It's Official: Number of Homeless Students Hits Record

[MannyGoldstein]

Last edited Sun Oct 5, 2014, 04:00 PM - Edit history (1)

From the Christian Science Monitor, a couple of weeks ago:

Record number of homeless children enrolled in US public schools

A record number of homeless students were enrolled in US public schools last year, according to new numbers released Monday by the Department of Education.

The data – which most experts say underreport the actual number of homeless children in America – showed that nearly 1.3 million homeless children and teens were enrolled in schools in the 2012-13 school year, an 8 percent increase from the previous school year.

The number of homeless students has been rising steadily for a number of years, and has increased about 85 percent since the beginning of the recession.

Yay! It'll build character in the little urchins, you'll see.

The US Economy is making a nice comeback. Just not for the 99%.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Putting an end to child homelessness

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2014/09/24/putting-an-end-to-child-homelessness/

[woo me with science]

2. And this is BEFORE we get Obama and Hillary's TPP and TISA,

and BEFORE we all have to start paying for Obama's new war and TRILLION dollar escalation of nukes!

Go team!

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Homeless people are an unappreciated American commodity

Some enterprising banker will figure out how to profit mightily from the new boom.

And that's what makes America great.

[woo me with science]

7. Hmm.

Poor minorities are worthless to corporations on the street. In prison they can bring in $40,000/yr
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023368969

We heard about private prisons...but do you know of the private probation industry?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025380204

NYT: Probation Fees Rise, Firms Profit and the Poor Go to Jail
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002893040

No Safe Place: How Cities Are Making It Illegal to be Homeless
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101699724

Thrown in jail for being poor: the booming for-profit probation industry
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024603515

[MannyGoldstein]

9. My mistake, thanks for the correction.

Looks like some enterprisin' bootstrappy Americans have figured out how to turn homelessness into profit.

[J_J_]

5. + Infinity

[Initech]

3. That's why I'm 110% against any new wars.

We're just bombing the shit out of the Middle East for no reason other than that the military industrial complex gets to rake in obscene profits hand over fist. While we totally ignore the problems here at home.

[J_J_]

6. If only there were a way to blame this on ISIS

Then there would be plenty of money and compassion for the victims

[daredtowork]

10. Beheading is instant terror, Homelessness is deferred terror

People don't get the terror of homelessness until it's imminent and it's happening to them.

Homelessness means losing all your stuff: all the keepsakes, creative works, diaries, annotated books, etc. that make up your identity. Homelessness means chaos and great portions of each day consumed just figuring out how and where you will spend the night. Homelessness means dealing with issues normal people don't have to think about like how to do your laundry, how to get a shower, and how to pick up your mail. Homelessness means losing your social identity and being unable to travel through and interact in "normal" social circles - which also precludes the "networking" method of getting a job. The stress, poverty, and health issues that come with homelessness render a person in poor "visible" condition which also make it harder for them to interact and re-enter the mainstream workforce.

Being homeless means being in a constant state of toxic stress, but being on the edge of homelessness where you are desperately trying to avoid that outcome is a form of terror that is very close to an imminent beheading.

Also, few people realize that the current welfare system is designed to drive people toward homelessness (to incentivize them to get off welfare and "work" instead.) It is a system of deliberately inflicted terror.

I wish Americans did see this as beheading our own children. Then we'd get some action.

[ZombieHorde]

8. Lame.

We have so much money for war, but so little for the poor.

[Scuba]

11. K&R

[woo me with science]

12. kick