Getting treatment from people who are not doctors implies lower quality if not dangerous treatment.
Not necessarily. Lots of doctor functions are now being done by nurse practitioners and physician assistants. My dad's primary care physician wasn't a physician nor was the person who oversaw his care in hospice. I wouldn't suggest someone go to a trainee neurosurgeon, but a nurse can deal with the sniffles and a medical student can stitch up a playground boo-boo. Re your earlier question about dental work, I wouldn't go to a student for a crown because they're tricky, but then if I were poor, I wouldn't even be considering crowns. I'd stick to cleanings and fillings.
Suggestions of affordable resources include a lot of similar resources in terms of quality at a more reasonable price.
That's clearly not what I meant. Motel6, Ross, and the food bank, the examples I used, are of marginal quality, not for someone of remotely discriminating tastes. Their target customers are relatively poor. Proposing one of them is the equivalent of proposing the dental college for a filling or a nurse practitioner to deal with an STD. At least that's what was intended by my examples.
People usually hang with people in similar economic circumstances. It's awkward otherwise for both parties. But, with an uneven relationship, it seems to me that helping people find services that they can afford, while awkward, is the kindest and most constructive choice among awkward alternatives.
Or perhaps you think that poor people and middle-class people should have all the things that rich people have. I sure don't expect to, so I don't see why the poor would so expect or why anyone would expect that for us. |
