Comments | _ocelott_: Save your pitying looks and condescension, please.

_ocelott_

Save your pitying looks and condescension, please.

Mar 03, 2011 14:22

Recently the results of a study on the attitudes and misconceptions towards poverty in Canada were released. The Vancouver Sun carries a loaded article on it, full of quotes from the Salvation Army. Oooh, how legitimate sounding ( Read more... )

grrrr

Comments 2

barbhendee March 4 2011, 19:13:26 UTC

Anna, I'm surprised no one has commented on this yet.

Living in Canada, I thought your medical expenses would be covered by the government. Is that not the case? I thought you folks had socialized medicine so that everyone would receive proper health care?

I absolutely agree that "where" you live plays a huge part in how much you need to earn to survive. I have friends in Los Angeles and New York who need to earn large salaries just to pay for basic bills.

Most places near a "coast" in America seems to be expensive.

JC and I are in Oregon. We bought a three-bedroom house here, so our housing costs takes a lot of our monthly income. We're also spending $612 a month just for a very, very basic health insurance policy. Just to cover our basic bills and expenses, we need to bring in about 55k a year.

But back in Colorado, we had a small (cute) condo, and my job covered our health insurance, so didn't have too much trouble living on about 33k a year either. I think it's relative.

_ocelott_ March 4 2011, 19:35:28 UTC

Heh, I intimidate people sometimes when I get all ranty on a subject. I think occasionally folks are afraid to reply to my rants, so they kind of read it and then tiptoe away very quietlyWe do have a lovely health care system, which includes visits to the doctor and necessary hospital visits. It doesn't cover prescription medicines, though, or anything "extra" like the optometrist or dentist. A lot of workplaces will offer medical benefits, which includes paying for (in whole or in part) or refunding for those things. In the past month, I've had two kids with tonsilitis, which wound up costing us a little more than 50$ for the medicine they need. It could have been a lot more, especially if our taxes hadn't already paid for the two doctor visits required, but an unexpected 50$ when you're on a budget can be a lot, depending on the month. We manage, though, despite what the article with their bizarrely specific numbers tries to imply ( ... )