New type of poor: Middle-class poor

martomcg

So in the Herald and on the radio for the last couple of days, this story has been repeated.

http://www.herald.ie/news/my-three-kids-were-about-to-get-up-and-i-knew-they-would-be-hungry-i-was-desperate-i-needed-food-3259911.html

So the jist of it is he's an out of work actor on the dole who got caught shop lifting and sentenced to 100hrs community service.

Joseph said his work as an actor is sporadic, especially since theatre companies have had to cut their budgets, and that what had happened to him was because of the misunderstanding over the children's allowance, which his family relies on.

Is it me or does this lad come across as delusional? He's said on the radio that he was working in the UK and moved back to Ireland 5 years ago. Yet has only tried to get acting work here in the last 2-3 years.

Personally i think at his age [57], with a family and 3 dependant children he should cop on and look for some form of secure income. Be it packing shelves in Tescos or working in Harvey Norman. If by 57 he hasnt made it as a big enough name actor to secure work then he never will.

He claims "society" has let him down as one of his welfare payments was late thus causing him to resort to shoplifting.

What do you think? Do you feel sorry for him?

FatherLen

martomcg wrote: »

Do you feel sorry for him?

nah

dgt

martomcg wrote: »

Is it me or does this lad come across as delusional? He's said on the radio that he was working in the UK and moved back to Ireland 5 years ago. Yet has only tried to get acting work here in the last 2-3 years.

So what's his excuse for not working for 2 years, too much money???

4zn76tysfajdxp

he went to the SuperValu in Firhouse where he paid for some milk but also put other items like cheese, biscuits and breadrolls in the bag.

I needed bread, and I went to the second shop,

This does not compute, he already had bread ffs

summerskin

"But, but. But I'm an actor!"

maximoose

Who exactly was he in Game of Thrones?

"While working on the set of GoT".... What's that? An extra?

No sympathy for him, blaming society for his failure to make it as an actor and refusal to find another job to support himself and his family. Cop on.

Remmy

Jeremy Dazzling Container wrote: »

This does not compute, he already had bread ffs

Maybe he meant bread as a slang term for money. He got his food in the first shop but he needed his 'bread' so he robbed the second shop.

Robbo

summerskin wrote: »

"But, but. But I'm an actor!"

The ould "researching it for a role" excuse.

"I'm method don't you know, Sweety"

Robbo

Judge Anthony Halpin ordered Purcell to complete 100 hours community service in lieu of three months in prison

100 hours of an unpaid gig is probably better than his agent has been managing for him lately.

poeticseraphim

He did a Winona. I think it is an actor thing.

starviewadams

martomcg wrote: »

So in the Herald and on the radio for the last couple of days, this story has been repeated.

http://www.herald.ie/news/my-three-kids-were-about-to-get-up-and-i-knew-they-would-be-hungry-i-was-desperate-i-needed-food-3259911.html

So the jist of it is he's an out of work actor on the dole who got caught shop lifting and sentenced to 100hrs community service.



Is it me or does this lad come across as delusional? He's said on the radio that he was working in the UK and moved back to Ireland 5 years ago. Yet has only tried to get acting work here in the last 2-3 years.

Personally i think at his age [57], with a family and 3 dependant children he should cop on and look for some form of secure income. Be it packing shelves in Tescos or working in Harvey Norman. If by 57 he hasnt made it as a big enough name actor to secure work then he never will.

He claims "society" has let him down as one of his welfare payments was late thus causing him to resort to shoplifting.

What do you think? Do you feel sorry for him?

Yeah I feel sorry for him,and think he should've been let off with a caution.Bit of common sense like.

Also it's fairly hard for someone in their late 50's to find full-time employment again.

martomcg

starviewadams wrote: »

Yeah I feel sorry for him,and think he should've been let off with a caution.Bit of common sense like.

Also it's fairly hard for someone in their late 50's to find full-time employment again.

I dont agree with this. Surely at his level of acting he realised a long time ago that his acting career wasnt going to pay the bills. If he knew it was all down to a slightly delayed welfare payment then why not borrow money from the "quick quid" type places.

He admitted on the radio to drinking wine with his wife every other week or once a month. Cant see someone who see's himself as an "actor" spending any less than E6 on a bottle. Which is probably what the bread and milk he stole would have cost.

Surely either he or his wife has family that can help out.

As for his role on Game of Thrones, i think he's highly exaggerated the treatment he got while on set. Limousines me arse. He was likely an extra or had a minor role.

3ndahalfof6

Poor is poor, no new type, no new type.

ArtSmart

please change the thread title to reflect the OP content.


middle class my arse. (edit, by which I mean in economic terms, this guy is not middle class, so the thread title is misleading)


(hey, that rhymes, I must be a Poet.)

bnt

I spoke to someone at a Tesco a while ago about a summer job there. The manager had a stack of CVs a foot high, from people wanting jobs there. So the standard advice repeated above, "get a job stacking shelves at Tesco", doesn't work any more.

I found that getting a summer job was impossible back in 2010-11. The jobs that used to be "casual" are not casual any more, they're filled by people who really need them and treat them as permanent. Yet I still see some folk sneering at students struggling to survive on drastically-reduced grants, saying "get a job", as if there are jobs just waiting for them. Someone saying "get a job" clearly hasn't tried it recently.

(I have one myself now, but no thanks to hundreds of other employers who couldn't even be bothered to email the word "no" to me. No, it's not at Tesco.)

lazygal

Everyone wants to be middle class, or believes themselves to be, nowadays. It's like working class is now something to be ashamed of, unless it's being used as some sort of badge of honour.

I've been working since I was 15, babysitting, working in shops and hotels, I've yet to have a week/fortnight/month without a paycheck. I always wanted to be a dancer, trained to a high level in it and got several qualifications in it. But there's damn all money to be made so I stopped living in cloud cuckoo land and got jobs to pay my bills.

The guy needs to cop the hell on. If he can't feed his children, he needs to stop describing himself as an actor and start calling himself a jobseeker.

ETA, I also had the cop on to qualify in fields where I could actually GET and KEEP a job, which resulted in a lot of night time and weekend study, on top of working fulltime. If you can't get a job in your current field, time to diversify.

Fromthetrees

An out of work actor who's nearly 60 and can't afford bread is middle class my arse.
It's sad he had to resort to this but he is not middle class, the definition of middle class in this country is a bit backward, most people are working class or lower.

martomcg

bnt wrote: »

I spoke to someone at a Tesco a while ago about a summer job there. The manager had a stack of CVs a foot high, from people wanting jobs there. So the standard advice repeated above, "get a job stacking shelves at Tesco", doesn't work any more.

I found that getting a summer job was impossible back in 2010-11. The jobs that used to be "casual" are not casual any more, they're filled by people who really need them and treat them as permanent. Yet I still see some folk sneering at students struggling to survive on drastically-reduced grants, saying "get a job", as if there are jobs just waiting for them. Someone saying "get a job" clearly hasn't tried it recently.

(I have one myself now, but no thanks to hundreds of other employers who couldn't even be bothered to email the word "no" to me. No, it's not at Tesco.)

Thats a nice story but has nothing relevant to what we're talking about here. The person in question is a man of 57 who's long time unemployed due to being an "actor".

The word casual wasnt mentioned at all. Anyone available for Full time work is obviously going to get a job ahead of someone looking for "casual" work.

The stacking shelves in Tescos line is always relevant

GLaDOS

€58 worth of food seems a bit much for just feeding his starving children.

martomcg

lazygal wrote: »

The guy needs to cop the hell on. If he can't feed his children, he needs to stop describing himself as an actor and start calling himself a jobseeker.

ETA, I also had the cop on to qualify in fields where I could actually GET and KEEP a job, which resulted in a lot of night time and weekend study, on top of working fulltime. If you can't get a job in your current field, time to diversify.

I actually couldn't have put it better!

Also fair play to you for doing what was necessary to make yourself employable.

Mickeroo

I feel sorry for him, sure winter is coming after all.

gbee

martomcg wrote: »

What do you think? Do you feel sorry for him?

Can't say I feel anything, my freelance work dried up and if it was not for the social welfare, despite they wanting to know what I had done with my communion money, I'd probably be in my grave my now!

My name is URL

poeticseraphim wrote: »

He did a Winona. I think it is an actor thing.

That was my first thought too. He's probably hoping to surf the impending wave of attention

The Indo might even have him write an article about his tribulations

LoonyLovegood

I don't feel sorry for him, but the judges advice to go to the community welfare officer is ridiculous. I've never seen anyone get something from them.

steddyeddy

Yes I do feel sorry for him. Middle class doesnt mean rich and in this recession it doesnt even mean comfortable anymore. A lot of familes regardless of their employment have unreliable working hours and are really finding it difficult to raise a family.

Kurz

ArtSmart wrote: »

please change the thread title to reflect the OP content.


middle class my arse. (edit, by which I mean in economic terms, this guy is not middle class, so the thread title is misleading)

You're confusing middle-income with middle class. Most people in Ireland are middle income and are working class.

gbee

CTYIgirl wrote: »

I've never seen anyone get something from them.

He will now. You have to be near death, have eviction notices and huge bunch of overdue bills and SKY threatening you with personal debt collection from your home.

steddyeddy

Kurz wrote: »

You're confusing middle-income with middle class. Most people in Ireland are middle income and are working class.

Then class has no meaning.

Boombastic

The new 'middle class poor', bloody hipsters, can they not just be 'poor, poor' like the rest of us?

My name is URL

Kurz wrote: »

You're confusing middle-income with middle class. Most people in Ireland are middle income and are working class.

So he's middle class just because he's chosen a to be an actor? That's what you call upward mobility!

Kurz

My name is URL wrote: »

So he's middle class just because he's chosen a to be an actor? That's what you call upward mobility!

Is he working class suddenly because his income has dropped? Is Bill Cullen middle class?