I think on my own, I might have kept some people in jobs at Starbucks, and Chateau St Michelle winery. Does that count? 
Absolutely. Bus! 
@3puppies wrote “the best way to help is to get more people committed to understanding the problems so solutions can be found.” I agree with this wholeheartedly. Thank you for saying it.
And stop listening to the talking heads on TV.
You mean Cramer and the Najarians? Yup. Follow their investment advice at your own risk. They are entertainment clowns.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Discussing members who are no longer here is a bit too gossipy and should be avoided. Several posts deleted.
Bingo. IMO, a lot – but not all – of these problems go away if we have a growing economy which is producing jobs. As JFK said a long time ago: a rising tide lifts all boats. Of course, former President Bill Clinton’s economic advisor countered that a rising tide lifts “some boats” while others run “aground” 
Assuming both are correct, the trick then, is to get the economy to naturally raise as many boats as we can, and then help out those other boats that don’t.
Anything more gets into politics. 
“Frankly, not a single person in the USA, including homeless, really know what “poor” means, not even close! People can whine as much as they want, but they live in nice apartments or even own houses, they drive cars and have cell phones and computers and even the poorest of the poor (including homeless and prisoners) who get sick will get the best health care in a world! Nobody will change my opinion about it.”
Total bull. There are many in the neighborhood of my church that live in rental housing. I know 5 families who had to move out of those homes because landlords refused to repair furnaces or plumbing. I know many families who do not have televisions or cell phones. One retired man sits in his home all day with nothing to do except when I lend him books.
Yes I live in a house but the house is my nightmare. Bought it before my husband self destructed and cut our income by more than a half and medical bills took every penny and more. It’s in need of repairs to the point that I can’t sell it for what we owe. Hopefully in one more year we’ll hit the point that we can.
My church recently received a letter from the local high school which is the only one serving a city of 65,000. They were asking for clothing and toiletries donations to set up a supply room for kids in need. Over 1/3 of the HS students become homeless in the course of the school year.
I can tell you horror stories of church members who can not afford surgeries or medications such as one member who cannot take meds to delay dementia because she is in the doughnut hole and can’t afford $500 a month for that med. “the best medical care in the world” is only available to those who can pay. Hospitals are only required to provide life saving care. Everything else can be and often is denied. I know people dying of illnesses they can’t afford to treat.
“Poor financial decisions” is always said by outsiders. Low income people don’t have money to squander. Or to invest.
Yet where would you wealthier folk be without waitresses and nursing assistants and store clerks? Our economy and many life styles depend on them but they get no respect. Believe me many home care aides or nursing home aides work one heck of a lot harder than anyone who sits at a desk.
“You mean Cramer and the Najarians?” Actually the Najarians are quite good. They are traders and if you follow their advice, you have to be quick not sitting around not watching your positions.
Sure, DocT, but it is not for the average Joe,
@bluebayou, are you in favor of fiscal stimulus?
Kkmama, I assume you are not in a Medicaid expansion state? It sounds like Obamacare, with the subsidies, is not working for people there either.
“Yet where would you wealthier folk be without waitresses and nursing assistants and store clerks? Our economy and many life styles depend on them but they get no respect. Believe me many home care aides or nursing home aides work one heck of a lot harder than anyone who sits at a desk.”
Why do you keep saying this? What kind of loser doesn’t respect people who work an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay?
People who would qualify for Medicaid in states which expanded that program do not qualify for ACA health insurance in states that didn’t expand Medicaid - so they are SOL.
I thought the ACA has the same rules nationally, irrespective of whether you were in an expansion state or not, but I’m not clear on that.
One of the problems is the high level of financial illiteracy among Americans. Here’s another study by the same authors who did the “Could you come up with $400?” study.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14808.pdf
When my family member came to me in dire financial straits, this kind of financial illiteracy is exactly what I was dealing with. I was trying to parse out what % of the credit card debt we were faced with was the interest vs the principle so I could figure out whether we were best paying it off for her, going into debt settlement or into bankruptcy, and asked her for various numbers. She kept saying that she was “saving money” because by paying the minimum payment on her credit card, she was “saving” $XXX versus if she didn’t make that minimum payment - and counting that as savings. I don’t think she truly understood that she was accumulating all this interest - and that paying the minimum payment wasn’t “savings” at all - it was just being less irresponsible than not paying the minimum payment. And that the credit card companies certainly weren’t your friend! I finally got through to her by explaining that if I have a handbag that is worth $200, and I tell you that you can buy it from me at $1,000 but then I “relent” and lower the price to $400, you don’t get to claim you “saved” $600 - indeed, you wasted $200 because the handbag was only worth $200 if the first place. This was a combination of not knowing – and not wanting to know.
Financial illiteracy is a HUGE issue and not sure how this can be fixed. In Boy Scouts and some schools, they do have folks learn some of the basics, but it’s hit and miss as to what is taught and absorbed.
It surprises me (tho probably shouldn’t) how many people carry credit card debt. Neither I nor our kids ever had, but I’m sure credit card companies love people to carry debt and pay outrageous interest and fees.
I’ve never paid a penny of cc debt in my life and my kids have had the fear of God put into them on that dimension too!
I don’t know if any of you have attempted to teach financial literacy to someone who suffers from a compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder or depression but …good luck with that. One mentally ill member in a household can set the entire families finances into complete disarray. When I hear frustrating stories such as NG’s I really wonder if there’s more going on here than we imagine.