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Lets test the theory
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2024
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It didn't end that quick, but he stopped after 9 months due to health concerns. The goal was to earn $1 million in a year, he had earned $62k.
And IIRC, he only did so through siphoning off the value of free facebook/craigslist furniture.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13332399/Millionaire-Mike-Black-homeless-broke-purpose-ends-bizarre-social-experiment.html
It sucks that the only reporting on this is shitty tabloids.
Don't forget he accepted charity in the form of free housing and donations that were likely only available to him through existing connections.
Also this:
So this dipshit learned nothing. He failed, and would probably have died in the gutter, but instead he pulled the ripcord and bailed on poverty in a way that isn't available to 99% of humans on earth.
He had knowledge and connections to the upper echelons and he couldn't make it, and when health concerns arose he went back to his money because it sucks to be working poor and in need of medical assistance.
He also didn’t have the stress that would come from actual failure with no money.
Bankruptcy, homelessness and real poverty fuck up your ability to succeed in a vastly underrated way.
Exactly. The calculus for taking risks is vastly different when there's a safety net. You can treat it as a game and go all in.
On the other hand if there's even a small chance of losing housing or getting in legal trouble or your family being destitute you take no risks - if you are a person with a sense of responsibility that is.
Yup, or you take maybe a couple risks in a lifetime, but if they don't pan out you suffer from them for years as you go back to stability and try to regain what little of a toehold on a good life you might have had.
The very real lesson for the poor is "don't try," especially if you have dependents. You'll be knocked back harder than you can imagine.
These mfs don't know what it's like to see loved ones start losing teeth because you made a failed push and now you're paying it back with interest.
You can see how this structure favours the most sociopathic members of society, as they are the ones that will take more risks without regard for others.
His father got cancer during the experiment. He considered ending it then, but he continued with the experiment.
Imagine having that sort of choice. He didn't have to skip work to take his dad to appointments. He didn't have to eat ramen to afford chemo. It was only when his own health was at risk that he pulled the plug.
Imagine a world where everybody had that sort of safety net. Just like, "Nope, shit's too hard."
For most people, it's easier to become homeless than it is for the homeless to extricate themselves from it.
This is all political horseshit. It's not that hard to get out of homelessness, I was homeless a lot in my late teens and early twenties. Of course freezing to death in a Canadian winter is a strong motivator. Fucking taking a shower and doing work that you'd rather not is all it takes if you're not mentally fucked or strung out
As someone who was homeless for 2 ½ years in Los Angeles, I disagree with you.
And despite my efforts to get a new job after being laid off, I'm about to be back on the streets. So maybe, right now, I don't wanna hear it.
Oh look. Exactly who I'm talking about showed up. You're not willing to do what it takes, you'd rather be homeless in LA than working in Oxnard
You have a twisted sense of what "rather" means. I can't get to fucking Oxnard, I have no car.
I'm spending what little money I have to store what little possessions I have, to get a mailbox, and a gym membership. Because you need an address, and a place to clean up, and a place to change clothes...or just vibe for a little before going back and dealing with the bullshit of homelessness.
How much is it gonna cost to move to Oxnard without established housing? What employer is going to provide me with immediate housing? How far is the housing from the employer? How good is the transit? If bad, is the money from the employer sufficient to get a car in the area? Are the cars reasonably priced?
Also, what's the work? I have multiple injuries that prevent me from doing certain work. I'm older and overweight (largely due to those injuries), so my options are limited. I have mental health issues that need regular maintenance, how's the emperor's healthcare package, or do they pay enough to get my own insurance?
Unless you can guarantee me a residence for free, you might wanna start looking at the nuances of why someone is homeless in the first place.
I'm more than willing to move to a new location, but moving isn't cheap, even with a few boxes of necessities, it can be a massive hassle.
So maybe instead of judging me or anyone else, start providing concrete fucking answers, instead of vague bullshit that strokes your ego.
Yeah, but answers are hard, much easier to be a judgemental prick. (And people like that call people like us lazy...)
Fucking hell man, I was homeless too because of financial reasons (tried something and it didn't work). It's true it's a huge advantage on most people in that situation if you've just got your head screwed on right and your eye on the prize.
We were lucky.
But even then, the label starts to stick to you after a while. Having made the same excuse of just "having come from the gym" because you carry all your shit to interviews in a duffel bag, starts to ring hollow. You start getting looks or thinking you're getting looks when you realize people know (how could they know? You work so hard to cover it up). You just start to feel homeless.
Not everyone can shake that off so easily. And yeah, maybe they've got other shit going on that act as comorbidities to homelessness. It's actually more likely than not, otherwise they wouldn't be homeless.
I can tell by the way you speak that in your current frame of mind you probably don't have the mental space to stop and consider what this is like. So I just hope you meet someone more empathetic than yourself if ever your luck turns sour again - especially if you don't have your health and all your faculties to pull your through like last time.
Blah blah blah. You people are fucking tiresome
Lol
Even the stress of worrying about money. Yeah you can take out a loan for your risky business venture when you know you won't have to worry about paying it back. Yeah, you can couch surf for a while when you aren't staring down the next few decades of your life.
Right, those 62k he did earn would have been gone and him probably homeless as soon as his health issues got worse. It's a reality for a lot of Americans. Also those 62k he earned were thanks to all the education and experience he was able to get thanks to his privilege. Most people aren't fortunate enough to have his level of education and experience to help them even get to 62k. I make 25 percent less than that and still feel fortunate of where I got to since I came from absolutely nothing.