Ben Carson calls poverty ‘a state of mind’ during interview

[Risottia]

...Ben Carson said ... "I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they'll be right back up there,"

[Chestaan]

Yeah "supposed to be" if you can't find a better job then what? What is it that is wrong with these people??

The wrong thing with these people is that instead of gain more experience so they could take better paying jobs, they remained in the minimum wage permamently. I repeat myself, minimum wage is supposed to be the floor where you start off, not a place to remain permanently. That's why it is named "minimum", not "living".

Yeah so I work for McDonalds and then after a year I can go work in an office? Doesn't work like that. The work experience from McDonalds is of little to no value to those who offer better paying jobs.

I mean what you are saying is that those who work in minimum wage jobs simply choose not to take advantage of the experience they have from the job and stay working for minimum wage when they could get a job somewhere better? Why wouldn't they simply switch jobs if that was possible?

[Thermodolia]

Yeah "supposed to be" if you can't find a better job then what? What is it that is wrong with these people??

The wrong thing with these people is that instead of gain more experience so they could take better paying jobs, they remained in the minimum wage permamently. I repeat myself, minimum wage is supposed to be the floor where you start off, not a place to remain permanently. That's why it is named "minimum", not "living".

Sometimes it's though no fault of there own that they can't progress upwards. Having a lot of debt or having many medical issues so that better paying jobs are unavailable is a real thing. It's unfortunate and not black and white as you think

[Great Franconia and Verana]

And this is the guy in charge of HUD...
Jesus Christ.

[Great Minarchistan]

Yeah so I work for McDonalds and then after a year I can go work in an office?

Nope. You can, however, take a course and find a job that instead of $7.25/h pays $10/h, for example. The ladder isn't so easy as you represented but it isn't too hard either.

I mean what you are saying is that those who work in minimum wage jobs simply choose not to take advantage of the experience they have from the job and stay working for minimum wage when they could get a job somewhere better? Why wouldn't they simply switch jobs if that was possible?

...Because with the current experience they have all they'll get is minimum wage. Switch from McDonalds to Burger King won't change shit. Study administration with your free time and become an accountant will, however.

[Thermodolia]

I know why they are low-paying, supply and demand, market forces etc. My point is that if the market isn't providing a sustainable living for those who are willing and able to work, then it has failed and something needs to be done about it.

And for the first part you can't just go from working in a fast food restaurant to an office job. Work experience alone, especially at such a low level, is not enough to provide better job opportunities. In order to do that, education and training is usually necessary. And education and training are expensive.

Much of the reason college and training are expensive is because of regulation; IP laws alone drive prices up considerably - much like with medicine. Keep in mind that what you consider to be low-quality living is all that poor people have; the same is true for any good, so why does housing require some sort of standardization that undercuts a considerable portion of the population from finding it at all?

The market has provided sustainable living for people. I assume you aren't typing this from a cardboard box under a freeway, correct?

Hahahaha no.

The market is the reason for the rise in college costs not regulation.
Same with medication. Not one regulation told the pharmaceutical companies to raise their drug prices by 600%. The free market did that.

[Great Minarchistan]

Sometimes it's though no fault of there own that they can't progress upwards. Having a lot of debt or having many medical issues so that better paying jobs are unavailable is a real thing. It's unfortunate and not black and white as you think

First off, which kind of debt are we speaking of? If it's student debt, you can take it off the list since as I pointed out in a "Free College" thread, the average graduate can pay its debt easily.

Second off, the people who struggle of medical issues at the point of being unable to climb the social ladder is an extremely small minority.

[Risottia]

Much of the reason college and training are expensive is because of regulation

Ehm.

In America, colleges are way less regulated than Italian or Dutch or Korean or Japanese universities.
Yet they cost less to the students AND to the taxpayers.

https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/u ... rimary.png

[Randsbeik]

The wrong thing with these people is that instead of gain more experience so they could take better paying jobs, they remained in the minimum wage permamently. I repeat myself, minimum wage is supposed to be the floor where you start off, not a place to remain permanently. That's why it is named "minimum", not "living".

Yeah so I work for McDonalds and then after a year I can go work in an office? Doesn't work like that. The work experience from McDonalds is of little to no value to those who offer better paying jobs.

I mean what you are saying is that those who work in minimum wage jobs simply choose not to take advantage of the experience they have from the job and stay working for minimum wage when they could get a job somewhere better? Why wouldn't they simply switch jobs if that was possible?

You can work in an office if the owner is willing to hire you. Sometimes they like to see that you have a history of being able to hold down a job. Office work isn't too far of a leap from McDonalds employee as far as knowledge goes, and often the knowledge you need is usually just ad hoc training.

[Great Minarchistan]

Same with medication. Not one regulation told the pharmaceutical companies to raise their drug prices by 600%. The free market did that.

It's a common assumption for people to think that regulations don't raise the price, but they do it indirectly, through hardening of entrepreneurism. Not everything has a direct cause, sometimes you've got to search the background too.

[Donut section]

I'd argue that humble living beats not living and competitive pay would soften the problem.

Doesn't help that the economy isn't doing too well either.

Yeah but currently low end jobs barely provide enough to meet necessities.

I'm a day labourer and almost half my pay is saved per week. What on earth are people doing wrong.

[Thermodolia]

Sometimes it's though no fault of there own that they can't progress upwards. Having a lot of debt or having many medical issues so that better paying jobs are unavailable is a real thing. It's unfortunate and not black and white as you think

First off, which kind of debt are we speaking of? If it's student debt, you can take it off the list since as I pointed out in a "Free College" thread, the average graduate can pay its debt easily.

Second off, the people who struggle of medical issues at the point of being unable to climb the social ladder is an extremely small minority.

It's not hard to accumulate any kind of debt just being out of work for a month for any reason can rack up 100s of dollars in debt.

Actually no many of those who struggle with medical issues that prevent them for trying to get a better job are not a small minority

[Great Minarchistan]

Much of the reason college and training are expensive is because of regulation

Ehm.

In America, colleges are way less regulated than Italian or Dutch or Korean or Japanese universities.
Yet they cost less to the students AND to the taxpayers.

https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/u ... rimary.png

One could say that differences in GDP per capita and PPP affect that. For example, it's undeniable that an university in a developing country will be probably cheaper than in a developed country.

[Thermodolia]

Same with medication. Not one regulation told the pharmaceutical companies to raise their drug prices by 600%. The free market did that.

It's a common assumption for people to think that regulations don't raise the price, but they do it indirectly, through hardening of entrepreneurism. Not everything has a direct cause, sometimes you've got to search the background too.

Wrong! No the regulations did not cause that. Greedy CEOs did.

[Great Minarchistan]

It's not hard to accumulate any kind of debt just being out of work for a month for any reason can rack up 100s of dollars in debt.

Live within your means.

Actually no many of those who struggle with medical issues that prevent them for trying to get a better job are not a small minority

Sources?

[Randsbeik]

Much of the reason college and training are expensive is because of regulation

Ehm.

In America, colleges are way less regulated than Italian or Dutch or Korean or Japanese universities.
Yet they cost less to the students AND to the taxpayers.

Do those schools have federal student loans, IP laws, expenditure on unnecessary personnel, and a desire for opulence?

As well as the number of people taking out loans because of government subsidization drives up the cost of college (which, in the end, will create a bubble)

Plus, I forgot to mention earlier, the cost of college should NOT be conflated with the cost of an education.

[Great Minarchistan]

It's a common assumption for people to think that regulations don't raise the price, but they do it indirectly, through hardening of entrepreneurism. Not everything has a direct cause, sometimes you've got to search the background too.

Wrong! No the regulations did not cause that. Greedy CEOs did.

Again, sources. On the other side, I can back my affirmation that US regulations waste 4 trillion dollars annually.

[Conserative Morality]

Ehm.

In America, colleges are way less regulated than Italian or Dutch or Korean or Japanese universities.
Yet they cost less to the students AND to the taxpayers.

https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/u ... rimary.png

One could say that differences in GDP per capita and PPP affect that. For example, it's undeniable that an university in a developing country will be probably cheaper than in a developed country.

TIL Italy, the Netherlands, Korea, and Japanese are developing countries.

[Great Minarchistan]

One could say that differences in GDP per capita and PPP affect that. For example, it's undeniable that an university in a developing country will be probably cheaper than in a developed country.

TIL Italy, the Netherlands, Korea, and Japanese are developing countries.

Their GDP per capita is considerably smaller than US'. This affects the prices of goods and services.

[Italios]

One could say that differences in GDP per capita and PPP affect that. For example, it's undeniable that an university in a developing country will be probably cheaper than in a developed country.

TIL Italy, the Netherlands, Korea, and Japanese are developing countries.

And literally all of Western Europe as well.

[Thermodolia]

It's not hard to accumulate any kind of debt just being out of work for a month for any reason can rack up 100s of dollars in debt.

Live within your means.

Ah yes the platitude uttered by everyone who lives comfortably and has never faced debt or gotten deep into debt.

[Thermodolia]

TIL Italy, the Netherlands, Korea, and Japanese are developing countries.

Their GDP per capita is considerably smaller than US'. This affects the prices of goods and services.

No it doesn't.

[Randsbeik]

Their GDP per capita is considerably smaller than US'. This affects the prices of goods and services.

No it doesn't.

Actually, it does. Substantially. Business prices are influenced by people's ability to actually pay for them.

Live within your means.

Ah yes the platitude uttered by everyone who lives comfortably and has never faced debt or gotten deep into debt.

Saying "that's a platitude" is not an argument. Not to mention this is just an ad hominem.

[Conserative Morality]

Their GDP per capita is considerably smaller than US'. This affects the prices of goods and services.

Yet their median wage hovers above our's.

Huh.

It's almost like the end result is that it's more affordable and that our GDP per capita is inflated by a small number of very wealthy individuals.

Nah. That would go against the libertarian narrative that less regulations is always good

[Great Minarchistan]

Live within your means.

Ah yes the platitude uttered by everyone who lives comfortably and has never faced debt or gotten deep into debt.

Because my family lives within its means. When we struggle we cut spending rather than get expensive (read 40% interest rate) loans which will put the financial situation worse than in the beginning.