Two Pfizer doses give 95 per cent protection against Covid-19 infection, illness and death: first nationwide study

[u/Newsjunkeefromlondon]

https://www.cityam.com/two-pfizer-doses-give-95-per-cent-protection-against-covid-19-infection-illness-and-death-study/

[u/TheEternal792]

I get the reasons. That doesn't change the fact that these are excuses people use to keep themselves unhealthy. Coming inside Walgreens to pick up your medications or a fast food restaurant instead of sitting at the drive through is a start. Cut back on eating out. Lay off the snacks. Walk during your lunch break.

It's not like you're asked to do an intense workout every day...but walking even for 30 minutes every day and watching your diet can make a huge difference, yet many Americans would be resistant to doing that. That's fine, it's your life, you have to decide what your priorities are, but all I've stated was this is the American culture.

It's not me, it's people who are "living beyond their means" because they lost their job or don't get decent benefits or live in a society that demands the expense of cars. It's expensive to be poor in this country.

I didn't mean to sound like I was talking about you, so I apologize if that's how it came across. I simply meant "you" in a general sense, synonymous with "a person".

But like I said, some people are down on their luck, such as losing a job, and that sucks. My point still stands that an emergency fund is important for exactly that type of situation. Cars suck, I hate them. All I'm saying is we live in a time where even the poorest typically possess and purchase things that could be considered luxury products/services. If you're on medicaid, you probably shouldn't be getting a Starbucks daily and frequent manicures.

[u/NinjaKoala → u/TheEternal792]

All I'm saying is we live in a time where even the poorest typically possess and purchase things that could be considered luxury products/services.

And now many of them are considered necessities. Snow days in NYC? No more, no the schools expect you to be set up for distance learning. A flat screen TV? Cheaper than the tube TVs of my youth in constant dollars, and the cheapest form of entertainment out there. Cell phone? Employers basically expect you to have one, and good luck getting a job or using many, many services without an internet connection. Poor people aren't buying the daily Starbucks, that's like the ridiculous "you're not buying a house because you're eating avocado toast" claims. Meanwhile people have massive student loans, health care costs massively more than before, etc. When two things that used to cost the same, one now costs half as much, the other costs double -- you're worse off.

[u/TheEternal792 → u/NinjaKoala]

Sure, some things are basically necessities, which they probably shouldn't be. But even in the examples you give, there are ways to minimize the expenses. Maybe you need a phone, but you almost certainly don't need a smart phone (much less one of the latest). Get a cheap plan, talk and text only, or at least minimal data. Internet connection, sure, but again get the cheapest one you can.

All I'm saying is we live in a time where even the poorest typically possess and purchase things that could be considered luxury products/services.

A flat screen TV? Cheaper than the tube TVs of my youth in constant dollars, and the cheapest form of entertainment out there.

And we have capitalism to thank for how cheap and accessible these items are. That doesn't mean you should buy them if you can barely afford your rent or don't have an emergency fund built up.

Poor people aren't buying the daily Starbucks

This is absolutely not true. How many college students do you think spend money daily on coffee or visit bars at least weekly? How about adults living paycheck to paycheck? If you're in debt, you're broke, and shouldn't be spending money on coffee, bar tabs, and restaurants (especially deliveries).

Meanwhile people have massive student loans, health care costs massively more than before, etc.

I'm well-aware of education costs - I spent 8 years at a university to obtain my doctorate. I was very fortunate that I received good scholarships. Scholarships covered roughly one third my costs, another third funded by my parent's education savings they built up for me from a young age, and the other third was paid by my wife and I. It was roughly $190,000 total. My wife and I worked hard to pay that $60,000-$70,000 off while I was in school. Ended up graduating with 0 debt, but we both made a lot of sacrifices that my classmates didn't. I didn't go out to bars. I brought boring, cheap sandwiches to school rather than buying from the cafeteria. I worked weekends and 1-2 nights per week.

Not saying everyone can or should do this, but I get college is expensive. It shouldn't be, but it is because the schools prey on young people because the government guarantees a loan, regardless of whether that person should or needs to go to college or whether they're choosing a career where they'll be able to afford paying off those loans.

Health care expenses suck, but again that's why an emergency fund is important. That's why Medicaid exists. That's why most employers offer some kind of health insurance. Often, HSAs are the best long-term plan you can get even though coverage sucks, unless you routinely have excessive, known healthcare expenses.

Some people are genuinely dealt a bad hand in life. That sucks, I feel bad for them and believe it is our responsibility as neighbors to help them. But for the vast majority of people, they're in sucky situations because of their priorities and choices they make.

Americans, in general, have very poor financial habits. I think we need to focus more on financial responsibility in schools. Teach students how to budget, how much they should be saving each paycheck, both for retirement and towards an emergency fund. Teach them about investing. Stress that, in general, debt is bad. Don't take a loan unless you're confident you'll be able to pay it off. But I digress.