Just out of casual curiosity, who were you addressing? 
Logically, you are dumb, because you made a claim that morons generalize, then you made a brush statement blanket statement about smart and dumb.
So statement 1 is incorrect.
Statement 2 is incorrect. I have empirical evidence of people laughing at my jokes. However, Gamer is still funny, only people are laughing at him not with him.
Statement 3.
You wont show up to debate for 3 months? That’s Divine Providence right there.
Ok I’ll show up a bit earlier but only because I’m human and not a Vulcan.
Mainly I don’t have the need like you do at this point to be enjoyed for humor. When I had that need, I filled that need, and I did it with artfulness that your anemic brayings couldn’t countenance even at their best.
As for smart, you’re an idiot. It’s a priori true because I’m saying it. I just know. I’m sorry I know it’s hard to hear. You’re a dummy. It’s sad. But hey here’s this: you have ILP so you can kind of stick around and stroke your dick for your little posse until you outgrow it.
Finally, I know people who overspend and who are happy and people who don’t over spend and who are miserable. So meaningless statements like living below your means is a prerequisite for happiness is just wrong. I like to argue the points that need to be argued, they are the ones that find the most resistance. You’re an asshole and you reduce the question of spending psychology to masculinity. Go fuck yourself moron. That’s basically all that’s left to say to a big hammer swinging fucktard with such a big Dick. Fuck off idiot.
“So meaningless statements like living below your means is a prerequisite for happiness is just wrong.”
No shit it is wrong. Your such a moron that it feels it has to be said. Thanks for clarifying 2+2=4 for us.
Your philosophy is amazing. Tell me a joke.
Oh, that’s right, you already have. It’s you.
It was in fact obvious which is why it’s so sad you’re not getting it. Sanjay said the article is absolutely right. I explained in so many ways why it’s flawed. I’m not sure what you think you heard me say but your responses were pathetic, like the micropenis of all responses, made worse that the micropenis is acting like it’s not a micropenis, it’s strutting it’s fucktardinous micropenisity as if it’s a good thing.
Palaver like “tell me a joke. Oh you did, it’s you” is precisely why you didn’t have very many kids calling you for a play date on Presidents’ Day, or records day, or any day for that matter. Jokes like that are why they ditched you at the park. I would never do that to you. But I see the problem through the pixels b/c I’m cursed with the gift of knowing too much about the person from the messaging they emit.
My advice is this: you are not a genius. You only want to be one. You can fool most people but not me. Just listen and if you want to be smart, learn to figure out what people mean, learn to make that your priority.
The manimal speaks.
His first course of action is to tell me noone loves me (the manimal’s prime weapon of assault.)
Second course of action is to insult my intelligence but without providing evidence.
Third course of action is to post ironic statements about looking like an ass, when the bigger ass is plain to see.
Note, geniuses don’t devote threads to such stupid things. Sanjay said a retarded article posted by a retarded person is not flawed…good for him, but guess what…
Your claim is that hedonistic impulse purchases make people happy.
Amazing, absolute genius, but…
Next word of wisdom, tell me about how much you need to fit in, because it makes you so wet. And you can’t help but spend every last penny to match your peers, this is profound.
Everyone knows geniuses are people who fit into society.
In fact, thinking about how wet you are, it’s turning my supposed “micropenis” from soggy greenbeans to standing ovation.
Ouch. You got me. Death by spongebob. This place has gotten brutal.
I think what you probably do is when you’re in a lazy mood it’s easier to make little jokes than actually discuss. Maybe you should write for John Oliver or Bill Maher. But my thesis – which you keep saying is so simple as to not warrant discussion – is that complex problems are often made worse when people try to offer simple solutions.
Obesity? Eat fewer calories!
Poor? Live below your means!
It would be so nice if we could reduce it like that, so easy to let ourselves off the hook. It’s easy to blame others when you turn their mistakes into something so simple. And it is simple, live below your means.
But simple does not equal easy. “Build a wall” is also simple. For things like being broke, I prefer articles that look at the whole problem and don’t try the dumb it down for convenience. I shared that article because it was actually a good article. I liked the writer and he seems smart. I agreed with most of it. It’s when something subtle bugs me, that I feel like commenting on it. Did you even read it?
Jokes are fun if they further an argument or demonstrate keen awareness. But if they are at the expense of deep thought, they become pollution. Joke if you will, but know that it means you have to be a lot more careful about what you say, if you are to loved rather than merely tolerated.
It just depends on the problems and considering all factors of why that problem is. That’s the complicated part.
The problems themselves are simple, but the why’s, how’s, what’s, etc are what are not so simple.
But if one doesn’t, he’ll just stay where he is, waiting for the right circumstances “to fall on his lap”, like Joker. You seem to be advocating for compassion.
How can compassion change one’s current situation?
Gamer, great OP as usual. I don’t have much to add but that I agree with nearly everything you’ve said in this thread, including your evaluations of other particular posters.
I am dirt poor, and I live below my means. The article was tailored for middle class yuppies, and you seem immature for discussing it and raising it to the level of a serious thing.
I would be me reading some article written by a diva from a popup ad about a celebrity’s habits, and complaining about them saying an opinion that wasn’t 100% accurate.
I used to think you were a man of taste.
I agree it was a fairly clickbaity article, nothing that warrants scholarly discussion and exegesis.
But the statement at the end got under my skin, because I hear it everywhere. It boils down to telling the poor people that it’s important to live below their means, as if this tidbit of info is helpful to them. It’s not.
And this is not about replacing action with compassion. This about not saying counterproductive things that are insulting and not working. The problem of overspending goes beyond the individual. Their are social pressures, and situations that make people desperate. Too many to name. But we have become a culture of debt for a reason, just like we are a culture that is 30% obese. And no we shouldn’t say to the 30%, duh, just burn more than you eat, dummy! Yes it’s true, but it’s not that simple, and this is obvious of course, but you’ve made me spell it out.
I’ve been broke and I’ve lived beyond me means. And I remember when people said I should live below my means how fucking pissed off that got me. Because they think they know me and my situation and they are judging something that is more complex than mere will power or impulse buying.
Do you have the ability to imagine why someone would spend more than they have, for reasons that aren’t merely weak or hedonistic? Because the reasons are out there pal.
No I’m not saying compassion is all we need. But I am saying that we definitely do need compassion, as a starting point. Beyond that, well it’s going to take a fuck of a lot more than some masculine judgemental prick, most likely a republican, saying “toughen up and be logical!”
“I am dirt poor, and I live below my means”
So? What does that prove? You are not everyone, narcissist, you are you. You have demonstrated that given that you are you, you have been able
To live below your means. Bravo. Maybe if the world hurled pussy at you like it did at me, you would have a bunch of mouths to feed, and max out that card buddy, to pay for braces or whatever. Live a little before you lay down the micropipe, hoss.
Eh, I don’t settle for less than i’m worth so fuck that. I don’t think people should either, so fuck them. They only say to be grateful for this, that and all the crap is because society needs cogs for their machine to function.
It’s a load of degrading shit. I’ll be thankful, but I am not settling for the bottom.
Not my fault if you don’t use condoms. Braces, car for a distant job, phones, ect, are all the bare essentials, so if you can’t afford those it’s not a case of leaving below your means, its a case of you just being broke. Living below your means means you CAN afford all the bare essentials, but you choose to expend extraneous sums extra.
I really cant stand the attitude of people who do, I had a friend like this who was on the dole, yet he would spend every last dime on shit he didn’t need rather than investing it in anything. There is no reasoning with them.
Your friend sounds like an idiot.
What I’m saying is sometimes certain experiences demand that you max out your credit card or pay your entire paycheck. Experiences like having a family, or having a car, or having whatever. It’s not as simple as saying “you can’t afford it, don’t do it.” The needs of the moment must be balanced with the needs of the future. Society does drill into us certain things we have to do to be a person. That’s horrible, and a whole other topic. But it’s true and so we have to take that reality into consideration when we judge and analyze behaviors. And peers also judge us on what we do or have. What makes it complex is that this is all measured on a subjective scale. One persons luxury is another’s necessity and sadly this is entirely subjective and impossible to judge. We are not merely bodies, we are emotions, and emotions are subjective and can kill a person as quickly as a disease or starvation. A person can weigh two options: get married and have kids and be maxed out, or stay alone and have some savings and stability. But if the “alone” makes life not worth living TO THEM, then the logical choice is to go ahead and have your family and max out.
What’s irritating is when people are unconscious of the choices they make and blame others. But categorizing “everyone who lives above their means” as behaving irrationally is itself irrational.
There’s a Dionysian impulse to just do shit today, come what may; and an Appolonian tendency to impose rules and sober minded prudence. We are a balance of both.
I think of ender sacrificing every ship to reach the hive queen and destroy her. He figured if we can’t have the prize that makes the battle meaningful, what difference does it make whether we have troops, either way we’re fucked. So he sacrificed his troops and made it work in the end. I think raising a family is a little like that FOR SOME. But having a value system is not always a choice, we have to live with what our hearts demand, we are slaves to what makes us want to live in this world, and there are always risks and sacrifices. Sometimes the rational choice and lesser of two evils is to live beyond your means. And yes the fact that people do it makes things worse for all of us. It’s frustrating. But we have to replace that with empathy and understanding.
People who don’t understand that many who overspend are doing it for rational reasons directed by their own subjective cost/benefit grid; those who don’t and can’t see why that’s rational, can’t be reasoned with. And yes this all seems obvious, but that’s because I’m a facile writer. If it seems obvious it means it was expressed so clearly that to think any other way seems unlikely. And yet I encounter people constantly who don’t follow this basic basic concept which is why I’m writing. Maybe you’re not the audience for it, but I bet someone you know sure as fuck is.
I’m not sure if the OP is still being discussed, but last night, I decided to go out to dinner, more or less at the last moment. $74 with tip.
I don’t think I will live a happier life because of it. I just felt like doing it.
As it happens, I can put my hands on 2 grand. But that’s mostly because I am married. When I was single, that wasn’t usually the case.