"...thought it was interesting that while she bemoans the fact she sometimes only makes 30 or 40 bucks a day and is contemplating bankruptcy, [she] still has money for coffee and cigarettes. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people that are not doing everything possible to get themselves in a better financial position."

Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim. Buddy. Did you read that article through a time warp, or do you really think you are living in a time when a person's success is determined solely by how hard they pull their bootstraps? Perhaps you have never clung to the only job you had, that paid you a pittance and took up most of your time, simply because there was nothing else available. Or maybe you think a person in dire straits should not be allowed a few creature comforts to make it through the day.

The unemployment rate in Portland is right around 10% right now, but that doesn't include people whose hours or salaries have been slashed. People are hurting, and it is glib to insinuate that someone considering bankruptcy is doing so because they have squandered their earnings on hordes of tobacco and coffee. Sometimes that little distraction is all a person has to keep them plugging away at improving their situation.

Did you have a private chuckle when Rick Santelli called all foreclosed homeowners losers?