Why Poor Folks Are Recession-Proof

The word is out and the news is bad - America is in the toughest economic times since The Great Depression of the 1930s. Washington is hesitant to call it a 'depression', opting to call it a 'recession' instead - as if to soften the blow to those who are being hit hard by the dire financial straits in this country. There are stories circulating through every major media outlet regarding the struggling middle-class, how former executives are now out of work or being forced to take low paying jobs, and just how badly the whole thing stinks for families who have become accustomed to living a certain lifestyle.

Instead of splurging on take out food, families are now cutting coupons and shopping in discount markets. Vacations have been cut short - or cut out completely. Mortgages on homes valued in the hundreds of thousands are now defaulting and credit cards are maxed out. As a result, middle class families all across America are experiencing a new form of culture shock. They're seeing firsthand how 'the other half' lives.

In the media coverage of the shrinking and struggling middle-class, not much is ever said about how the low income (read: poor) folks are being affected by the sharp down turn in the economy. That's partly because the poor folks don't use the terms 'recession' or 'depression'. They refer to it as 'life'. Poor folks have become accustomed to living within their means. Scrimping and saving and robbing Peter to pay Paul have all become a way of life for them.

The majority of low income folks have no credit card debt because they have no credit cards. They're of the opinion if you don't have the money for it, then you don't buy it. They don't have poor credit scores for the same reason - they don't have any credit. They prefer to pay in cash. They're not defaulting on home loans to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars because they bought a home they could easily afford and fixed it up and added to it as the money came and the need arose. They don't have outrageous car loans with high interest rates because they invested in beater cars they could buy cheaply and spent the extra money to fix it up and keep in running instead. They never lost themselves in the struggle to get ahead because they've been too focused on the struggle of getting by.

The $700B bailout package proposed by the Obama Administration does nothing to foster the doctrine of being self-reliant and responsible. Instead, it acts as a safety net for future reckless financial behaviors, for which more bailout funds will be needed. Eventually, the country is going to go belly up, with all its monies invested in people who have carelessly tossed around their good fortunes.

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease and in the case of bailout money, this is true. The folks whining about how they've had to cancel their vacations this year and stop buying their Starbucks lattes are the ones that are going to benefit from Obama's loose purse strings. And the poor folks will continue to trudge daily to their dead-end jobs - not complaining, just thankful to have one - so that they can pay the taxes to afford the more affluent darlings with the aforementioned vacations and lattes.

Oblivious to it all because, again, this isn't a 'recession' or a 'depression'. This is life.