为什么大多数穷人仍然贫穷（一）
正文翻译
Why do most poor people remain poor?
为什么大多数穷人仍然贫穷?
Why do most poor people remain poor?
为什么大多数穷人仍然贫穷?
评论翻译
Luko Gjenero
How can I find freelance development jobs?
For context, I’ve been a developer for 16 years — 9 of those as a freelancer working on-and-off through Toptal. But before joining Toptal’s talent network, freelancing never seemed like a viable career option. Working in a highly corporate environment, in a set location with set hours, I used to long for the freedom to work whenever and wherever I wanted. But I was constantly concerned about risking my professional development and long-term stability. The freelancing websites I was familiar with offered mostly small or short-term projects that didn’t pay well. Then I found Toptal. It had a completely different approach to freelancing.
Toptal makes it their #1 priority to ensure quality across both the developers accepted into the community and the projects offered to us. Toptal matches me with projects that continuously challenge me and help improve and sharpen my skills as a developer. I have the opportunity to work with exceptional clients on high-quality projects that are at the forefront of technology — all while enjoying the freedom to pursue my passions and travel the world. Joining Toptal wasn’t just a transition in the way I worked, it was a lifestyle turning point.
If I were you, I would check out Toptal — they’re always looking for good people.
我怎样才能找到自由发展的工作？
就背景而言，我已经做了16年的开发人员，其中9年是通过Toptal(全球精英自由职业者平台)断断续续接单的自由职业者。但在加入Toptal的人才网络之前，自由职业似乎从来都不是一个可行的职业选择。在一个高度企业化的环境中，在固定时间到固定地点工作，我过去常常渴望随时随地工作的自由。但我一直担心冒着职业发展和长期稳定的风险。我所熟悉的自由职业网站提供的大多是小项目或短期项目，但报酬不高。然后我找到了Toptal。它提供一种完全不同的自由职业方式。
Toptal将确保被网站接受的开发人员和提供给我们的项目的质量作为首要任务。Toptal为我提供了不断挑战我的项目，帮助我提高和磨练开发人员的技能。我有机会与杰出的客户合作，开展高质量的项目，这些项目处于技术的前沿，同时享受追求我的激情和周游世界的自由。加入Toptal不仅仅让我工作方式得到转变，也是生活方式的转折点。
如果我是你，我会去上Toptal看看——他们总是在找优秀的人。
How can I find freelance development jobs?
For context, I’ve been a developer for 16 years — 9 of those as a freelancer working on-and-off through Toptal. But before joining Toptal’s talent network, freelancing never seemed like a viable career option. Working in a highly corporate environment, in a set location with set hours, I used to long for the freedom to work whenever and wherever I wanted. But I was constantly concerned about risking my professional development and long-term stability. The freelancing websites I was familiar with offered mostly small or short-term projects that didn’t pay well. Then I found Toptal. It had a completely different approach to freelancing.
Toptal makes it their #1 priority to ensure quality across both the developers accepted into the community and the projects offered to us. Toptal matches me with projects that continuously challenge me and help improve and sharpen my skills as a developer. I have the opportunity to work with exceptional clients on high-quality projects that are at the forefront of technology — all while enjoying the freedom to pursue my passions and travel the world. Joining Toptal wasn’t just a transition in the way I worked, it was a lifestyle turning point.
If I were you, I would check out Toptal — they’re always looking for good people.
我怎样才能找到自由发展的工作？
就背景而言，我已经做了16年的开发人员，其中9年是通过Toptal(全球精英自由职业者平台)断断续续接单的自由职业者。但在加入Toptal的人才网络之前，自由职业似乎从来都不是一个可行的职业选择。在一个高度企业化的环境中，在固定时间到固定地点工作，我过去常常渴望随时随地工作的自由。但我一直担心冒着职业发展和长期稳定的风险。我所熟悉的自由职业网站提供的大多是小项目或短期项目，但报酬不高。然后我找到了Toptal。它提供一种完全不同的自由职业方式。
Toptal将确保被网站接受的开发人员和提供给我们的项目的质量作为首要任务。Toptal为我提供了不断挑战我的项目，帮助我提高和磨练开发人员的技能。我有机会与杰出的客户合作，开展高质量的项目，这些项目处于技术的前沿，同时享受追求我的激情和周游世界的自由。加入Toptal不仅仅让我工作方式得到转变，也是生活方式的转折点。
如果我是你，我会去上Toptal看看——他们总是在找优秀的人。
Zelda Rudd
As a former sex worker, I was making pretty good money. My hourly rate was about ￡250 on weekdays and ￡350 on weekends. There were months I was netting well in excess of ￡10,000. The first 3–4 months was the strongest because it was all very exciting and I was eager to attend to as many calls as possible.
But you know what? Six months into the job, despite earning over ￡50,000, I woke up one Sunday morning and I realized I don’t have any money except for some ￡1,500 in a savings account, which I couldn’t access until Monday. So, on that Sunday morning, I barely had enough change to buy a pack of cigarettes and a can of Red Bull. How did this happen?
Lavish lifestyle! I remember one day buying a Jimmy Choo bag for ￡1,200 in the early afternoon. Shortly after buying the bag, I received a call to meet with a client in the area. I got ￡500 from the client for spending two hours with him and, immediately after that, I returned to the same Jimmy Choo store and bought matching shoes for ￡400-￡450. And that was just one example. Countless trips across Europe + one to Los Angeles + shopping sprees like the one I just told you about resulted in squandering a down payment for a decent apartment in central London.
That Sunday Morning, when I woke up as poor as ever, despite making so much money in the previous months, was an eye opening event for me. I became much more sensible with my spending since then. In the next 12–15 months, I was earning less on a monthly basis, but I was saving most of it.
Most people will remain poor not because they were born poor or because they don’t earn well. They’ll remain poor because they spend everything.
Contrary to the popular belief, bad choices rather than bad luck is the reason people fail at things.
作为一名前性工作者，我赚了不少钱。我的小时费率约为工作日250英镑，周末350英镑。有几个月我的净额结算超过了10000英镑。最初的3-4个月是最有冲劲的，因为这一切都非常激动人心，我渴望尽可能多地接听电话。
但你知道吗？工作六个月了，尽管收入超过50000英镑，当我在一个周日早上醒来时，我意识到我身无分文，只剩账目上的1500英镑，而且要到周一才能取钱。所以，在那个星期天早上，我几乎没有足够的零钱去买一包香烟和一罐红牛，这是怎么发生的？
奢侈的生活方式引起的！我记得有一天下午早些时候买了一个Jimmy Choo的品牌包，花了1200英镑。在买了这个包后不久，我接到了一个电话，想与该地区的一位客户会面。因为和他共度两个小时，我收到了客户500英镑，之后我立即回到同一家Jimmy Choo商店，花400到450英镑买了一双相配的鞋，这只是一个例子。无数次的欧洲之旅和一次洛杉矶之旅，还有像我刚刚告诉你的那样的疯狂购物，导致挥霍了伦敦市中心一套像样的公寓的首付款。
那个星期天早上，尽管前几个月赚了这么多钱，但我醒来时仍然像以前一样穷，真令我大开眼界。从那时起，我对自己的开支变得更加理智了。在接下来的12-15个月里，我的月收入减少了，但大部分都被存起来了。
大多数人仍然贫穷，不是因为他们天生贫穷，也不是因为他们收入不高。他们一直贫穷，是因为他们花光了一切。
与流行的观点相反，人们失败是因为糟糕的选择导致，而不是坏运气所引起。
As a former sex worker, I was making pretty good money. My hourly rate was about ￡250 on weekdays and ￡350 on weekends. There were months I was netting well in excess of ￡10,000. The first 3–4 months was the strongest because it was all very exciting and I was eager to attend to as many calls as possible.
But you know what? Six months into the job, despite earning over ￡50,000, I woke up one Sunday morning and I realized I don’t have any money except for some ￡1,500 in a savings account, which I couldn’t access until Monday. So, on that Sunday morning, I barely had enough change to buy a pack of cigarettes and a can of Red Bull. How did this happen?
Lavish lifestyle! I remember one day buying a Jimmy Choo bag for ￡1,200 in the early afternoon. Shortly after buying the bag, I received a call to meet with a client in the area. I got ￡500 from the client for spending two hours with him and, immediately after that, I returned to the same Jimmy Choo store and bought matching shoes for ￡400-￡450. And that was just one example. Countless trips across Europe + one to Los Angeles + shopping sprees like the one I just told you about resulted in squandering a down payment for a decent apartment in central London.
That Sunday Morning, when I woke up as poor as ever, despite making so much money in the previous months, was an eye opening event for me. I became much more sensible with my spending since then. In the next 12–15 months, I was earning less on a monthly basis, but I was saving most of it.
Most people will remain poor not because they were born poor or because they don’t earn well. They’ll remain poor because they spend everything.
Contrary to the popular belief, bad choices rather than bad luck is the reason people fail at things.
作为一名前性工作者，我赚了不少钱。我的小时费率约为工作日250英镑，周末350英镑。有几个月我的净额结算超过了10000英镑。最初的3-4个月是最有冲劲的，因为这一切都非常激动人心，我渴望尽可能多地接听电话。
但你知道吗？工作六个月了，尽管收入超过50000英镑，当我在一个周日早上醒来时，我意识到我身无分文，只剩账目上的1500英镑，而且要到周一才能取钱。所以，在那个星期天早上，我几乎没有足够的零钱去买一包香烟和一罐红牛，这是怎么发生的？
奢侈的生活方式引起的！我记得有一天下午早些时候买了一个Jimmy Choo的品牌包，花了1200英镑。在买了这个包后不久，我接到了一个电话，想与该地区的一位客户会面。因为和他共度两个小时，我收到了客户500英镑，之后我立即回到同一家Jimmy Choo商店，花400到450英镑买了一双相配的鞋，这只是一个例子。无数次的欧洲之旅和一次洛杉矶之旅，还有像我刚刚告诉你的那样的疯狂购物，导致挥霍了伦敦市中心一套像样的公寓的首付款。
那个星期天早上，尽管前几个月赚了这么多钱，但我醒来时仍然像以前一样穷，真令我大开眼界。从那时起，我对自己的开支变得更加理智了。在接下来的12-15个月里，我的月收入减少了，但大部分都被存起来了。
大多数人仍然贫穷，不是因为他们天生贫穷，也不是因为他们收入不高。他们一直贫穷，是因为他们花光了一切。
与流行的观点相反，人们失败是因为糟糕的选择导致，而不是坏运气所引起。
Anubhav Jain
After doing hard labour for twelve hours a day, would you have any strength to plan a way to overturn your life?
After spending every coin out of the salary and still falling short of critical needs, will you have the vision to invest money?
Poverty creates a vicious circle, all life you run round and round on the circle and still end up at the starting point. (Or even worse)
To quit this circle, either you need luck or a blessed mind, or you need to risk your family's food of two times a day to grow.
Not everyone can break this ceiling and go up.
Next time you want to criticise someone for staying poor, thank God that you aren't stuck like them, and let them struggle peacefully unless you have an opportunity for them.
在一天辛勤劳动十二个小时之后，你有没有力气计划一种方法来颠覆你的生活？
在花光了工资的每一分钱，但仍然无法满足关键需求之后，你会有投资的远见吗？
贫穷造成了一个恶性循环，你的一生都在这个循环中周而复始，最终仍会以起点告终。（甚至更糟）
要退出这个圈子，你要么需要运气，要么需要受到祝福的思维，要么你需要冒着家人一天只能吃两餐的风险来成长。
并不是每个人都能打破这个天花板，爬上去。
下次当你想批评某人一直很穷的时候，感谢上帝你没有像他们一样被困住吧，让他们和平地挣扎就好，除非你有机会给他们。
After doing hard labour for twelve hours a day, would you have any strength to plan a way to overturn your life?
After spending every coin out of the salary and still falling short of critical needs, will you have the vision to invest money?
Poverty creates a vicious circle, all life you run round and round on the circle and still end up at the starting point. (Or even worse)
To quit this circle, either you need luck or a blessed mind, or you need to risk your family's food of two times a day to grow.
Not everyone can break this ceiling and go up.
Next time you want to criticise someone for staying poor, thank God that you aren't stuck like them, and let them struggle peacefully unless you have an opportunity for them.
在一天辛勤劳动十二个小时之后，你有没有力气计划一种方法来颠覆你的生活？
在花光了工资的每一分钱，但仍然无法满足关键需求之后，你会有投资的远见吗？
贫穷造成了一个恶性循环，你的一生都在这个循环中周而复始，最终仍会以起点告终。（甚至更糟）
要退出这个圈子，你要么需要运气，要么需要受到祝福的思维，要么你需要冒着家人一天只能吃两餐的风险来成长。
并不是每个人都能打破这个天花板，爬上去。
下次当你想批评某人一直很穷的时候，感谢上帝你没有像他们一样被困住吧，让他们和平地挣扎就好，除非你有机会给他们。
Rafael Eliassen
They don’t act their income. People say money doesn’t buy happiness yet they spend to feel good. Broke people have cars and the latest iPhones. Because of this need to appear rich, they remain broke.
They don't increase their income. The only reason poor people don’t get paid more because the value they provide is limited. Anybody can flip burgers but not everybody can think like a CEO. They don’t focus on improving their skills and value.
They have a victim mindset. When I write about money, I get many hate comments. Most of them say “You live in Norway” “You had it better”. But with this digital age, your country is not an excuse. The difference between poor and rich people is the later doesn’t make excuses.
They fixate on one solution. People think their promotion or a new business idea will make them rich. Not true. You also need to save and invest. Most people are trying to solve the money puzzle with one piece alone.
They have broke friends. When your friends always want you to spend money, it's hard to resist. Because Nobody wants to be called “cheap”. But this peer-pressure makes people waste their hard-earned money. They don’t understand that these friends won’t pay their future bills.
They don’t spend on improving. People hesitate when it comes to buying books, courses and coaches. But it’s the worst way to save. Good mentors can help you skip failures and earn more. I have spent thousands on coaches. That’s why I run a six-figure business at age 25.
他们不按收入行事。人们说金钱买不到幸福，但他们花钱却让自己感觉良好。破产的人有汽车和最新的iPhone。由于需要显得富有，导致他们一直处于破产状态。
他们无法增加收入。穷人得不到更多报酬的唯一原因是他们提供的价值有限。任何人都可以做汉堡，但不是每个人都可以像CEO那样思考。他们不注重提高自己的技能和价值。
他们有受害者的心态。当我写关于钱的文章时，我会收到很多讨厌的评论。大多数人说“你住在挪威”“你过得更好”。但在这个数字化时代，你的国家不是你的借口。穷人和富人的区别在于后者不会找借口。
他们只专注于解决方案。人们认为他们的晋升或一个新的商业想法会使他们致富。其实不是这样的。你还需要储蓄和投资，大多数人都试图用一块钱来解决金钱难题。
当你的朋友总是想让你花钱时，很难抗拒，他们断交了朋友。因为没有人想被称为“吝啬的”。但这种同龄人的压力使人们浪费了他们辛苦赚来的钱。他们不明白这些朋友是不会支付他们未来的账单的。
他们不会把钱花在可以让其改进的方面。人们在购买书籍、课程和教练时犹豫不决。但这是最糟糕的储蓄方式。好的导师可以帮助你跳过失败，获得更多。我花了数千美元买教练。这就是我25岁时经营企业获得6位数收入的原因。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
They don’t act their income. People say money doesn’t buy happiness yet they spend to feel good. Broke people have cars and the latest iPhones. Because of this need to appear rich, they remain broke.
They don't increase their income. The only reason poor people don’t get paid more because the value they provide is limited. Anybody can flip burgers but not everybody can think like a CEO. They don’t focus on improving their skills and value.
They have a victim mindset. When I write about money, I get many hate comments. Most of them say “You live in Norway” “You had it better”. But with this digital age, your country is not an excuse. The difference between poor and rich people is the later doesn’t make excuses.
They fixate on one solution. People think their promotion or a new business idea will make them rich. Not true. You also need to save and invest. Most people are trying to solve the money puzzle with one piece alone.
They have broke friends. When your friends always want you to spend money, it's hard to resist. Because Nobody wants to be called “cheap”. But this peer-pressure makes people waste their hard-earned money. They don’t understand that these friends won’t pay their future bills.
They don’t spend on improving. People hesitate when it comes to buying books, courses and coaches. But it’s the worst way to save. Good mentors can help you skip failures and earn more. I have spent thousands on coaches. That’s why I run a six-figure business at age 25.
他们不按收入行事。人们说金钱买不到幸福，但他们花钱却让自己感觉良好。破产的人有汽车和最新的iPhone。由于需要显得富有，导致他们一直处于破产状态。
他们无法增加收入。穷人得不到更多报酬的唯一原因是他们提供的价值有限。任何人都可以做汉堡，但不是每个人都可以像CEO那样思考。他们不注重提高自己的技能和价值。
他们有受害者的心态。当我写关于钱的文章时，我会收到很多讨厌的评论。大多数人说“你住在挪威”“你过得更好”。但在这个数字化时代，你的国家不是你的借口。穷人和富人的区别在于后者不会找借口。
他们只专注于解决方案。人们认为他们的晋升或一个新的商业想法会使他们致富。其实不是这样的。你还需要储蓄和投资，大多数人都试图用一块钱来解决金钱难题。
当你的朋友总是想让你花钱时，很难抗拒，他们断交了朋友。因为没有人想被称为“吝啬的”。但这种同龄人的压力使人们浪费了他们辛苦赚来的钱。他们不明白这些朋友是不会支付他们未来的账单的。
他们不会把钱花在可以让其改进的方面。人们在购买书籍、课程和教练时犹豫不决。但这是最糟糕的储蓄方式。好的导师可以帮助你跳过失败，获得更多。我花了数千美元买教练。这就是我25岁时经营企业获得6位数收入的原因。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Michael Masiello
First of all, it is incredibly expensive to be poor. If you’re poor, everything costs more. If your insurance is shitty or nonexistent, medical bills cost more. If your expenses total more than your income per month — and money is obxtive this way — you always wind up in the hole. You need to work, you need more jobs: in most places this means you need a car.
But suppose your car breaks. If you buy a used beater of a car, the kind a poor person is still unlikely to be able to afford without tremendous financial upheaval, the maintenance costs and sudden breakdowns will create bills that the poor person cannot pay, especially because there are no warranties in place. If you need to lease something, either (a) you need a cosigner, or (b) you will pay two or three times per month what a wealthier person with better credit will pay. Suppose something else breaks. You’re on a budget. You can only budget so much when your expenses exceed your income, or when you just break even.
Not if, but when, something extra goes wrong, and you have no choice but to fix it — your heater stops working, say, in the dead of winter — then it’s time to play a fun game: Which Bill Can I Pay? finally, a lightning round of How Bad’s My Credit Score Now?
首先，贫穷的代价令人难以置信。如果你贫穷，一切都要花更多的钱。如果你的保险是劣等的或根本没买保险，医疗费用会更高。如果你每个月的支出总额超过收入，这样一来，金钱就是客观的——你总是会陷入困境。你需要工作，你需要去大多数地方以得到更多的工作，这意味着你需要一辆车。
但是假设你的车坏了。如果你买了一辆二手车，如果收入没有惊人的激增，穷人仍然不太可能负担得起，维修费用和突然的故障将产生穷人无法支付的账单，特别是因为没有保修的情况。如果你需要租赁某物，要么（a）你需要一个担保人，要么（b）你将每月支付两到三倍于信用较好的富人支付的金额。假设有什么东西坏了，你要制定开支计划。只有当你的支出超过你的收入，或者当你刚好收支平衡时，你才能做这么多预算。
不是如果，而是当某个额外的东西出了问题，而你别无选择只能去修理它——比如，你的加热器在隆冬停止工作——那么是时候玩一个有趣的游戏了：我可以付哪个账单？最后，我的信用评分现在有多差？
First of all, it is incredibly expensive to be poor. If you’re poor, everything costs more. If your insurance is shitty or nonexistent, medical bills cost more. If your expenses total more than your income per month — and money is obxtive this way — you always wind up in the hole. You need to work, you need more jobs: in most places this means you need a car.
But suppose your car breaks. If you buy a used beater of a car, the kind a poor person is still unlikely to be able to afford without tremendous financial upheaval, the maintenance costs and sudden breakdowns will create bills that the poor person cannot pay, especially because there are no warranties in place. If you need to lease something, either (a) you need a cosigner, or (b) you will pay two or three times per month what a wealthier person with better credit will pay. Suppose something else breaks. You’re on a budget. You can only budget so much when your expenses exceed your income, or when you just break even.
Not if, but when, something extra goes wrong, and you have no choice but to fix it — your heater stops working, say, in the dead of winter — then it’s time to play a fun game: Which Bill Can I Pay? finally, a lightning round of How Bad’s My Credit Score Now?
首先，贫穷的代价令人难以置信。如果你贫穷，一切都要花更多的钱。如果你的保险是劣等的或根本没买保险，医疗费用会更高。如果你每个月的支出总额超过收入，这样一来，金钱就是客观的——你总是会陷入困境。你需要工作，你需要去大多数地方以得到更多的工作，这意味着你需要一辆车。
但是假设你的车坏了。如果你买了一辆二手车，如果收入没有惊人的激增，穷人仍然不太可能负担得起，维修费用和突然的故障将产生穷人无法支付的账单，特别是因为没有保修的情况。如果你需要租赁某物，要么（a）你需要一个担保人，要么（b）你将每月支付两到三倍于信用较好的富人支付的金额。假设有什么东西坏了，你要制定开支计划。只有当你的支出超过你的收入，或者当你刚好收支平衡时，你才能做这么多预算。
不是如果，而是当某个额外的东西出了问题，而你别无选择只能去修理它——比如，你的加热器在隆冬停止工作——那么是时候玩一个有趣的游戏了：我可以付哪个账单？最后，我的信用评分现在有多差？
And if you have children, you know children are a money pit, and that their exigent needs are unpredictable and sometimes shockingly expensive. Why did you have a child if you were poor? Not all of us did this on purpose; not all of us had a choice in the matter; not all of us were always poor; but if they exist, they count on us to feed them, clothe them, house them, make time to be with them, to love and care for them, to give them a childhood and joy and freedom from too many adult worries. This is a difficult security blanket to provide when you’re freezing your ass off yourself.
But the short answer to this question is that poverty begets poverty in countless insidious little ways, only a bare few of which I have highlighted above. Some of you know that I was driven by medical expenses and sudden unemployment and a run of bad luck, and then by the inadequacy of the pay I make, as a single father and an adjunct professor pushing my way back into teaching, to post this. The Quora community, fortunately, is overflowing with kind people.
But I am not the only person who has been put in such a position, and this answer is not about me except insofar as I am a member of the working poor.
Suppose that instead of a single dad whose various jobs don’t add up to the costs of survival in a state where everything, even the polluted air one breathes, is expensive, you are a single mother in Kansas, and that you receive enough child support (barely) to take care of your son of whom you have custody 6–7 days of the week every week because your ex is remarried and tends to ignore his first kid — but who also ties your hands so you can’t leave your immediate environs, however desolate the prospects for gainful employment might be. Now suppose, on top of that, you had eye surgery when you were younger to improve fading eyesight, and instead you were damn near blinded, and can no longer work in the profession for which you were trained, and at which you were very good. No one expects to walk into a doctor’s office one day and come out near-blind the next. But there it is. Now you can’t do your old job anymore.
如果你有孩子，你就会知道孩子是个金钱坑，他们的迫切需求是不可预测的，有时甚至是惊人的高昂。如果你很穷，为什么要生孩子？并非所有人都是故意要孩子的；在这件事上，并非所有人都有选择权；并非我们所有人都一直很穷；但如果已，他们就指望我们来喂养他们，给他们衣服穿，给他们弄房子，腾出时间和他们在一起，爱他们，照顾他们，给孩子一个童年，给他们快乐，让他们摆脱太多成年人的烦恼。当你自己都冻得屁滚尿流的时候，这是一种难以提供的安全保障。
但对这个问题的简短回答是，贫困以无数潜伏的不起眼的方式导致贫困，我在上文中仅强调了其中的少数。你们中的一些人知道，我的动力是医疗费用、突然失业和一连串的厄运，然后是工资不足，作为一个单身父亲和一名兼职教授，我努力回到教学岗位。幸运的是，Quora社区充满了善良的人。
但我不是唯一一个被置于这种境地的人，而且这个答案与我无关，除非我是一名贫困劳动者。
假设不是一个单亲爸爸—各种工作的收入加起来都不够生存成本，在这个州，所有东西，甚至是人们呼吸的污染空气，都很昂贵，假设你是堪萨斯州的一名单身母亲，你得到的抚养费(勉强)足够你每周照儿子6-7天，因为你的前任再婚了，倾向于忽视他的第一个孩子——无论有收入的就业前景多么惨淡，但他也绑住了你的手，让你不能离开你的周围环境。再假设，最重要的是，你在年轻的时候做了眼部手术来改善日渐衰退的视力，结果你几乎失明了，不能再从事你曾经受过训练，而且非常擅长的职业。没有人会期望今天走进医生的办公室，第二天出来就几乎失明了。但事实就是这样。现在你不能再做你以前的工作了。
But the short answer to this question is that poverty begets poverty in countless insidious little ways, only a bare few of which I have highlighted above. Some of you know that I was driven by medical expenses and sudden unemployment and a run of bad luck, and then by the inadequacy of the pay I make, as a single father and an adjunct professor pushing my way back into teaching, to post this. The Quora community, fortunately, is overflowing with kind people.
But I am not the only person who has been put in such a position, and this answer is not about me except insofar as I am a member of the working poor.
Suppose that instead of a single dad whose various jobs don’t add up to the costs of survival in a state where everything, even the polluted air one breathes, is expensive, you are a single mother in Kansas, and that you receive enough child support (barely) to take care of your son of whom you have custody 6–7 days of the week every week because your ex is remarried and tends to ignore his first kid — but who also ties your hands so you can’t leave your immediate environs, however desolate the prospects for gainful employment might be. Now suppose, on top of that, you had eye surgery when you were younger to improve fading eyesight, and instead you were damn near blinded, and can no longer work in the profession for which you were trained, and at which you were very good. No one expects to walk into a doctor’s office one day and come out near-blind the next. But there it is. Now you can’t do your old job anymore.
如果你有孩子，你就会知道孩子是个金钱坑，他们的迫切需求是不可预测的，有时甚至是惊人的高昂。如果你很穷，为什么要生孩子？并非所有人都是故意要孩子的；在这件事上，并非所有人都有选择权；并非我们所有人都一直很穷；但如果已，他们就指望我们来喂养他们，给他们衣服穿，给他们弄房子，腾出时间和他们在一起，爱他们，照顾他们，给孩子一个童年，给他们快乐，让他们摆脱太多成年人的烦恼。当你自己都冻得屁滚尿流的时候，这是一种难以提供的安全保障。
但对这个问题的简短回答是，贫困以无数潜伏的不起眼的方式导致贫困，我在上文中仅强调了其中的少数。你们中的一些人知道，我的动力是医疗费用、突然失业和一连串的厄运，然后是工资不足，作为一个单身父亲和一名兼职教授，我努力回到教学岗位。幸运的是，Quora社区充满了善良的人。
但我不是唯一一个被置于这种境地的人，而且这个答案与我无关，除非我是一名贫困劳动者。
假设不是一个单亲爸爸—各种工作的收入加起来都不够生存成本，在这个州，所有东西，甚至是人们呼吸的污染空气，都很昂贵，假设你是堪萨斯州的一名单身母亲，你得到的抚养费(勉强)足够你每周照儿子6-7天，因为你的前任再婚了，倾向于忽视他的第一个孩子——无论有收入的就业前景多么惨淡，但他也绑住了你的手，让你不能离开你的周围环境。再假设，最重要的是，你在年轻的时候做了眼部手术来改善日渐衰退的视力，结果你几乎失明了，不能再从事你曾经受过训练，而且非常擅长的职业。没有人会期望今天走进医生的办公室，第二天出来就几乎失明了。但事实就是这样。现在你不能再做你以前的工作了。
Imagine that, clinging to what scant employment you can find as a single mother, you find your already damaged eyesight fading toward total blindness. And there is no way out, no hope, because the cycle of poverty rolls over you ever and always, and your only concern is keeping your food on the table, gas in the car, the car itself not falling apart, etc., etc., etc. In those circumstances you might find also find yourself in straits similar to mine, and you might have fewer followers than I am fortunate enough to have. You might have to do something like this too, eventually, when the perfect storm lined up.
The person I’ve just described is one of the most generous, kind, decent, and funny people I know, and is someone at least 3,300 of you know too.
It is a vicious cycle;
It is a condition social realities work to punish;
It leaves good, hardworking people — not just “lazy” unemployed people, who may actually make more money on unemployment than the working poor do holding down jobs — in desperate straits, and finally willing to pawn their dignity in hopes of making ends meet;
And the people who do that will often do it not for themselves, but for the well-being of their children, none of whose fault this ever is, even if their existence (for which no child has ever asked) is among the reasons poverty can prove inescapable.
For that reason, people like my friend (and me, but forget me right now, or until you’ve helped her first) need more help than the current social structure affords them.
想象一下，作为一个单身母亲，你紧抓着你所能找到的那点微薄的工作不放，你会发现你已经受损的视力逐渐走向完全失明。没有出路，没有希望，因为贫穷的循环永远在你身上滚动，你唯一关心的是保持餐桌上的食物，车里的汽油，车本身不散架，等等，等等。在这种情况下，你可能会发现自己也陷入了与我类似的困境，你的追随者可能比我还少。最终，当完美风暴来临时，你可能也不得不做一些类似的事情。
我刚才描述的这个人是我认识的最慷慨、最善良、最正派、最有趣的人之一，你们中至少有3300人也认识他。
这是一个恶性循环；
惩罚是社会现实工作的条件；
它让善良、勤奋的人——不仅仅是“懒惰”的失业者——陷入绝望的困境，他们通过失业挣的钱实际上可能比有工作的穷人还多——最终愿意牺牲自己的尊严，希望能维持生计;
这样做的人往往不是为了他们自己，而是为了他们孩子的幸福，即使他们的存在（没有孩子曾要求过）是贫困无法避免的原因之一，但这从来都不是他们的错。
因此，像我的朋友（还有我，但现在先忘了我，或者先帮她）这样的人需要的帮助比目前的社会结构提供给他们的更多。
The person I’ve just described is one of the most generous, kind, decent, and funny people I know, and is someone at least 3,300 of you know too.
It is a vicious cycle;
It is a condition social realities work to punish;
It leaves good, hardworking people — not just “lazy” unemployed people, who may actually make more money on unemployment than the working poor do holding down jobs — in desperate straits, and finally willing to pawn their dignity in hopes of making ends meet;
And the people who do that will often do it not for themselves, but for the well-being of their children, none of whose fault this ever is, even if their existence (for which no child has ever asked) is among the reasons poverty can prove inescapable.
For that reason, people like my friend (and me, but forget me right now, or until you’ve helped her first) need more help than the current social structure affords them.
想象一下，作为一个单身母亲，你紧抓着你所能找到的那点微薄的工作不放，你会发现你已经受损的视力逐渐走向完全失明。没有出路，没有希望，因为贫穷的循环永远在你身上滚动，你唯一关心的是保持餐桌上的食物，车里的汽油，车本身不散架，等等，等等。在这种情况下，你可能会发现自己也陷入了与我类似的困境，你的追随者可能比我还少。最终，当完美风暴来临时，你可能也不得不做一些类似的事情。
我刚才描述的这个人是我认识的最慷慨、最善良、最正派、最有趣的人之一，你们中至少有3300人也认识他。
这是一个恶性循环；
惩罚是社会现实工作的条件；
它让善良、勤奋的人——不仅仅是“懒惰”的失业者——陷入绝望的困境，他们通过失业挣的钱实际上可能比有工作的穷人还多——最终愿意牺牲自己的尊严，希望能维持生计;
这样做的人往往不是为了他们自己，而是为了他们孩子的幸福，即使他们的存在（没有孩子曾要求过）是贫困无法避免的原因之一，但这从来都不是他们的错。
因此，像我的朋友（还有我，但现在先忘了我，或者先帮她）这样的人需要的帮助比目前的社会结构提供给他们的更多。
Asking theoretical questions about poverty on Quora is easy enough, and it can be done to elicit honest accounts of how the poor stay poor, or with the presumption that poverty is the fault of the poor person.
That’s another thing about poor people: they have little, but they give what they can, Those who have much tend to give less, perhaps because they believe no luck was involved in where they ended up, or perhaps because they buy into myths about self-reliance and bootstrapping and rugged individualism. But I find that to bespeak one of the deepest disconnects in the current form of capitalism practiced in my country: that the greater one’s resources are, the less, oftentimes, is one’s charity. And that, I think, is to miss a central point about life in the modern world, with wealth and income inequality widening:
The better the poor are able to manage, the safer the wealthy are. To tend to the common good is a civic virtue because it protects the entire social structure. When this goes ignored too long, bad things happen. One need only look to history to see the blades dropping, again and again, across the long centuries, especially in cultures that have failed to offer things like debt amnesties and robust provisions for those in direst need.
在Quora上问关于贫穷的理论问题很容易，可以引出穷人如何一直贫穷的诚实回答，或者假设贫穷是穷人的错。
这是穷人的另一个特点：他们几乎没有钱，但他们竭尽所能地付出。那些拥有很多财富的人往往付出得更少，也许是因为他们认为自己的命运与运气无关，也可能是因为他们相信自力更生、自助和顽强的个人主义的神话。但我发现，在我国目前实行的资本主义形式中，最严重的脱节之一是：一个人的资源越多，他的慈善事业就越少。我认为，随着财富和收入不平等的加剧，这就错过了现代世界生活的一个中心点：
穷人管理得越好，富人就越安全。追求共同利益是一种公民美德，因为它保护整个社会结构。如果这一点被忽视太久，就会发生糟糕的事情。人们只需回顾历史，就可以看到刀刃在漫长的几个世纪里一次又一次地砍下，特别是在那些未能为最需要帮助的人提供债务减免和强有力的救助的文化中。
That’s another thing about poor people: they have little, but they give what they can, Those who have much tend to give less, perhaps because they believe no luck was involved in where they ended up, or perhaps because they buy into myths about self-reliance and bootstrapping and rugged individualism. But I find that to bespeak one of the deepest disconnects in the current form of capitalism practiced in my country: that the greater one’s resources are, the less, oftentimes, is one’s charity. And that, I think, is to miss a central point about life in the modern world, with wealth and income inequality widening:
The better the poor are able to manage, the safer the wealthy are. To tend to the common good is a civic virtue because it protects the entire social structure. When this goes ignored too long, bad things happen. One need only look to history to see the blades dropping, again and again, across the long centuries, especially in cultures that have failed to offer things like debt amnesties and robust provisions for those in direst need.
在Quora上问关于贫穷的理论问题很容易，可以引出穷人如何一直贫穷的诚实回答，或者假设贫穷是穷人的错。
这是穷人的另一个特点：他们几乎没有钱，但他们竭尽所能地付出。那些拥有很多财富的人往往付出得更少，也许是因为他们认为自己的命运与运气无关，也可能是因为他们相信自力更生、自助和顽强的个人主义的神话。但我发现，在我国目前实行的资本主义形式中，最严重的脱节之一是：一个人的资源越多，他的慈善事业就越少。我认为，随着财富和收入不平等的加剧，这就错过了现代世界生活的一个中心点：
穷人管理得越好，富人就越安全。追求共同利益是一种公民美德，因为它保护整个社会结构。如果这一点被忽视太久，就会发生糟糕的事情。人们只需回顾历史，就可以看到刀刃在漫长的几个世纪里一次又一次地砍下，特别是在那些未能为最需要帮助的人提供债务减免和强有力的救助的文化中。
Marion Cannon
Here’s a little story about a rich girl who came to a rich country and got poor in a hurry.
I immigrated to Canada when I was 27 years old. I married a Canadian in Germany. We had it good there. I worked as a nurse and he got overseas benefits..
Then we were forced to move. He lost any benefits and I lost my profession to bureaucracy. I had three children in short succession and wasn’t able to attend school.
In Germany my education was paid for. It was a thorough education.
Coming to Canada, I thought that would count for something. It didn’t. I raised those kids on a pittance. My husband died and I went to the food bank for almost two years. Then I got a loan and went back to school. Then I finally got a job but had to hire a full time nanny. That took 60% of my wages right there.
Poor people remain poor because nobody cares. Nobody offers them an education that’s cheap or free.
Governments oppress and pilfer and extort and intimidate. Corruption is rife.
I didn’t drive a cab mind you. I didn’t prostitute myself ( very profitable for total desperation), but I did work as a waitress, babysitter, dishwasher, seamstress and delivery girl.
My point:
Suppress people long enough and they will be trapped in that suppression. They will have no chance or choice.
这里有一个关于一个富有的女孩的小故事，她来到一个富裕的国家，很快就变穷了。
我27岁时移民加拿大。我在德国嫁给了一个加拿大人。我们在那里过得很好。我当护士，他得到了海外福利。
然后我们被迫搬家。他失去了所有福利，我也因官僚主义而失去了工作。我连续生了三个孩子，没能上学。
在德国，我的教育是有偿的。这是一次全面教育。
来到加拿大，我本觉得这很有意义，然而它没有。我辛辛苦苦把孩子们养大。我丈夫去世了，我在食品银行工作了近两年。然后我得到了一笔贷款，回到了学校。后来我终于找到了一份工作，但不得不雇一个全职保姆。花了我60%的工资。
穷人之所以贫穷，是因为没有人在乎。没有人给他们提供廉价或免费的教育。
政府压迫、盗窃、勒索和恐吓，腐败盛行。
请注意，我没有开出租车，也并没有卖淫（完全绝望的情况下非常有利可图），但我做过服务员、保姆、洗碗工、裁缝和送货员。
我的观点：
镇压人们的时间够长，他们就会被困在镇压中。他们将没有机会或无法做出选择。
Here’s a little story about a rich girl who came to a rich country and got poor in a hurry.
I immigrated to Canada when I was 27 years old. I married a Canadian in Germany. We had it good there. I worked as a nurse and he got overseas benefits..
Then we were forced to move. He lost any benefits and I lost my profession to bureaucracy. I had three children in short succession and wasn’t able to attend school.
In Germany my education was paid for. It was a thorough education.
Coming to Canada, I thought that would count for something. It didn’t. I raised those kids on a pittance. My husband died and I went to the food bank for almost two years. Then I got a loan and went back to school. Then I finally got a job but had to hire a full time nanny. That took 60% of my wages right there.
Poor people remain poor because nobody cares. Nobody offers them an education that’s cheap or free.
Governments oppress and pilfer and extort and intimidate. Corruption is rife.
I didn’t drive a cab mind you. I didn’t prostitute myself ( very profitable for total desperation), but I did work as a waitress, babysitter, dishwasher, seamstress and delivery girl.
My point:
Suppress people long enough and they will be trapped in that suppression. They will have no chance or choice.
这里有一个关于一个富有的女孩的小故事，她来到一个富裕的国家，很快就变穷了。
我27岁时移民加拿大。我在德国嫁给了一个加拿大人。我们在那里过得很好。我当护士，他得到了海外福利。
然后我们被迫搬家。他失去了所有福利，我也因官僚主义而失去了工作。我连续生了三个孩子，没能上学。
在德国，我的教育是有偿的。这是一次全面教育。
来到加拿大，我本觉得这很有意义，然而它没有。我辛辛苦苦把孩子们养大。我丈夫去世了，我在食品银行工作了近两年。然后我得到了一笔贷款，回到了学校。后来我终于找到了一份工作，但不得不雇一个全职保姆。花了我60%的工资。
穷人之所以贫穷，是因为没有人在乎。没有人给他们提供廉价或免费的教育。
政府压迫、盗窃、勒索和恐吓，腐败盛行。
请注意，我没有开出租车，也并没有卖淫（完全绝望的情况下非常有利可图），但我做过服务员、保姆、洗碗工、裁缝和送货员。
我的观点：
镇压人们的时间够长，他们就会被困在镇压中。他们将没有机会或无法做出选择。
Matthew Bates
Every story is unique, but, for many, they’re paying for, or trying to escape from, mistakes they didn’t realize they were making when they were in their teens or early 20s. Often, those are the same exact mistakes their parents made, which left their parents in poverty.
That’s why it’s called “the poverty cycle.”
Mistakes like:
Not giving a damn about school.
Doing drugs.
Having children before they were in a committed relationship with a stable income.
Having run-ins with the law.
Focusing too much on their social life/the present, and not enough on their academic life or career/the future.
Taking out student loans for non-marketable degrees.
All the while, they’re being left behind by people their age who did not make those mistakes. In a world where labor is cheap and skills and flexibility are expensive, the higher incomes favor those people who have more to offer than just their time.
In the United States, if you’re a high school graduate who doesn’t use drugs, doesn’t have a family to support, is reliable, and is willing and able to move to where the best jobs are, making it into and staying in the middle class shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
If you’re all of those things AND you have a college degree in a high-demand field, like engineering, making it into the upper-middle class shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
The problem is, of course, navigating through those young adult years without making any of those mistakes. It’s much easier to do when you have plenty of successful adult role models guiding you. The more successful adults in your life who care about your future and are in a position to help you navigate those young adult years, the less your chances of living in poverty become.
Are you a teen? Is there an adult in your house who is a college graduate with a good, stable career? Do they ask you about how school is going for you? Are they helping you navigate things like relationships, college sextion, stress, etc…? Congratulations. You’re one of the lucky ones. Stay away from drugs and don’t get pregnant/father a child before you’re done with college, and you’ll be fine.
每一个故事都是独一无二的，但对许多人来说，他们正在为自己十几岁或二十出头时没有意识到的错误买单，或试图逃避这些错误。通常，这些都是他们父母犯下的错误，导致他们的父母陷入贫困。
这就是为什么它被称为“贫困周期”
错误包括：
对学校一点也不在乎。
吸毒。
在没有稳定收入和稳定关系之前就有孩子。
触犯了法律。
过分关注他们的社会生活和当下状态，而对他们的学术生活或职业/未来不够关注。
为认可度不够的学位申请学生贷款。
一直以来，他们被没有犯过这些错误的同龄人甩在了后面。在一个劳动力廉价、技能和灵活性昂贵的世界里，更高的收入有利于那些除了时间之外还有更多贡献的人。
在美国，如果你是一名高中毕业生，不吸毒，不需要养家糊口，靠谱，愿意也有能力搬到最好的工作地点，那么进入并留在中产阶级应该不是太大的挑战。
如果你具备以上所有条件，并且拥有工程等高需求领域的大学学位，那么进入中上层阶级应该不是太大的挑战
当然，问题是如何度过这些年轻的岁月而不犯任何这些错误。当你有很多成功的成人榜样指导你时，这就容易多了。在你的生活中，越成功的成年人关心你的未来，有能力帮助你度过年轻的岁月，你生活在贫困中的机会就越小。
你是青少年吗？你家里有没有一个成年人是大学毕业生，有着良好、稳定的职业？他们问过你学校的情况吗？他们是否在帮助你处理人际关系、他们是否在帮助你选择大学、处理压力等问题？祝贺你是幸运儿之一。远离毒品，不要在大学毕业前怀孕/生孩子，你会很好的。
Every story is unique, but, for many, they’re paying for, or trying to escape from, mistakes they didn’t realize they were making when they were in their teens or early 20s. Often, those are the same exact mistakes their parents made, which left their parents in poverty.
That’s why it’s called “the poverty cycle.”
Mistakes like:
Not giving a damn about school.
Doing drugs.
Having children before they were in a committed relationship with a stable income.
Having run-ins with the law.
Focusing too much on their social life/the present, and not enough on their academic life or career/the future.
Taking out student loans for non-marketable degrees.
All the while, they’re being left behind by people their age who did not make those mistakes. In a world where labor is cheap and skills and flexibility are expensive, the higher incomes favor those people who have more to offer than just their time.
In the United States, if you’re a high school graduate who doesn’t use drugs, doesn’t have a family to support, is reliable, and is willing and able to move to where the best jobs are, making it into and staying in the middle class shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
If you’re all of those things AND you have a college degree in a high-demand field, like engineering, making it into the upper-middle class shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
The problem is, of course, navigating through those young adult years without making any of those mistakes. It’s much easier to do when you have plenty of successful adult role models guiding you. The more successful adults in your life who care about your future and are in a position to help you navigate those young adult years, the less your chances of living in poverty become.
Are you a teen? Is there an adult in your house who is a college graduate with a good, stable career? Do they ask you about how school is going for you? Are they helping you navigate things like relationships, college sextion, stress, etc…? Congratulations. You’re one of the lucky ones. Stay away from drugs and don’t get pregnant/father a child before you’re done with college, and you’ll be fine.
每一个故事都是独一无二的，但对许多人来说，他们正在为自己十几岁或二十出头时没有意识到的错误买单，或试图逃避这些错误。通常，这些都是他们父母犯下的错误，导致他们的父母陷入贫困。
这就是为什么它被称为“贫困周期”
错误包括：
对学校一点也不在乎。
吸毒。
在没有稳定收入和稳定关系之前就有孩子。
触犯了法律。
过分关注他们的社会生活和当下状态，而对他们的学术生活或职业/未来不够关注。
为认可度不够的学位申请学生贷款。
一直以来，他们被没有犯过这些错误的同龄人甩在了后面。在一个劳动力廉价、技能和灵活性昂贵的世界里，更高的收入有利于那些除了时间之外还有更多贡献的人。
在美国，如果你是一名高中毕业生，不吸毒，不需要养家糊口，靠谱，愿意也有能力搬到最好的工作地点，那么进入并留在中产阶级应该不是太大的挑战。
如果你具备以上所有条件，并且拥有工程等高需求领域的大学学位，那么进入中上层阶级应该不是太大的挑战
当然，问题是如何度过这些年轻的岁月而不犯任何这些错误。当你有很多成功的成人榜样指导你时，这就容易多了。在你的生活中，越成功的成年人关心你的未来，有能力帮助你度过年轻的岁月，你生活在贫困中的机会就越小。
你是青少年吗？你家里有没有一个成年人是大学毕业生，有着良好、稳定的职业？他们问过你学校的情况吗？他们是否在帮助你处理人际关系、他们是否在帮助你选择大学、处理压力等问题？祝贺你是幸运儿之一。远离毒品，不要在大学毕业前怀孕/生孩子，你会很好的。
很赞 0
收藏