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by content_sesh
2094 days ago
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I haven't read the book either, but from reading the reviews it seems like the thesis is that your wealth is a function of your time orientation - whether you prefer to plan short term or long term. If that's the case, I disagree strongly. It seems like a post-hoc conclusion; if you are wealthy, you can afford to plan for the long term; if you are poor, often you can only orient your behavior towards immediate needs and survival. Poor people know that its better to save for a house than pay rent to a landlord - they're not stupid. But your kid has a cavity that need filling, the rent you are paying is due, and god help you if you have an unexpected expense like your car breaks down. Does the author account for decades of wage suppression that prevents all from sharing in the nation's wealth? The systematic erosion of labor rights? The (I'm assuming the author's American) carceral state that makes people unhireable and takes away some of their most productive years for earning and saving? In the case of the Black community, does he account for the generational effects of centuries of stolen labor? The list goes on. Poverty is a cycle[1] and is worthy of serious study and consideration. Paternalistic victim blaming has no place.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty |
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