OK, expecting multiple years of savings is just flat-out unrealistic. Even the more hardcore financial advisers only recommend 9 months.
Plus, who owns 2 t-shirts? Are you doing laundry daily? Hate to break it to you, but that isn't exactly great for the environment either. My father grew up poor as hell on a farm, and even he had 6 shirts. To this day he will comment that they were darned to the point of being patchwork, but owning 20 shirts doesn't seem like a huge extravagance. Even with homemade clothing, that isn't a ridiculous wardrobe.
There is definitely a consumerist culture and people buy stuff they don't need, but in the context of this article & the pandemic the people receiving this aid need it. I don't mean to be negative, but there are 0eople making the decision between paying rent and eating; calling out consumerism for this is in poor taste.
Plus, who owns 2 t-shirts? Are you doing laundry daily? Hate to break it to you, but that isn't exactly great for the environment either. My father grew up poor as hell on a farm, and even he had 6 shirts. To this day he will comment that they were darned to the point of being patchwork, but owning 20 shirts doesn't seem like a huge extravagance. Even with homemade clothing, that isn't a ridiculous wardrobe.
There is definitely a consumerist culture and people buy stuff they don't need, but in the context of this article & the pandemic the people receiving this aid need it. I don't mean to be negative, but there are 0eople making the decision between paying rent and eating; calling out consumerism for this is in poor taste.