Never take seriously those who ridicule low income people for having a smartphone or laptop.
“If they’re so poor how did they buy an iPhone???”
Because they’re trying to escape poverty, not the 1700s, genius. If you think basic tech access is luxury, try and survive a month without it.😐
It could be used, for example.
I also tune out people who begrudge low income people having ANY sort of pleasure in life.
Like they should eat gruel and play with rocks for fun.
I'll never forget the time I posted on a local forum asking if anyone knew if you could sign on in another town bc I was going to download festival - you can imagine the shock and horror that followed from some people - how dare I! 😂
@AutisticMumTo3 @carl24k @QasimRashid
Carers payments are also made through UC.
However I've heard that deductions also apply if you get more than one type of payment or have any other income.
@srfirehorseart @carl24k @QasimRashid
You can get Carer's Allowance & UC but your Carer's Allowance is deducted from your Universal Credit like mine is deducted from my Income Support. That is not the same as sanctions.
https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/effect-on-other-benefits
Sanctions its not a set value that is deducted but instead it tends to be the whole of your UC that is stopped no matter how much you get.
Genre researcher here. Can confirm. A classic of the #genre.
@mendel @QasimRashid
I feel the OP means that having a phone gives you the opportunity to do something about your dire situation and nothing about the monetary value of a phone, lest the value compared to that of a house.
And no, this is not my first day in earth. However, I found that comment funny.
@QasimRashid because iphones are starter phones subsided by Apple to get their trackers into the pockets of poor people.
Purism phones and the like are expensive.
@backupbear @QasimRashid It’s amazing because you cannot acquire a job or housing without a smartphone.
Also, most homeless people had homes at one point. What was I supposed to do, sell my phone to get an extra week of housing? No, I was on it constantly trying to apply for jobs, figure out transportation, make sure I had a safe place to sleep.
A curious child (or an adult) with no understanding of these things or malice towards the poor would ask, genuinely.
Reminds me of the time a little girl refused to shake Sri Lankan cricketing great, Jayasurya’s hand. When asked she replied, “He’s bald and too dark”. These things happen.
@josephholsten BTW, where I lived was only blocks from the shelter, a place that many homeless would not go to because they wanted to use drugs instead.
The homeless camps in my city also are trash dumps and environmental disasters. I don't have the answers to it all but allowing the homeless to just camp wherever and do whatever is not a recipe for success.
It really depends on how someone chooses to use that phone. Individual responsibility...
The thing is that if you're poor, it's becoming increasingly difficult to access government services without a phone and/or (mostly and) something with internet access
If you want a recent extreme, during the pandemic most support offices were closed, so you *had* to have a phone or laptop
By "support" I mean social security, Medi-Cal, SNAP, etc. Basic survival resources
But also that "Universal Lifeline" on your bill is $35/mo towards a cell or internet plan for these folks
@QasimRashid I agree with the basic point you're making - but - there are MANY very functional smartphones far, far less expensive than an iPhone.
I know because I own them (and one iPhone which oddly, I consider the least useful smartphone I own).
If I was poor AND I decided that the smartphone I *had* to own was an iPhone, well, it seems to indicate I might need help managing my financial resources.
Why should food benefits let you buy a premade sandwich you can just make your own for less
@hakirsch @QasimRashid How does that relate? Can you use food benefits to buy a smartphone?
And comparing a premade sandwich (which oddly, can be cheaper than home made) to the difference between say a $200 Android phone and a $1100 iPhone is a bit of a stretch.
I mean, that gap is why I don't own an iPhone and I can afford one.
@hakirsch @TheWerewolf @QasimRashid because some people have a disability that makes cooking (even making a sandwich) difficult, work jobs with long or unpredictable hours, or need something to eat quickly after a multi hour bus ride to a job interview, temp job or medical appointment. Maybe they eat cheap batch cooked meals at home 6 days a week, and the ingredients would go bad if they bought a whole pack of each thing for the one day they have to travel. They might not have a safe fridge to store the ingredients. (If there is a fridge at a shelter, there is probably a food thief.)
Why would taking away options help people? It doesn't even cost the government anything, hey're getting the same amount of money either way.
@TheWerewolf @hakirsch @QasimRashid even the packaging doesn't have to be so bad. My local convenience store offers sausage rolls in a paper bag, sandwiches in waxed paper, and after the deli closes there are sandwiches in windowed boxes or clear plastic wrap (I forget which). The premade food is usually eaten immediately so there's no need for stiff airtight plastic clamshells like cheese and deli meat often come in.
This is in Ireland, though. American food packaging is often less eco friendly. I'm not sure if there's a tax incentive or something driving the simpler packaging, or if it's just a cultural difference.
@legumancer @hakirsch @QasimRashid Over here? Individual slices of industrial cheese wrapped in plastic and then put into a plastic sleeve - and if it's 800g, TWO 400g sleeves. and then an outer third plastic sleeve.
Lasts forever - the "cheese" AND the wrapping... :)
But you're right - it doesn't *have* to be this silly.
Many cheese packagers are going back to a slip of paper between each slice and just the outer resealable bag.
@TheWerewolf @hakirsch @QasimRashid where is here?
At any rate, that sounds like a great improvement.
I haven't actually bought much cheese here in Ireland, but the packaging doesn't look so different from US packaging. Cheese does spoil easy though. I'd like to see more things packed in paper and cardboard.
The one exception is oats. I really want to be able to buy oats that aren't rolled (steel cut, pinhead or just plain unprocessed groats) at a non luxury good price, but they're packed in little paper sacks and no one else buys them apparently so they're stale and taste awful. I'm about ready to look for an animal feed store instead where at least the stock moves quicker, lol.
@legumancer @hakirsch @QasimRashid And that supports the point - it costs more to buy oats unprocessed than refined, which theoretically makes no sense.
Yet here we are.
And by here, for me, I mean Canada. :)
@ellenor2000 @QasimRashid Your employers demand you own an iPhone *specifically*????
I can see that if your work uses specific, custom iOS only apps - but then I'd expect them to provide the phone.
@TheWerewolf @QasimRashid
Yes and no. Yes, the iPhone 13 is expensive if you buy it outright, but multiple US cell phone companies will give you a free iPhone 13 for just for signing up for their $35 per month service on a 2 year contract.
At the same time, there are "second hand" stores where you can buy iPhone 10s & 11s for under a hundred dollars.
Android phones are even less, and can be bought, with service, without a home address or credit card for under $15 per month.
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