Try being poor. OK, that’s not going to happen. The closest some people come of us come is “slumming it”. Or maybe we eat at a roadside kiosk while backpacking during a year “off” before or after college.
Actually not having resources, no cash, no car, no home, no job, no education, no family, no help … that’s hard. It is a vicious cycle that’s hard to get out of, especially if you’ve slipped in to desperation or depression.
Poor people are more likely than rich people to smoke. To get fat. To get into hassles with cops and creditors. To have children despite no visible means of support. To lurch from one crisis to another. Sometimes, to have very bad attitudes. But when you find yourself in their shoes, you begin to understand. So let’s try not to judge.
Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, is an unapologetic explanation for why poor people do what they do, written by someone living below the poverty line in America.
BloombergBusinessWeek: Poorsplaining: What It’s Really Like to Be Poor in America
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