Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Responding to the folks who asked why the people in New Orleans didn't just leave, Joe Scalzi has this post about what being poor means.

E.g., Being poor means hoping your kids don't have a growth spurt.
E.g., Being poor means crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.
E.g., Being poor means hoping the toothache goes away...

It's compelling reading.

I have never known anything but the most voluntary sort of frugality, thanks to my parents, and thanks to my grandparents, who started out poor enough. I hope I'm grateful enough.

It occurs to me that when the President talks about how he's in favor of the "ownership society," he means that society is there for those that own things, and if you don't, it's not.


Courtesy of Will Shetterly.

12:50 PM

2 Comments:

Sorry, Frank. I felt you were promoting your company and business plan on my blog.

By  Alex Epstein, at 9:39 PM  

Hey Alex, very powerful. There are two countries in America. Those that have and those that have not. The haves so frequently are clueless about the have nots. I come from grandparents that came to this country with yes - nothing - and made lives for themselves and the stories were endlessly nurturing. I also post an answer to you on my blog, but post it here as your post cracked me up: "I think "Sucky Point" is one of the funniest things I've heard in a while, and will have to use that from now on. You comically nail a crucial problem of many long form stories - which has to do with a lack of tension as you cross into the second act - as so many tend to oddly resolve things at the end of act one, even though the "adventure/problem/issue is innitiated. That's usually the problem, don't you think? Do you deal with that point in your book? If I write a book can I use "sucky point" as the delineator of page 40? (if I credit you?)."

By  Phil, at 12:03 AM  

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