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Comment by cluckindan | Hacker News Reader

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I read every word of the article and the about page.

Then why did you present fallacious arguments which were already discussed over several paragraphs?

Perhaps you could elaborate, because I read the article and the About page too, and I don't understand what you're getting at.

”It would appear from the about page and the article that he has the requisite skills to earn an income that should move him out of the "poor" category: - auto mechanic - digital tech - landscaping”

cf.

”The other mindset is poor people are lazy. Quit complaining and do it yourself! Just get a better job! Get a second job! There’s money out there, you just have to go get it.”

> The other mindset is poor people are lazy. Quit complaining and do it yourself! Just get a better job! Get a second job! There’s money out there, you just have to go get it.”

There are more options than the "mindsets" given in the article. It is legitimate to ask someone who believes they are poor why they are poor. Maybe they truly are. But maybe they aren't and they just don't know it.

Questioning whether or not someone has a higher earning potential does not imply they are currently lazy.

So is it your belief that the author currently considers himself poor? (FWIW, I don't think he does.)

Why is anyone assuming this? It was the GP of this chain who was providing this assumption. The OP was commenting on the condition of being poor and the meaningful difference between the commonly experienced condition of being "broke". This entire digression is likely a reflection of what motivated OP to put this post together.

I don't know, but it seems that rsyring and cluckindan are both assuming it, and at odds about a counterfactual.

I’m just pointing out the other is assuming it.

What was fallacious about my OP?

He asserts that being poor is different from being broke. The former being tied to a permanent state.

But, if you have the skills and opportunity to make better-than-poor money, then in most cases, I presume, you aren't really poor. It's only a matter of time until you can make additional money. And if you need to charge the $300 of parts to your credit card, on the presumption that if you have a running vehicle you can go to an interview of do the next landscaping job, you have a reasonable expectation of being able to pay it off. It's an investment in that case.

There are all kinds of reasons why you might find yourself poor anyway for reasons outside your control. Health issues, weird economic situations, whatever. I'm not discounting them. And maybe they apply here.

I just feel like there is a disconnect between the earning potential of the skills he has and being truly "permanently" poor. I'm not arguing there isn't a legitimate reason, just that it wasn't clear to me what that reason would be.

You may not like the reasoning or think I'm being too critical, but it's hardly fallacious.

It's an obvious conclusion to draw when folks seem to be unaware of the content of the article. But you're not supposed to say it.

I don’t want to live in a world where anything resembling wilful ignorance of systemic inequality is propagated uncontested. Chalk it up to wilful ignorance if you must.

The article directly mentions that the author has done complete engine rebuilds. Mechanics who can do things like engine rebuilds (efficiently) can crack six figures in a MCOL area although this industry does tend to expect quite a bit of work (e.g. 50 hours a week probably and not just M-F). Similarly the about page of the author mentions that they didn't like working in tech and left. The author seems to have all of the tools to make well above the median national salary and afford the proverbial white picket fence house with a wife and two kids. Therefore it seems that the author is making a choice to be poor and many of us would find this choice questionable. Coupled with the author stating things like "Should I kill myself for capitalism" this reads like a fairly typical far-left rant against the inhumanity of actually having to work for a living. The author should check their privilege. There are many rungs below what the author describes and people in this environment would kill for the job of doing engine rebuilds 50 hours per week to earn a six figure salary and support their family.

Hey Dom we all find work tough a good chunk of the time and none of us would do it without the paycheck so we aren't exactly feeling sympathy that you don't like it and are choosing to force your family to live in miserable conditions because you don't want to embrace the grind.

If you have six kids and a wife and don't work I'm pretty sure most states in the USA will pay you quite nicely.

Probably not a good life, but a great life by any historical standard.

But you'd have to write blogs convincing yourself that you're doing the right thing.

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