Problem is that over the course of a few years, one can accumulate things like TV's car, etc, relatives, "No Credit" places that charge $15 a month for 25 years. Someone having stuff doesn't mean that's what they are spending all their money on. Hell I've got a really nice home theater, but only paid a fraction of what it would all cost new, except my TV.
$15/month on a tv is $15 that hasnt been properly prioritized.
i dont fucking care how much its costing per month. its not a necessity and its not something tax dollars should be paying for.
wanna say it was given to you as a gift? well, then maybe you should be telling your friends and family that you need a job, or some money to help you out before they give you a tv.
its called prioritizing.
poverty as defined by our government:
lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; having insufficient income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health.
a tv is not a basic need. neither is a cell phone, or nice rims.
me and my wife are lucky if we pull in over 18k a year together. and thats right above poverty by the new standards.
do i have a nice big tv? nope. i have a 26inch old school tube tv that was given to me by a friend. hell, i dont even have cable.
we have nice things, but we also live well within our means. we could have a bigger place, but that would mean moving to a shittier part of town, and we both enjoy being in the best part of middle tennessee, so we make do with what we can comfortably afford here.
i could probably get government assistance if i really want to, but i wont. i refuse to do that. we both have a little bit of money saved in the bank and we can afford to do things that we want.
but, we make a lot of sacrifices in between.
and we're both perfectly happy with this. the only complaint i have is about our place, and i only hate it between the hours of 9:30pm and 1am when i have to be quiet.