; I have lost count of how many conversations I've had where financial strain has compromised their academics... or caused them to drop out entirely.

This is what happens when massive wealth inequality becomes not only pervasive, but endorsed by one party that is allowed to control your national government. Consider that the national poverty rate in this country is roughly around 10%. One in ten people living in poverty. One in ten! I mean, seriously?
Sure, but 40%? I mean, that must include a lot of people with decent blue collar jobs, mustn't it? Do people who work for Ford, or something like that, struggle to find 400 bucks for a plumbing repair?
 

Terry Sampson

Well-Known Member
You think you can shoot covid-19 to death?
??? No. Sorry, reading the OP, I blanked out and forgot that everybody in the world isn't American. I was joking. Sunstone got it.
In a moment of crisis, the American way is often to reach for a problem-solver and shoot their way out of situation.
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Sure, but 40%? I mean, that must include a lot of people with decent blue collar jobs, mustn't it? Do people who work for Ford, or something like that, struggle to find 400 bucks for a plumbing repair?

I also presume the metric Sunstone found - since it used the phrase "out of pocket" - excludes the ability to be taking a loan or charging on a credit card. It means $400 cash, up front, without it being lended. Personal savings rate (see Personal Saving Rate | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)) in this country is quite low, at less than 10% of disposable income. On top of that, there's all the debt issues most people have (see https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/demographics/) which is quite high as well. All that combined, it wouldn't surprise me if $400 cash out of pocket was beyond many. Still, I definitely wouldn't mind seeing a proper citation for that figure, @Sunstone
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
??? No. Sorry, reading the OP, I blanked out and forgot that everybody in the world isn't American. I was joking. Sunstone got it.
In a moment of crisis, the American way is often to reach for a problem-solver and shoot their way out of situation.

No probs! The thing is, I once tried it only with rats!
I was way out on the mud flats of the Wash estuary one dawn; the tide was flooding, when a dark carpet of moving life came rushing towards me out of the darkness. Thousands and thousands of rats were racing off the flats ahead of the incoming tide.
They swarmed all around and past me, and I thanked the heavens that I war wearing heavy wader boots. My gun would have been useless.

I never forgot. True. Hence my post to you. :)
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Can you cite a reference to the source of this? I can't help thinking something here is out of context.

I can easily imagine 40% of US citizens run a current account with <$400 in it, so they'd go overdrawn for a bit if they had an expense on the car or something. Or that 40% of the whole US population (including children, students and others who are not economically active) could be in this position. But I struggle to believe that 40% of the economically active population could not meet an unexpected expense of $400.

It's a famous Harvard study. You can google it.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Well, ahem, it should be the person who makes a claim who is responsible for backing it up. Can you at least give me a title or something to help me find it?

Don't expect me to always do your homework for you. This is 2020. The information you ask of me is at your fingertips. We have the internet now.


There have been several annual studies that began in 2013. All by the Federal Reserve (although I recall Harvard also did a study).

A few sources:

Millions of Americans are only $400 away from financial hardship. Here's why

https://www.federalreserve.gov/publ...-economic-well-being-us-households-201905.pdf

40% of Americans don’t have $400 in the bank for emergency expenses: Federal Reserve

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...er-of-americans-who-cant-cover-a-400-expense/

Four in 10 Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense, Fed finds

40% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
You are not entitled to demand that your readers do "homework" to substantiate your claims. When you make a claim, you must expect to substantiate it. This is standard forum etiquette.

But thanks for providing some links.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
You are not entitled to demand that your readers do "homework" to substantiate your claims. When you make a claim, you must expect to substantiate it. This is standard forum etiquette.

But thanks for providing some links.

Did you get your notion of what I am or am not entitled to from god? You sure talk like you did.

On other hand, I am not your employee but a free man. I will make up my own mind what I do -- just as you will.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Did you get your notion of what I am or am not entitled to from god? You sure talk like you did.

On other hand, I am not your employee but a free man. I will make up my own mind what I do -- just as you will.
What I referred to was "standard forum etiquette". At least, it is standard on the other forums I being to. Although I suppose, thinking about it, that those are all science forums.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I read the Fed Reserve one, which seems to be the source for all the others. And indeed your figure of 40% saying they would have to borrow or sell something to pay an unexpected $400 bill is in it. And it does seem shocking.

There is a bit of commentary on this, to the effect that it seems quite a lot of people, bizarrely, choose to take on debt to pay a bill like this rather than dip into cash they actually have in the bank. So it may be partly an indication of non-rational behaviour rather than an indicator of hardship. But this certainly does not entirely account for the finding by any means.

Again, though, 75% of people consider their financial situation to be OK or comfortable. That suggests that of this 40%, 25% are in a really tight corner financially and the other 15% may not be.

Anyway, something of an eye-opener. It might be interesting to compare it with European countries that have a smaller overall disparity in earnings.
 

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
They might have to stop going out to eat 2 times a week
They might have to subtract their 250 channel internet TV and just stay with internet
They might have to not upgrade to I-phone 11
They might have to bag their lunch

THEY MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE A BUDGET AS ONLY 32% HAVE ONE - and those who do have one, can handle a $400 unexpected charge.

Their employers should not buy that summer home or sell their third luxury sedan if they cannot afford to pay their workers a decent wage.
 
Top