We used to send aid to people in countries torn apart by the ravages of WW2

[Starry Messenger]

What do you call it when your country has been ravaged by capitalism?

A new site lets you help pay Detroit residents’ water bills

http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2014/07/new-site-lets-you-help-pay-detroit-residents-water-bills

It’s now almost a year since Detroit became the largest US city ever to file for bankruptcy. One stubbornly persistent hole in its finances comes from the $5.7bn of bad debt its Water and Sewage Department is sitting on. So, city officials have decided to address the problem by letting residents go thirsty.

Since last year, the department has stopped supplying water to around 41,000 households who owe $150 or more: that’s about 100,000 people affected by the shutoffs so far. Many families have turned their water back on illegally, risking further fines if they’re found out.

The reception to this hasn’t exactly been positive. On 25 June, the UN office for Human Rights called on the city government to end the shutoffs, and released a statement saying: “Disconnection of water services because of failure to pay due to lack of means constitutes a violation of the human right to water.” Meanwhile, a local attorney has filed a class action suit against the city on behalf of residents, claiming that the shut-offs – which fall overwhelmingly on black households – are racially motivated. And last Friday, 2,000 people including the Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, took to Detroit’s streets in protest.

A pair of Canadian women, however, have taken a more digital-first approach to the problem. Last week, Kristy Tillman and Tiffani Bell launched a site called Turn On Detroit’s Water which matches up donors willing to pay part or all of an overdue water bill with those struggling to pay.

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[TBF]

1. I wish the money I pay in taxes

could be sent to that account rather than used to buy more drones. We should get that option on our income tax form.

[Starry Messenger]

2. Me too.

Where is the vision in this country anymore? It's hard to stand by and watch what is happening in Detroit when there are so many resources that could revitalize it.

[Karmadillo]

3. Maybe Hobby Lobby will work with us on that one. I hear they like the idea of a la carte

taxation where you get to choose what government actions you support and what you don't when conscience is an issue. Same principle would apply here, right?

[TBF]

5. Exactly, it is against my beliefs to fund Imperialism -

any and all taxes I pay should be used for infrastructure and actual people who need help in this country (as opposed to corporations). Maybe we could file a class action suit as tax-payers. The Hobby Lobby case will be our precedent to rely on.

[L0oniX]

4. The tired and poor are welcome here... G0d bless ameddicca

Yep ...kids in kennel cages at our boarder.