What Makes Being Poor in The United States Suck?

[sc94597]

JWeinCom said:

sc94597 said:

The middle class and rich work just as many if not more hours than the poor from my experience. "Living in a ghetto" is such a ridiculous stereotype. Most "ghettos" are not how they are advertised on television. I only saw ghettos of those type when I would visit my dad who lives in New York City. 

While there were times my mother had two jobs, if she were responsible with her money she wouldn't have to do that. Of course, it was the same decisions that kept her poor in the first place that lead to this. She should not be rewarded for these decisions with even more exhorbiant benefits than she already received. 

Well, I live in NYC, and those ghettos kind of suck.  And they typically have horrible schools, so your chances of getting out of them are diminished.  I taught in a school where a significant (maybe 10-20%) of the students lived in shelters.

Where exactly did you grow up in Pennsylvania?  Philadelphia?  Cause there are some really shitty places to live there.  If you were in the suburbs or smaller cities in Pennsylvania, your experience may not be the same as those who live in larger cities. 

I grew up in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton metropolitan area. While murders and violent crime were similar to other small metropolitan areas, in my county drugs and alcohol were huge, as it is a major route for the drug trade between Philadelphia and New York City. Meth labs were busted quite often. The court system was also very corrupt (see: kids for cash scandal.)

My high school was ranked 413/500 schools in Pennsylvania in 2012, when I graduated. While it was no inner-city school, it wasn't that great of an education either.