[mapcars]

>what are the basic needs of a human that a society should provide

Earning a living should not be a problem in the modern world with basically any kind of job. One of the big problems is people want the latest iphone, the best car, the most luxurious home, holidays, etc.

The expectation of life had been set too high to make it happen even for a small part of the population. What is actually needed is way, way different from what is being promoted by media and society.

[decebalus1]

> Earning a living should not be a problem in the modern world with basically any kind of job. One of the big problems is people want the latest iphone, the best car, the most luxurious home, holidays, etc.

Hmm.. I don't believe that the countless Walmart and Amazon warehouse employees on food stamps are at the edge of poverty because they bought the latest iphone, best car and most luxurious home.

[rainbowmverse]

What do you base this on? I know plenty of people working multiple jobs and saving every dollar they can who still barely get by.

[troupe]

You see many people in the United States who are working hard and avoiding foolish decisions that cannot seem to provide for their needs and set money aside for the future?

[rm_-rf_slash]

Plenty. Some have kids. Others are in grad school. Some are even dealing with both.

[troupe]

> Plenty. Some have kids. Others are in grad school. Some are even dealing with both.

Yes people who go out and have kids without thinking through how they will provide for them usually have to work pretty hard at first. Still most of the people I've seen in this situation aren't really as bad off as they think. If you didn't plan for having kids, you likely aren't in very good control of your budget either and a small investment of time in learning how to manage and budget your finances can take off most of the financial strain.

(That isn't to say there aren't some people who are in really bad situations due to random events, but I still find it rare to see people who are struggling from things that are/were completely outside of their control.)

[s73v3r_]

Then you're just not looking hard enough, or your moving your goalposts of what you count. You're also falling into the trap of believing that all children are planned. Pregnancy happens even if you take precautions to have safe sex, and in many parts of the country, a person's options for dealing with that are extremely limited.

[troupe]

So you think the majority of the people you are referring to, were using condoms and most of them failed? I think that is unlikely. If it is unlikely then it means the fact they have kids are a reflection of their decision making, self-control, etc.

I don't believe all children are planned. Is it harder to get started in life with kids? Of course. When you choose a hard path life is harder. Not impossible, but harder. As I said, I know families with a whole lot of kids and not much education that do just fine through hard work and very careful budgeting.

[k__]

"Earning a living should not be a problem in the modern world"

But it is.

15% of the population have an IQ of less than 85, that's about 48 million people in the US alone.

Not even the military thinks they can do anything reasonable with them (if you under 83 they don't want you so it's probably 1 in 10 people, I guess) and they try to get as many people as they can.

[0xFACEFEED]

That is just not true. While there may be people out there with a pathological obsession with having the "best", it isn't the norm. Unless your sample consists entirely of urban teenagers :P

Most people I meet (across all classes mind you) are scrappy and pretty selective about what they buy.

[denzil_correa]

> Earning a living should not be a problem in the modern world with basically any kind of job.

It would be interesting to see the thought process and methodology that brought you to this conclusion.

[s73v3r_]

I mean, I personally do agree with that. If you have a full time job, you should be earning enough to where you can provide for yourself and your family without having to resort to food stamps or welfare or anything like that. Unfortunately, Amazon, Walmart, et al disagree.