<p>I think this thread is a statement on the economic health of the country. 4 out of 10 people do not have $2000 available to them in an emergency. This isn’t about people’s darn cell phone plans. This is about day to day life for those people in low wage jobs. This is about the 53% of Americans bringing home $30,000 or less before taxes and trying to live a life that’s one step away from financial ruin.</p>
<p>Low income people pay more of their earnings and time just because they are low income. They pay higher prices for mortgages, loans, insurance to name a few. Those people stuck in urban areas pay more for healthy food and milk. Many have no sick days, no vacation days. They lose their jobs if they stay home sick. They lose their jobs if their cars die and they get to work late.</p>
<p>In our area many retail jobs have part time workers on call. Yes, on call. They get called if they are needed or sent home from work if it isn’t too busy. Businesses do this because they can and it makes them more money. </p>
<p>I’ll just say it again, I don’t trust at all that 40% of US adults can’t get $2000 within 48 hours. There’s payday loans, friends, parents, stuff they can pawn, and the ability to steal something that can be resold. I don’t believe the percent is 0, but I believe the percent is pretty damn low. I think many of the respondents read this as if to ask whether they had $2000 in their checking account or $2000 left on credit cards or something like that.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any survey with more specific wording that shows that 40% of US adults can’t get $2000 within 48 hours, or some similar reasonable timeframe?</p>
<p>Well, I thought it was about paycheck to paycheck living which is very real problem. But, it’s not the same problem as no paycheck living which is another growing and very real issue. However, lumping them together causes ridiculous arguments about the homeless needing cellphones for work and refugee children needing the internet to pass third grade. Then, we get nowhere. Unfortunately.</p>
<p>Sax, I hear ya. I have four siblings – only one makes over $30k (and that is a recent happy event). He drives a 1989 Accord with 635,000 miles (not a typo), does not have cable and still has dial-up internet. None of their spouses breaks $30k, though two of my BILs, with overtime, get close. Depends on how their employers are faring. Their college-age kids qualify for Pell. They live in cheaper areas of the country, but it is still thin ice on which they are skating. If their cars need repair, they drag out the tools (or borrow them from Dad), hit the auto supply store or junkyard, and do it themselves. Retirement savings? Not on the radar. Major medical expenses? That would be the tsunami that wipes them out.</p>
<p>actingmgt, my kids were getting assignments that required the internet and/or had to be written on the computer starting in 4th grade. That was 10+ years ago. When they were in HS, some assignments were submitted online. The digital divide is real. </p>
<p>We also have online submissions in HS but there is a computer lab on campus. I think teaching computer skills in elementary school is probably a good idea but it’s not happening here until middle school where they also have a lab with computers at every desk. </p>
<p>Real indeed. And an issue which has been concerning some engineers/techies and public policy folks with foresight since the '90s. Unfortunately, there’s still not enough awareness of the serious ill-effects of the digital have-nots…especially in areas such as job searches, basic office skills training, and even taking advantage of basic welfare services. </p>
<p>Yes, even the last is becoming digitized without much allowance for old school dead-tree format…especially considering going digital does save the municipalities and state governments much money in staffing and processing time. </p>
<p>It’s silly to have something like that for everyone though. The teaching of typing and using basic office applications? For the middle class+ this is learned at home now, depending on the district it could be a pure waste of time for nearly everyone in the class. </p>
<p>If those $100 durable laptops take off, I don’t see why not just give everyone in the school one, or at least everyone who doesn’t have a home computer. In the scheme of a school budget, $100/student/5 years ain’t much. Even if they don’t have internet, they can use it to access the internet at school, and at home can use it to learn basic computer skills often taught in a middle/high school basic computer skills class. This seems like something that could provide a lot of benefit for very little cost. </p>
<p>In some school districts, including some upper-middle class ones I know of, the teaching of basic office applications is the modern equivalent of the basic typing and other Home Ec type classes every junior high/middle school kid had to take in 7th or 8th grade. </p>
<p>True. But, my point was about the “digital divide”. Most people have internet. Even most poor people have some kind of internet whether shared or mobile or subsidized by a cable company or government or whatever. The digital divide was a prediction in the 1990’s but it didn’t really come to pass.</p>
<p>Also, nobody living paycheck to paycheck is going to pay a phone bill for two years up front because they are living paycheck to paycheck.
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<p>However, the digital have-nots are mostly invisible to most of us with computer/ISP access. Even in NYC, I still see and know of people who don’t have a computer period, much less basic internet access. And relying on public libraries even in urban areas with decent infrastructure is problematic, especially when municipalities are short of funds as this causes curtailed hours or even total shutdown of smaller branches. </p>
<p>As I said before, I’ve given away nearly 2 dozen older computers perfectly usable for office applications and basic internet access for job applications over the last 10+ years. Keep in mind that while $100-300 may not feel like a lot, to many struggling families…that $100-300 may as well as be an unattainable astronomical sum because every cent they have goes to absolute basics like rent, food, etc. </p>
<p>Also, it’s much worse in remote rural regions of our country where telecom infrastructure is extremely limited due to the remoteness combined with lack of population density with a critical mass of higher SES residents. </p>
<p>This means private ISPs don’t find it economically worthwhile to run infrastructure to support internet services and local governments don’t have the tax base or support from state/Federal governments to remedy this issue. In some cases, even getting viable dialup connections in these areas is a serious issue as the phone line infrastructure may be several decades old and cannot reliably even support dialup modem connections. </p>
<p>The older people I serve who have chronic health conditions often do NOT have computers or internet access. They are very isolated and live on very limited budgets, some with subsidized housing. It’s very tough for them to get the information they might benefit from to keep healthier and out of the doctors’ offices and hospitals. </p>
<p>There are a LOT of folks living paycheck to paycheck, with minimal savings toward retirement. When they are forced to retire earlier than anticipated because their job is eliminated or they are disabled, they have a very tough time paying their bills. </p>
<p>Even if some folks could come up with a one-time $2000 to pay for an emergency, many could likely NOT have enough to pay for a month or two without any income, since they have no emergency funds to speak of.</p>