Seeing more homeless folks - breaks my heart and makes me MAD

[MannyGoldstein]

I live in a pretty nice suburb that borders Boston. Four blocks north of me we have subsidized-rent housing, four blocks south we have at least one billionaire (and a gaggle of manymillionaires).

Over the past few months, I'm seeing more and more homeless folks. People walking down the street, wheeling possessions in a shopping cart or carrying them in bags. People at the edges of store parking lots, perhaps living in the streets nearby. Never saw that before in almost 20 years of living in these parts.

It makes me sad. And it makes me mad.

For 30 years a small number of us have watched in helpless anger as the the 1% purchased our government. The government of the 1% passed decades of laws designed to take from the 99%, for the 1%.

And here we are. So many are so fucked, and the government of the 1% doesn't care a whit - in fact, they want to clamp down on us, to further fuck the weak and the helpless so that the plutocrats can further engorge. It is sick. There is no need for this. How much treasure does a person need, and at what price to humankind?

I am thankful for the good people of Wisconsin, for their efforts to push back the motherfuckers who are trying to grab the last few morsels from working Americans. I am grateful for all the people of Occupy nationwide for getting the conversation going on the 99% vs. the 1%.

In a sense, while this is the darkest time that Americans have known in many decades, we may be seeing a rosy glow on the horizon - at least large numbers of folks are *beginning* to realize there's a huge problem, and that's the first step in displacing the darkness with the warm sunlight of civil society and love for humanity.

Let's hope for success.

Sorry for the rambling.

[Odin2005]

1. First to rec!

:hug:

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Thank you!

I'm feeling very frustrated tonight - your kind post makes a difference, thanks.

[teddy51]

2. Sorry to say, but it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

The only thing that we elders can do is help our young as much as possible. These people that are in dire straights need to move to rural areas and try to link up with others, and form living/working units. I believe that we are just on this side of a depression that will be worse than the dirty thirties.

[freshwest]

10. Yes, the demographics being what they are, that is exactly what they need to do. And they may become

Rightwingers while they live out there. But they'll survive.

[AverageJoe90]

3. I do believe things may get worse eventually........

.....but there is some hope as well. Many people are sick of financial corruption, the extreme right(especially the fringe ones, the anti-Semites, birthers, what have you), political shenanigans, and so much more that TPTB are getting REALLY desperate.
We may still be going uphill, but we are WINNING. Let's hope it doesn't first end in tragedy......

[young_at_heart]

5. "Too Big to Fail" participants need to see this moving segment

We just watched that movie and I'll never forget the end of the movie when Hank Paulson says "Of course the banks will lend out the money". But as we all know, lending didn't happen. Banks that got taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries and bonuses.

[mahina]

6. We lived in Cambridge, Natick, and visited fam in Weston a lot. I can't imagine a big homeless

population there. So cold!

We have TONS of homeless in camps all over town. Tried to explain to my son that we never had this when I was growing up- there were a few drunks, and a few street people, but they all stayed in one place and we had full use of our parks and beaches.

He was amazed :( Can you imagine growing up in this America?

[JDPriestly]

7. Most important thing a homeless person needs:

his/her own place to live -- and not with strangers, a place of his/her, a place that is safe and private.

[dkf]

8. What about family?

Is the real story how disconnected we are from family that even our own flesh and blood won't help?

[JDPriestly]

9. A place of one's own gives a person dignity. And once a person

has dignity, then reconciling with family may be possible depending on the family.

But a lot of families are so dysfunctional that the homeless person cannot deal with being in the family.

Also, a lot of families are too impoverished to help.

A person who has a functioning family that has the means to help out probably won't be homeless. But the family has to be functioning well enough to feel safe to the person who might be homeless if the family were not helping.

[grasswire]

11. My sister is a tea party member.

I do not believe she would help any family member out with a place to sleep. She has plenty. She has a good pension, thanks to the public employees union. Got hers.

But then she always was a cheapskate, letting me pick up the tab every time we went out, etc.

[raccoon]

23. My family members are the same--years ago when I was out of work, they didn't help.

Some families aren't very supportive.

[dkf]

12. Why is there more dignity in getting help from the state over help from ones family?

I would think both were at least the same in being a blow to ones dignity.

[JDPriestly]

27. People who can turn to family do. The problem is that many

families are dysfunctional. Others are too poor. Many have no room. Homeless people, almost by definition, are from families that can no longer help them.

In the US, adults are expected to be self-sufficient. Remember all that conservative blabber about self-sufficiency. I'm surprised, dkf, that you who so often espouse the conservative view on self-sufficiency about other things like Social Security, etc. would suggest that a family should encourage a family member to be dependent on the family.

Families that can help a family member usually do. But most families in the 99% in the US just don't have the space, the money or the time to help out. Most families are just struggling to keep fed and a roof over their heads right now.

We have 9% unemployment. That means that when you walk down the street, chances are that one out of every 11 people you meet who would like to have a job and is actively looking for a job can't find one.

In an economy like that, most families are scared and barely scraping by.

[Withywindle]

15. There are a lot of people who have no family to speak of.

There are those who have been thrown out and disowned by their families. (Statistically most likely to be LGBT) There are those who have abused by their families to the point where contact with them is MORE dangerous than living on the streets. There are people who have alienated their families. There are single people whose parents are dead and who never had children. There are people whose only known living relatives are even poorer and in more need than they are. There are people whose only known living relatives are on a different continent and they may have never even met.

Etcetera. There are countless reasons why a person in need might not be able to ask for help from family, or why any potential for help might simply not exist at all.
When you say "we", what you mean by "we"?

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[grasswire]

30. It's not up to the 99% to compensate for the selfishness of the 1%

The charitable impulses of the 99 can't (and should not) cover the societal obligations of that 1.

[TBF]

34. Absolutely correct - and not to mention the fact that the charitable impulses of the 90%

are quite ineffective when less than 1% of the country is sitting on 40% of the wealth. We couldn't make a substantial difference if we wanted to.

[Warpy]

14. It's called SQUATTING

and with so many foreclosed houses sitting empty, it shouldn't be that hard to find a squat. The problem is all the people who did everything right their whole lives finding out they were one job away from the street, they're shell shocked and they're not angry enough yet to move in and take back what is rightfully theirs, the housing that's only generating numbers for big banks while it continues to fall into disrepair.

Holding all that housing empty and neglected in an economy like this one is unconscionable, but selling it at reasonable prices or even renting it out will adversely affect the balance sheet and those bastards live by the balance sheet.

And yes, I'm suggesting it right here and right now. There are abandoned houses within a few blocks of me. They need to be occupied before they're stripped of copper and then burned down by vandals.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[Warpy]

17. Your concern for the bankers is touching, dear

However, you'd do well to learn exactly what those old boys did to the housing market over the last 20 years, why, and how they keep making money on the collapse.

The cure for what you have is education.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[Skittles]

19. rich people thieve us blind to get their riches

THERE'S LAWS FOR EVERYONE ELSE!! Right, you RWW???

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[Ikonoklast]

24. Who cares what other people did, are you living vicariously through them?

What does the success of someone else have to do with you, or me, or the Man in the Moon?

For every success story like that, there are thousands of those that failed, too. All the long hours, hard work, sacrifice, doing without...all for naught.

Post about them.

They, too ARE America.

The land where you are free, free to starve in the street, homeless, and people like you will step right over them.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. You're lost. And have you taken in a homeless person as you asked of another poster?

Have you?

I doubt that you would.

It's their own fault they are homeless, right?

They just did not work hard enough, right? :eyes:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. you seem to value 'things' above people..

i'm sorry for you.

[fascisthunter]

37. ooops, wrong place

[MannyGoldstein]

22. The American Revolution was illegal

Just a thought.

[closeupready]

36. +1000.

nt

[Desertrose]

29. What about the people hurt by the banks?

Insane loans and fees,interest and foreclosures....does that not matter that they are hurting people who have struggled and worked hard?

Life is not always about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps...its a lot about luck and choices.So if some don't make the best choice they are screwed?

What about those who have more than enough being just a bit empathetic and helping those who don't even have their basic needs covered- shelter & food? Can you in your wildest imagination just put yourself in their shoes for a day...a week...a month?


How can you be so heartless to say "well goodie for you" to the rich and "tough shit" to the "poor"?

I don't understand the attitude of I got mine so too bad for you. It is part of what is killing this country. Thank god for the 99%/OWS movement...these people have HEART!!

[fascisthunter]

38. feeding and caring about people is not equivocal to your "need for a bicycle"

You hold a very extreme view of needs and what people deserve...

If you haven't you may want to open your eyes, because the majority is suffering while the real self-priviledged are destroying economies around the globe. You have to be brainwashed to make this about the little people wanting bikes because they need them. Jesus, get a clue.

[OneGrassRoot]

25. I've always wanted to have a discussion about limiting wealth...

because, as you say, "How much treasure does a person need, and at what price to humankind?"

It's not an easy answer as to what, as a society, we view as obscene wealth that should be limited -- and how -- but it is worthy of thoughtful discussion, at least, without cries of "isms" all over the place to squelch discussion.

It's a matter of establishing our priorities as a society, with laws and institutions reflecting those values. Right now, our values and priorities absolutely suck.

Here's a link to a photo album with a few graphics about PRIORITIES:

https://picasaweb.google.com/words247/November22011?authuser=0&feat=directlink


K&R

[MannyGoldstein]

26. We used to have a meaningful estate tax, which limited wealth

No more.

[kcass1954]

31. Seriously, this is a discussion that needs to be had. The right, of course, will never

participate in such a thing with us lowly "socialists."

I don't begrudge anyone for what they have, and I'm okay with folks who work a little harder having a little more. But those who haven't had the same opportunities should not be doing without life's basic necessities - shelter, food, health care, education, employment.

I work for the 400 - I believe the Chairman of the parent company is #53. What the fuck could he possibly need with $6 billion? I know, I know, he goes to work everyday, and makes those hard decisions. But lots of the folks who work for him don't have a pot to piss in, and many more of us are 2 paychecks away from bankruptcy or homelessness.

[MannyGoldstein]

32. Gen. Eisenhower was able to save the world on a crappy government salary

I suspect that he would not have done a better job if he'd been paid a fortune.

[OneGrassRoot]

45. Exactly. I have so much to say about this....

I may get brave and try once again to start an OP to have thoughtful discussion about this. It's not black and white -- there's a lot of gray in there, which is exactly why thoughtful discussion is required.

But, dayum, we need to discuss it. We need to be able to move forward and think way outside the box -- hell, get rid of the damn box altogether -- and find a new way that is more humane for a nation this size. Fuck rugged individualism. That's just false bravado bullshit at this point.

[TBF]

33. This is the result of a "winner take all" system -

until we change this system it can only get worse. The past 30 years it has been particularly bad under conservative rule - now we are looking like the gilded 20s again. This won't end well.

[closeupready]

35. I agree that people are waking up to the atrocious job Congress has done serving the American people

Well, "people" as in ... people. K&R

[Zorra]

39. K&R

[KamaAina]

40. Just keep repeating to yourself, "This is the wealthiest society in human history"

This is the wealthiest society in human history...
This is the wealthiest society in human history...
This is the wealthiest society in human history...
This is the wealthiest society in human history...
This is the wealthiest society in human history...

There. That ought to calm you down for a while. :sarcasm:

[MannyGoldstein]

41. Since it's true, it drives me even nuttier

We are possibly the cruelest society in human history.

[Agony]

42. That is too clear eyed to be called rambling - imho

to Success!

cheers Manny!

[revolution breeze]

43. The Mayor of New Orleans is implementing a new plan

Housing first, then putting people in touch with those they need in order get the services they need. This includes refurbishing the old VA hospital as a facility providing low cost medical services. I hope the people of New Orleans support him in this effort!

[MannyGoldstein]

44. That's fantastic. But what would Jesus think?

I think he'll lose the votes of the Truly Godly, and the votes of the money changers.

[Highway61]

46. I saw 60 minutes last night

I wasn't mad, I was downright pissed off! That young girl living in a truck had more smarts than the assmunches in Washington. She wants to be a lawyer. Her little brother said she "likes to take control." SHE LOST HER MOM! Dad is unemployed and unable to find anything...she is trying to "take charge" and go to school at the same time. I am rambling but I can't seem to get past that this shit and it is getting worse and worse and more and more in numbers of people living this way. WTF! This child should be doing her homework and riding her bike after school and playing with friends. What the hell ...where is the outrage? How far does it have to get bad enough before there is any kind of help for people who need it. I'm with ya Manny...I am damn Pissed!

[Vattel]

47. I am with ya both. It seems that taking economic justice seriously

makes one unelectable. Politicians avoid the topic like the plague. So the people need to lead on this.

[girl_interrupted]

48. you want to get mad? Read this:Millions spent on evictingOWS instead of on the homeless

I don't know what's happening in this country anymore, where our priorities lay. It's all so sick. It seems more important to shut people up who have a legitimate right to protest and to deny that homelessness is a problem that's growing not shrinking. When I first read the article I am linking to, I was outraged. I wanted to post it, on its own, in this forum. Then I thought I wonder if people will even care. I saw so much police brutality going on at OWS in NY, and then I read about it in other states, and people get all outraged and you think something is going to be done about it by the officials we elect, but it doesn't happen. Silence. Homelessness is getting worse in the United States between foreclosures & unemployment, some of the very same reasons OWS is protesting about. And we talk about homelessness and we get upset about it, but once again,nothing happens. Silence. Yet we can find millions of dollars to spend on this. Makes you feel sick & sad & angry inside.

Occupy Wall Street And Homelessness: Millions Spent To Evict Camps, While Cutting Shelter Funds

"As cities around the country have swept Occupy Wall Street camps from their plazas and parks in recent weeks, a number of mayors and city officials have argued that by providing shelter to the homeless, the camps are endangering the public and even the homeless themselves.

"Yet in many of those cities, services for the homeless are severely underfunded. The cities have spent millions of dollars to police and evict the protesters, but they've been shutting down shelters and enacting laws to prohibit homeless from sleeping overnight in public."



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/27/occupy-wall-street-and-homeless-evictions-cities_n_1111094.html

[butterfly77]

49. ...