This is a very good point, but depending on the level of discretionary spending you're talking about, bad decisions could have larger effects.
I am thinking more in the case where someone has an income so low that (for example) their smoking habit results in poor nutrition because they can't buy vegetables for having bought cigarettes. Or if an income tax refund goes towards a big TV when it could go towards a wardrobe that offers better employment prospects, or paying off a stressed credit card bill. I suspect that I am talking about meaner standards of living than you are, though.
I also suppose this is more of an issue in the US. Here, I have always had access to doctors (if not perscription medication), and though the decision to go to college should not be taken lightly (because even government loans have to be paid off), I knew that if and when I did decide to go, I would be more restricted by my marks than by my income. I doubt I would have been eligible for non-government student loans when I entered university, despite having high school marks in the low 90s (which only earns small entrance scholarships). I have a hard time imagining how much more frustrated I would have been if I had been a US resident.
no subject
I am thinking more in the case where someone has an income so low that (for example) their smoking habit results in poor nutrition because they can't buy vegetables for having bought cigarettes. Or if an income tax refund goes towards a big TV when it could go towards a wardrobe that offers better employment prospects, or paying off a stressed credit card bill. I suspect that I am talking about meaner standards of living than you are, though.
I also suppose this is more of an issue in the US. Here, I have always had access to doctors (if not perscription medication), and though the decision to go to college should not be taken lightly (because even government loans have to be paid off), I knew that if and when I did decide to go, I would be more restricted by my marks than by my income. I doubt I would have been eligible for non-government student loans when I entered university, despite having high school marks in the low 90s (which only earns small entrance scholarships). I have a hard time imagining how much more frustrated I would have been if I had been a US resident.