What is Digg?Sponsored by Dragon Age: Origins
Join the Dragon Age: Origins development team on Facebook view!
facebook.com/DragonAgeOrigins - EA presents BioWare's new dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins. '9/10' from Game Informer.
70 Comments
- KingGorilla, on 08/29/2008, -1/+24A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents. The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37. Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."
- OneLess, on 08/29/2008, -3/+24Hard to pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you don't even have bootstraps.
- acrodev, on 08/29/2008, -6/+23Next up, a 359 part series on people who are trapped in poverty.
- nullcodes, on 08/29/2008, -1/+17I escaped poverty too. Once I was driving my Ferrari into the West Virginia on a rural road in West Union and nearly turned onto it .. luckily I made a swerved back onto Rock Run Road
- mk47k, on 08/29/2008, -3/+17Nice find, this is good quality stuff!
- durruticolumn, on 09/18/2009, -0/+13
"The history textbook I teach with calls the concept of the "self-made man" a myth."
As an individual anecdote, it is not a myth. As a social force it is. Think about it. What would have happened to any one of those people if they had gotten hit by a car? If Elon Bomani hadn't had the social capital and perfect credit built up before losing all her money?
There's too many factors at play to rely on "bootstraps." It's fine as a plot for an inspiring Will Smith Hollywood vehicle (although being driven to wealth I don't think is nearly as inspiring as being driven to, say, scientific accomplishment), but as a driving force for society, it falls apart pretty quickly. - SteveSgt, on 08/29/2008, -2/+14"I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible. I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical!" --S. Colbert
To paraphrase the Wizard of Oz: They had no more brains/heart/courage than you've got. But they do have one thing you haven't got, LUCK. - DigSomeMore, on 08/29/2008, -5/+17Inspirational story...
- 9bpm9, on 08/29/2008, -1/+10J.K. Rowling's family was on food stamps and she is now a mutli-millionaire.
- allaboutdatiki, on 08/29/2008, -1/+9Dugg for the Hubris Index.
- Androfire, on 08/29/2008, -3/+11Sure, it inspires. But we tend to lose it when we realize that its easier said than done.
- nick111, on 08/29/2008, -0/+7Well if you are a teacher, it's fairly tragic that you seem to think that the plural of anecdote is data... and not only that, but you think that evidence is the same as proof.
...and if you are a teacher, then you're a part of a chronically underpaid former middle class. Good luck with that second job. You do know that before corporations and states started renegging on The New Deal, it was possible for a husband to support a whole family with one job don't you? None of these heroic stories of bootstrapping required. It was a basic right.
Of course you do. You're a teacher. - inactive, on 12/07/2008, -1/+8WTF does Deann Alsaker look like though? There's just something about a dumpster diving lady that tweaks my curiosity...
- redscofield, on 08/29/2008, -1/+7totally radical...
- TexanRudeBoy, on 08/29/2008, -0/+6For most people taking out $100,000 in credit cards and financing a home with zero down is just plain retarded. It happened to work for her, but I'll guarantee the majority that do this will end up where they started, only with over $100,000 in credit card debt, a forclosed home, and now completely screwed credit. If you have good credit that doesn't eman you need to max it out trying to get rich. The values of savings and thrift are completely lost on our society. We are completely debt-based. Hell, even our government has to rack up debt just to print OUR money. But people wonder why the economy is *****..........
- LauV, on 08/29/2008, -2/+7and skype developer Janus Friis was unemployed did small part time jobs at Christiania (a place in Denmark where you buy weed openly and everything is decided with basic-democracy) now he is very rich to (skype).
Skype developer and J.K Rowling got rich by using their imagination. That's much more inspirering than people who work 14 houirs a day setting goals and stuf - think out side the box. - xtinamo, on 08/29/2008, -1/+6So am I an idiot for working and going to school full-time to pay my way through college which has left me impoverished, in debt, and living paycheck to paycheck? Not everyone has parents to pay for school and living expenses until they can get a decent job with a decent wage after college. My parents at least instilled in me a strong work ethic and the importance of higher education, but I can imagine that there are others not so lucky.
- NoCt1, on 08/29/2008, -0/+5Yes you should. They stopped making them years ago. And so the one you have is not new.
- inactive, on 08/29/2008, -1/+6great article. well written. five stars!
- dood, on 08/29/2008, -0/+4You're one of those guys that takes a few examples and assumes that everyone else is exactly the same, right?
One of those guys that says "I saw on the news that this one 'homeless' beggar really has a nice truck and an apartment therefore they all do!"
The only reason stories about people getting themselves out of poverty actually make the news is because it's an unusual event. And, obviously, not everyone has equal chances of getting out of poverty. - inactive, on 08/29/2008, -3/+7Maybe there is hope for me afterall?
- PabloMac, on 08/29/2008, -0/+4But then she got that gig in The View.
- judicar, on 08/29/2008, -1/+56: John McCain - Grew up on the mean streets of Philadelphia fighting the Red Coats.
- scamper22, on 08/29/2008, -2/+6of course not. Real people get down to business.
People who sit around and hope do just that. Sorry to say, but why do you think African Americans are still at the bottom of the ladder? Indians, Asians often come to America poorer than African Americans but end up succeeding.
The reason: attitude.
You will never hear an Indian person ask... where are our leaders? We're too damn busy working hard for the betterment of our family.
You hear African Americans talk all the time about leaders and teachers. You got your freedom, now use it. - inactive, on 08/29/2008, -1/+5I suppose.
But for every inspirational story there are thousands that end in failure.
What about those people?
We need to do more about poverty, and not hope that everyone ends up with such an unusual success story.
The GOP counts on us thinking that this stuff happens all the time, when in fact it's the tiny minority. - nick111, on 08/29/2008, -1/+5Welcom to NeoPuritanism
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/11/09/religio ...
The religion of the rich. If you are disciplined, and work hard, you will succeed. If you fail, it is because you are undisciplined and lazy.
The whole thing is a sly (if not good-willed) excercise in victim-blaming conservatism. - zushiba, on 08/29/2008, -0/+4Are we bringing Radical back? I wish people would inform me of these decisions.
- JohnFlux, on 08/29/2008, -0/+3There seems to be a logical disconnection between going from "relying on hope" to seeing "hope as a good thing".
Why is it a difficult concept to not rely on hope, but having hope still being a good thing? - byukate, on 08/29/2008, -15/+18The history textbook I teach with calls the concept of the "self-made man" a myth. These stories prove that it's not. People who downplay the idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps see themselves and others as victims and are too busy whining to start becoming a success.
- rtcrooks, on 08/29/2008, -1/+4Inspirational. Should I return that new Acura Integra?
- MrRuslan, on 08/29/2008, -1/+4There should be :)
- inactive, on 08/29/2008, -1/+4I faked my own death to escape debt :) hah!
- NecroSexy, on 08/29/2008, -0/+3Notice that none of these individuals relied on hope. They didn't idly desire for favorable circumstances and opportunities to fall on their lap--yet nearly everyone in the world considers hope as a good thing!
- salculd, on 08/29/2008, -0/+3But is it to the max?
- dse78759, on 08/29/2008, -2/+4Whoopi Goldberg was on welfare for a while.
Just sayin.... - warsongs7, on 08/30/2008, -0/+2While I tempted to agree with you I keep thinking that whenever we see a story about someone rising up out of poverty, we tend to attribute their success more to luck than their hard work.
This is inherently wrong because all of these people had more than just luck on their side. Some were opportunistic (Clinton), others were persevering (Ki Shiang) while Gardner was simply exceptional in his ability to face such despair but still continued to hold onto life. - sakuraz, on 08/30/2008, -0/+2...Because it teaches you that you don't have to work hard?
- acrodev, on 08/30/2008, -0/+2That wasn't poverty, it was Deliverance.
- wertach, on 08/29/2008, -0/+2Amy is kinda dumb.
- nick111, on 08/29/2008, -1/+3It is society's job to provide a safety net below which people do not fall. Government is how we organise our society.
Unless you live in America of course, where government has been bought by a corporate ruling class who have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into networks of thinktanks, PR fronts, "concerned citizens groups", radio talk show hosts and the likes of Fox News....
... to persuade people like you that capitalism is somehow social policy.
-----
The real story here... and what this article studiously ignores, is that lower to middle incomes haven't increased in real terms since the 80s. That your precious corporations have exported your jobs to third world countries with no labour rights. That your precious market society has created a whole swathe of people that are essentially worthless. Ever seen The Wire? This is what it's about.
Your job is to take your government back. And yes, the governments job IS to pull you out of poverty... because these one-off stories of people who have to bust a gusset to get ahead, the exception rather than the rule are ignoring what's really happening, and providing a de-facto mechanism for blaming the poor for being poor. - mk3k, on 08/29/2008, -0/+2None of the new Acuras have true names they have letter number combos.
- PabloMac, on 08/29/2008, -2/+4Wait, isn't it the government's job to pull us up out of poverty?
- thavi, on 08/29/2008, -1/+2i love bill *****'n
- NecroSexy, on 09/01/2008, -0/+1Because hope does not aid in one's well-being. Because hope prolongs suffering. It is the bastard child of ambition.
- metamethod, on 08/29/2008, -0/+1cold-calling. it's the most annoying thing to do. but it's the ONLY way to accelerate the growth of a business.
- jasonbrad, on 08/29/2008, -1/+2was going to digg then it mentioned bill clinton....
- redscofield, on 08/30/2008, -0/+1Tubular dude?
- JergoR, on 08/30/2008, -0/+1oprah?
- SteveSgt, on 08/30/2008, -1/+2Great stories, to be sure. But all they prove is that a very small minority of folks got lucky.
- SteveSgt, on 08/30/2008, -0/+1I understand that this is "mere anecdotal" evidence, but among my acquaintances, I'm much more familiar with people who worked crazy-hard and wound up with little, than folks form whom it paid off big. Hard work alone doesn't necessarily get you anything but tired and worn-out. There's definitely still a significant element of luck involved in "big success".
-
Show 51 - 70 of 70 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is