How do you define poor?
A recent post by JD at Get Rich Slowly and some of the comments of my last post got me thinking about what it means to be “poor”.
On Feb 11, JD linked to this list on Whatever, a blog by John Scalzi. When I was young, my family didn’t have a ton of money, but I can only relate to a couple of items on this list. From what I can tell, it’s an excellent description of what it’s like to be poor in an urban area.
I don’t know if my family ever lived below the poverty line - my father was self-employed (a farmer), so poor looked a little different to me than the way it’s described on Scalzi’s list. We grew/raised our own food and the LP tank was filled by Farm Services once a year - we always had something to eat and a warm house to sleep in. Even in the worst years (during the 1980’s farm crisis), we never went without necessities - so I suppose I don’t know what it’s like to be truly poor.
Broke vs. Poor
Now I am a different kind of poor. To be more accurate - I’m ”broke,” not “poor.” I am poor by the most common standard - I have a negative net worth (around -$30,000) due to student loan and credit card debt. I have very little liquid savings (less than $2000) and if I lost my full-time job my fiance and I wouldn’t have enough monthly income to meet our current debt obligations. I am only contributing 3% of my income to my 401(k) because that’s all I can afford (and I just starting doing that), so my retirement isn’t being appropriately funded. My partner and I have had to “sacrifice” some of the things most people at our income level count as necessities: no internet and no cable (gasp! - not even basic!), we brown bag our lunches, we each work two jobs, and in the five years we have been together, we have never taken a vacation.
But we are smart, educated, and are making into six figures combined - so my brand of poor is only temporary (or at least it should be!). I am living a very middle-class lifestyle and I am making inroads to improving my net worth every month. My “poor” is nothing like the poverty mentioned in Scalzi’s list or in this piece by Paul Krugman for the New York Times.
Working Poor
I had always thought of myself as a member of “the working poor” - just one pink-slip away for homelessness, but that isn’t accurate. Wikipedia defines “Working Poor” as
a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses. Officially, in the United States, the working poor are defined as individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work), but whose incomes fell below the official poverty level. Often, those defined as “working poor” have negative net worth and lack the ability to escape personal and economic contingencies.
Counting myself in the “working poor” isn’t fair because of my income, my education, and my lifestyle (do don’t need to live in the neighborhood that I do, drive a Honda, or have a big wedding). It’s not fair to those who are struggling to make ends meet in minimum wage jobs. It’s not fair to those who don’t have support from a functional family unit. It’s not fair those who are bogged down with sky-rocketing medical expenses. It’s really not fair to those who don’t have access to education.
To be honest, if I lost my job I could probably find another that would pay at least 70% of my current salary within a couple of months. And since I have more than one source of income (teaching), I could pick up more classes to supplement my partner’s income in the interim.
I apologize to anyone I may have offended by calling myself “poor.” I may not be poor - but I sure am broke. My “brokeness” is something I can take complete responsibility for - and that’s the difference.
Stumble it!
February 20th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for this post. I am tired of hearing people (IRL and on the internet) complain about being “poor” just because they are in debt.
I like your distinction between “poor” and “broke”. One to mull over.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I appreciate your clarification/follow up post. I agree, there is a stark difference between being poor and being broke. IMO, broke can be fixed with a few lifestyle changes and well laid plan. Poor affects the mindset, generation, class, etc. It takes way more effort to rise above poverty.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:28 am
Yup. I’ve always considered myself broke because being poor means you haven’t the means or the help to get out of your situation.. like what Single Ma said.
February 21st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
maybe we could call ourselves the ‘working poorer’ because the stealth inflation is eroding our standard of living!!!
there’s a coin termed for the bay area millionaires - the ‘working class millionaires!’, still working to pay for their $5million 2,000 sq ft “homes”
February 21st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
It is funny, we don’t concider ourselves Rich at all, but our family goes. We don’t don’t do any of the extra thing that they do (vactations, etc.) as we are trying to eliminate our debt.
Excellent post!
February 21st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I am sympathetic to those in need and to those fighting their way out of poverty–it is a tough battle.
But very few people in America are actually poor, even if they do meet the government’s definition of being in “poverty.” The typical “impoverished” American has heat and air conditioning, cable TV, and has never gone hungry for a single day. And if the typical American “poor” family worked a collective total of 40 hours a week, they wouldn’t even be classified as “in poverty” anymore (the average poor family clocks in half those hours each week).
And even if you ARE truly in poverty (as many members truly have been, BTW), you can live a pretty darn good live in the US of A. You can get free education (public schools, libraries, non-profits who offer classes…), free entertainment, and heck - you can even collect welfare, “shop” at the food bank and other free places for clothes and resources, and even live in a shelter if you want.
Many of my extended family members work for minimum wage or just over it. But they live in low cost of living areas, so they own solid homes, live great “normal” lives, and even manage to save for retirement.
It’s hard to truly be poor in America.
February 21st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I meant to say “as many of my FAMILY members have been, BTW.” Gotta love typos.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I’d never thought about it, but I like the distinction you make between broke and poor. And I hope you are out of broke-dom soon!
February 24th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
This is a great post. When I think of poor I think of those who cannot afford the basics like food, shelter and clothing. When I think of broke, I think of not having money to buy the things I want to buy because I’ve spent the money I have or not being able to afford to buy something I want right now.
I’ve always had the basics, so I’ve never been poor. But because of my own financial ignorance, I’ve been broke many, many, many times.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:21 am
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