this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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People "spend irresponsibly" for a ton of reasons like medical expenses, paying for a funeral, having mental illnesses that they don't even know about, etc. Life happens.
They received money from a rich guy or corporation who knows of the risk of their money going "poof." Creditors aren't mom-and-pop shops, and they will survive if an investment doesn't go well. The same cannot be said for the person in deep credit card debt. Oftentimes, the lenders are the ones who have predatory practices and purposefully make it easier for peoples' debt to spiral out of control, and you shouldn't feel bad for those lenders.
About these unexpected costs:
medical insurance is a must, otherwise you are gambling and the chances to lose this bet are quite high.
funerals happen unexpected - when they actually absolutely do not. Everybody can be sure to die, so plan accordingly.
being "in deep credit card debt" is too late. One should never have swam out this far. Being "a tiny little bit in debt" should have the alarm bells blasting as financing is not self sustaining, "a tiny litte bit" is already much too late already because you've entered the spiral
student debts - well, not everybody has to study. If you can't afford it reflect on it, if you really must. And if yes, seek alternatives like leaving the country tht is hell-bent to enslave you in debt if you want to study, find sponsors, arrange it with your expectations about a longer time horizon, etc. You are not able to pay for it? Do not do it! Seek solutions.
You can still have deep medical debt with good insurance. Saying otherwise is incredibly wrong and out of touch. This also ignores how good insurance is inaccessible to a good chunk of the population.
Explain how someone who has 0 room in their budget after food, rent, and utilities can plan for the costs of a sudden death. The situation I described is incredibly common in America.
Please explain how to avoid credit card debt when basic necessities cannot be obtained with the income you have. Assume that you can't get a 2nd job because of child or eldercare duties.
This would leave college inaccessible to the vast majority of students, especially from lower income families. Not going to college isn't a solution when well-paying jobs require college degrees.
Your "solutions" in 2024 are essentially blaming lower-income individuals for being lower income individuals. Oftentimes, these lower-income individuals are lower-income because they were born into lower-income families and had fewer opportunities to become wealthy as a result. In 2024, basic necessities are inaccessible to many Americans because their wages aren't high enough to meet the rising costs of these basic necessities. Their choice is to either suffer without basic needs and be able to afford less and less because their wages remain stagnant or to make poor financial choices to be able to live. Yes, the US has safety-net programs to help lower-income individuals gain more opportunities. No, these programs are not enough because they are underfunded, and the funds allocated to them are mishandled. No, it is not easy for individuals to get out of deep poverty. No, "don't make even a single financial mistake in your life or you'll suffer for 70+ years" is not a solution.