I'm Homeless But I'm Happy

[Macx]

Is it really, or does it just take a little more sweat and toil than the average working people are willing to put their backs into?

Having spent time outside the U.S. . . my question would be: Is it the standard of living is above the cost of living or below the cost of living? I'd contend, that in a country that has historically held 90% of the world's wealth, the other 10% of the wealth being distributed among THE REST OF THE WORLD . . . we (Americans) have gotten used to living above our means. When Americans try and be responsible and only pay for what they can afford (keep the credit cards paid off, buy & drive used cars that can be paid off in a year, buy housing with a mortgage payment at or below cost to rent) . . . they find they aren't "living as well" as their neighbors who owe for 5 years on a car, owe on their TV, will be paying on their house for 30 years (most of it in paying interest), sure . . . if you live responsibly, you will not have as nice of stuff as the debt slaves around you. It is merely the price of freedom. One of the glorious things about this country is that you can be free or you can be a debt slave and it is 100% your choice. If as a free person you chose to try and keep up (in actual ownership) with the debt slaves (in terms of stuff the bank owns that they get the use of), you will have to work VERY, VERY hard.

The cost of living isn't really that high, the cost of eating steaks regularly and owning the same kind of stuff Joe Suburb doesn't really own but sure makes payments on & plays with . . . that is pretty high. I think you are perhaps comparing apples to oranges. The actual cost of living and the cost of living at a standard the media has convinced Americans they "should" live at, are two entirely different things. Just because I don't eat many steaks in a year, doesn't mean I am living badly. I like steak, I just don't like it enough to do what it takes to eat it weekly. . . . that isn't wrong, or something I think the world should "fix".

 

[KGirl]

Have you actually talked to people who work average jobs and ask around? Just wondering. I'm not talking about being spoiled. That's a whole subject on it's own. Many Americans are too spoiled/ungreatful. Though I've seen that mostly in teenagers or kids who haven't worked on their own yet.

 

[GQ Chris]

Pulp Fiction:

VINCENT: So you're serious, you're really gonna quit?
JULES: Most definitely.
VINCENT: So if you're quitting the life, what'll you do?
JULES: That's what I've been sitting here contemplating. I've decided, basically, I'm gonna walk the earth.
VINCENT: What do you mean, walk the earth?
JULES: You know, like Caine in "KUNG FU", just go from town to town, meet people, and get in adventures.
VINCENT: So you decided to be a bum?
JULES: I'll just be Jules -- no more, no less.
VINCENT: No Jules, without a job, residence, or legal tender you're gonna be a bum!

 

[Macx]

Have you actually talked to people who work average jobs and ask around? Just wondering. I'm not talking about being spoiled. That's a whole subject on it's own. Many Americans are too spoiled/ungreatful. Though I've seen that mostly in teenagers or kids who haven't worked on their own yet.

Well, there is a Tyler Durden quote to be had here

You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your (expletive deleted by me) khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing (expletive deleted by me) of the world.

I have a wide range of contacts, both inside and outside the U.S. socio-economic levels ranging from homeless people and subsidized housing residents on up to the quite wealthy. The bulk of the people I know work jobs that must be fairly average . . . but if we take just one job . . say priests, my African brother may recieve a stipend of less than $100 USD per year as a vicar (a prestige position in this context) in a large cathedral and that is a STARK contrast to my friend who is a staff priest at a Megachurch in the U.S. drawwing a stipend well above the Median income in the U.S. Both are priests within the same denomination, same position for all intents and purposes. Both live within their means and neither is a debt slave. Of course neither one has all the stuff that Joe Suburbia owes the bank for. When I hear Americans complaining about the cost of living, my mind always turns to my dear friend in Africa who gets on quite nicely of $100 USD a year when the diocese can afford to pay him . . . at all.

I can't imagine anybody not wanting to get paid more to do less . . . . it doesn't mean they deserve it in an ethical sense of "deserve". Sure, I'd like to trim my one friend's budget and give the surplus to my other friend . .. but that isn't the way the world works & shouldn't be. Inequity is the nature of a fallen world. As an anarchist, I believe ours is to do the best we can for those we are responsible for & to . . . beyond that a person becomes merely a tool for the industries, a means to hoe the cash garden.

 

[Urban Monk]

We aren't saying that we shouldn't have to work for a living (as the bible states) but that the cost of living shouldn't be too high for your average working person.

Yea, that is exactly what I'm saying. I'm not a bum who wants people to hand stuff to me. I work and therefore I deserve to be able to afford what I need. Yea its true, God expects us to work ( unless we get rich which means there will be no need to work ) but God wants us to work for the purpose of taking good care of ourselves and having something in life. God does not want us to work for the purpose of making other people rich while we get no major reward. Thats when its no longer called work, its called slavery and God does not like slavery

 

[ImperialPhantom]

The ease of making a living wage on a wal-mart worker's salary really depends on where you live. If you live in, say, Biloxi, MS (my new digs), it's FAR easier than, say, Vista, CA (my old digs). You can rent a nice 2 bedroom place for 500-600 a month in a good area in Biloxi. Vista? You can rent a 2-bedroom in the 'hood for 1100 a month minimum. Good area? Try 1400-1500.

 

[ImperialPhantom]

Yea, that is exactly what I'm saying. I'm not a bum who wants people to hand stuff to me. I work and therefore I deserve to be able to afford what I need. Yea its true, God expects us to work ( unless we get rich which means there will be no need to work ) but God wants us to work for the purpose of taking good care of ourselves and having something in life. God does not want us to work for the purpose of making other people rich while we get no major reward. Thats when its no longer called work, its called slavery and God does not like slavery

God NEVER expects us to provide just for ourselves. He told the young rich man who wanted to follow Him to "sell all of your possessions and give to the poor". Luke 13-21 isn't just there for giggles.

Money and self-reliance financially are the easiest way to seperate a man from his reliance on, and faith in, God. God never says that it's wrong or evil to be rich or have a lot of money, but He makes it VERY clear as to where our hearts should be, and thus, where our money/treasure should be. Hint: It's not to accumulating the most, biggest and best toys.