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Linda Tirado

Sunday 7th of December 2025

Capitalism What I am opposed to is the sort of capitalism that sucks the life out of a whole bunch of the citizenry and then demands that they do better with whatever they have left. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Homelessness Once we've hit the part where my own species is mostly taken care of, I'll start to worry about African rhinos. Until then, I'll just keep restraining myself from punching people when they look me in the face and argue that an ecosystem somewhere is more important than homelessness. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty A human body doesn't care if acute stress is caused by almost getting your electricity shut off or by a looming deadline on a million-dollar contract. The reason that poor people wind up coping in ways that seem pointlessly self-destructive is that all the constructive stuff costs money. I can't afford to join a gym. I can't just pay a shrink to listen to me vent. I can't go shopping or find an accupuncturist or good masseuse or whatever else it is that the people above me do to cope. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty It doesn't make sense to hire people at wages that guarantee they'll be desperate and then be disappointed when they're not always capable of pretending otherwise. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty The next time you feel as though you're shouldering more than your fair share of society's burdens, ask yourself: How badly do I have to pee right now, and do I need permission? Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty Poor people have gotten the message loud and clear. The powers that be are not concerned about us. Meanwhile, wealthier people get all exercised about a poor person dropping a cigarette butt on a city sidewalk, as if this is proof that poor people just don't care. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty Poverty is bleak and cuts off your long-term brain. Linda Tirado, “Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts” © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty Sure, we can beat the odds. Your're reading this book by a service worker, after all. But the irony of my success here is that I didn't get this chance because I worked my balls off for some asshole who thought me ungrateful for my sub-living wage. You're reading this book by me because lightning struck, because my story went viral. And by definition, that can't happen for everyone. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty This is my bottom-line point about work and poverty. It's far more demoralizing to work and be poor than to be unemployed and poor. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
Poverty We will never feel hopeful. We will never get a vacation. Ever. We know that the very act of being poor guarantees that we will never not be poor. It doesn't give us much reason to improve ourselves. Linda Tirado, “Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts” © 2016 Kwiple.com
Sex If you tell a man he is wanted, and you do it when you are making that very clear, he will remember your words longer than you do. You can fix people a little bit, plus there are orgasms and cuddling. I couldn't design a better therapy. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com
 
Taxes Capital gain, by definition, is money you make for the simple fact of having money. That's it. No work, no nothing. Just have some money, wait for it to grow, and then you have more money. Which you clearly should not have to pay taxes on, because that would be unfair. Somehow. Linda Tirado, Hand to Mouth  © 2016 Kwiple.com