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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:38 am
by Stormrider
There are three types of people in my view and it all boils down to motivation.

Type 1 - The doer. This person has goals & dreams and is driven everyday to reach them. This person actively seeks to increase their assets and become successful and works hard everyday to achieve it. This comes naturally to them. If their job does not meet their goals, then they will change their job.

Type 2 - The status quo. This person has dreams but does not actively pursue them. They are happiest if their random life path happens to merge with their goal. Sometimes this person will try to achieve their dream, but it takes planning and effort.

Type 3 - The sloth. This person has goals but has very little drive to achieve it. Instead they are caught up in the moment of "now" and live for the moment. Often they procrastinate to the point that family or friends try to help them achieve their goals. Self motivation does not come naturally to them.

In my opinion, the people who are successful in the world are the doers. The people who are often remain poor are the sloths.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:40 pm
by Counterpunch
Because it is expensive to be poor.

Financial breaks are granted only to good customers, ie. Those with money to begin with.

Financial breaks include:

home loans
car loans
availability of adequate groceries (<-Hugely important)
insurance
medical care

This is not to say that there aren't people who are poor because they are either stupid, lazy, ignorant, or otherwise unmotivate.

We're discussing the poor, who actually want to improve their lot. Think about it, all the things that help a person rise out of poverty, job, home, car, birthcontrol; these all cost money.

When you are poor, you have little to no money (duh). This means you must borrow. Because you have little to no money, lenders charge you more money to have money. THIS IS AN INCREASE IN HOW POOR YOU ARE! Thus the hole is only deepened.

There is an article out there called 'The high cost of being poor' read it.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:43 pm
by Emperor Primacron the 1st
Well, in Michigan, our economy is hurting.

The big three is now just a big joke, what with foreign companies like Toyota offering cheaper cars and whatnot. The big three cant keep selling $30,000+ cars if they wanna be competitve, especially now since I heard China is gonna be offering a car for less than $10,000 dollars.

Lot's of outsourcing here, all the good jobs are now being given to Apu in India and Chang in China. Go to any Wa-mart and TRY to find something that says, "Made in USA", chances are there are very few. Also, technical jobs are the same here, call up tech support for your malfunctioning computer, and you'll be talking to someone that sounds like the guy that owns the gas station near you. And if he speaks any English, that's a good day for you :roll: Only business here making any money are the moving companies for business and frustrated Michganders. :-P

But some poor-ness is due to the person himself. You do not need a dozen credit cards, I am not a rich man, but I always got some put aside, and I always pay in cash. To people lookng for a car...DO NOT SMEGGING LEASE YOU CAR! You wanna loose money, do just that. And the car sales people make more commisions off leases than sales....and by a large margin. Also, you don't need to buy expensive foods, even if one's eating healthy. For example, I seen a box of quaker oats oat meal for like $4.00.....I look at the bottom shelf, there is a brand called Valu Time, and it was only a little over a dollar...and it's the same stuff and the same amount. Helmen's mayonase sells for like 2-3 dollars here and Kroger brand is the same stuff and amount( actually tastes better from an addition of mustard powerd added ) for a dollar.
Stores like Aldi sell the same stuff for less cost.


But I do feel thoughthat these big businesses should do some work themselves. 100 years ago, Mr. Ford offered his employees $5.00 a day, which was unheard of in those days. And I think he offered them some benefits. Why? So his people would have money to buy his cars and stuff, and if you pay them well and treat them with respect, you get a better work force all togather. American businesses, epseically these big ones, outta to do that cause if the people don't have money, they won't buy any goods and services otherwise.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 4:39 pm
by Neko
There's a billion reasons why/how people become poor. Same with how people get rich.


You can't simply say it's because of laziness, capitalism, or anything because it's all generalizations.

There's a girl at my school whose Dad (the main provider for the family) died in a car wreck last year. A month laster she quite school to get a job. I don't know if she ever got her GED.

The truth is you never know. You could start a business on a whim and make it big or it could destroy you. There are a million ways anyone of your little decisions you make in life every day could take you.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:16 am
by Counterpunch
Neko wrote:There's a billion reasons why/how people become poor. Same with how people get rich.


You can't simply say it's because of laziness, capitalism, or anything because it's all generalizations.

There's a girl at my school whose Dad (the main provider for the family) died in a car wreck last year. A month laster she quite school to get a job. I don't know if she ever got her GED.

The truth is you never know. You could start a business on a whim and make it big or it could destroy you. There are a million ways anyone of your little decisions you make in life every day could take you.


But you're wrong.

See, if I were to make a bet with you, let's say a lottery. The deal is, if you draw numbers 1-999 you win 1000 of my dollars and if I draw number 1000, then I get 2000 of your dollars. You would be insane to not take that wager.

You could take that wager over and over and over again, because the odds are so stacked against me, that even if you lost one, you could easily win it back in no time.

Let's call this phenomenon a 'trend'. Well, science gives us the ability to identify trends and act accordingly to them.

There are reasons, and good reasons at that (mainly risk management) by which people become wealthy.

Saying, "Gee, who knows why anything happens? It's all a mystery to me!" is just about the weakest contribution you can make. Things happen for reasons, just because some random person strikes it big or looses all does not affect the overall juggernaut of probability that exists in the world.

To revise my earlier statement, I have to say that the ability to recognize the above theory is a key element in being able to avoid poverty and generate wealth.

Asset and risk management, creating and maintaining the status quo for ever.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:41 pm
by The Crimson King
This is just a side note, and not immediately relevant to most of the conversation.

While the system that the United States labors under appears to be capitalist, it is by no means purely a capitalist system. In a true open market capitalist economy, business organizations do not lobby the federal government to legislatively support out-dated business models. In a capitalistic economy, US-consumed ethanol would not be produced from corn. In fact, we wouldn't be drinking high fructose corn syrup in our soda. There would be no worry of interlocking directorates as corporate leaders would make perfectly rational decisions (and probably earn a whole lot less). We wouldn't have social security (as we know it now), publically supported museums, welfare, and a wide range of other assorted things.

Our economic system has both good and bad points. However, pointing to it, calling it "capitalist" and using that as a basis of argument is naive, to say the least.