Poverty - an eye opener yesterday

[underpants]

I happened upon an individual's "financial information" yesterday

This person's housing is provided through Section 8. No cost to the person. Person lives in "the projects" I would guess.
This person gets food stamps.
This person's annual income (not sure under what program) is................................. $796.00
-- $66 a month in cash to do everything other than housing and whatever food benefits this person gets.

[slackmaster]

1. That's not much information

:kick:

[underpants]

3. I had to be very nonspecific

I am not sure how many dependents this person had.

[slackmaster]

4. I'm interested in what circumstances led to the person being unable to support himself or hersself

Disability? Other health issues? Age?

What led to this person falling into an obviously inadequate safety net?

[underpants]

5. The person is sick

ill

[slackmaster]

7. Bummer

Thanks.

[bobbolink]

9. why do you want to know?

[slackmaster]

14. Why shouldn't I be interested? It's a human interest story, and I'm human.

Why do you ask?

[leftstreet]

17. No one ever asks how rich people fell into their wealth

Were they deserving enough?
Did they exploit the labors of others?
Were drugs and/or alcohol involved?
What steps did they take to avoid hoarding?
Did they ignore opportunities to amass more wealth?
Are they mentally disabled?

[bobbolink]

20. Very good point, thank you!

"Are they mentally disabled? "

YES! :rofl:

I've come to the point of seeing that most of the time, those who "make it" are missing something in the way of compassion... they have to be able to climb over others, and that, to me, is a sickness.

Yet, we glorify that rather than sending them for "treatment".

I really like your series of questions.. thanks!

[slackmaster]

24. Sure they do

:crazy:

[bobbolink]

18. Hidden in that question is usually the desire to judge.

And many of your previous comments would lead one to that conclusion.

It really doesn't matter WHAT the problem is... the fact is, MILLIONS of people are right on the edge.

As "progressives", it is up to us to fight for them, just as much as fighting for the right to bargain of the middle class.

[slackmaster]

25. Not so well hidden in your reply is an assumption that my motives are bad

Thanks for the clarification, bobbolink.

BTW I thought you put me on Ignore a few months back. Did you clean out your list and grant a bunch of pardons recently?

[bobbolink]

27. Many saw the motives before, believe me.

There is no indication for any bridge of understanding here, so go ahead and bash. It maybe is your fun for the week.

[leftstreet]

11. Why should we tolerate any safety net being "obviously inadequate?"

:shrug:

[bobbolink]

13. Because there are so many other things that are so much more important,

and we are unable to focus on more than one or two things at a time.

Face it... poverty isn't "sexy".

[slackmaster]

15. We shouldn't

:hi:

[Bigmack]

22. I am NOT attacking you...

just trying to add a different dimension.

There's lots of people who can't support themselves because they are sick or hurt, but there are also a lot of people who can't support themselves because they are just fucked up... no skills, low intelligence, personality defects, general loser-ness, etc.

What do we do with those people? I don't like to support them, but what else can human beings do? Let them die?

The RW makes a big thing out of a person being responsible for him/her self, but what if they simply can't?

[slackmaster]

26. Huh?

:crazy:

[bobbolink]

28. the "theys" you speak of bear little resemblance to reality.

In fact, what you describe is straight out of the teabaggers play book.

[Bigmack]

29. What? Is it so difficult to understand that...

some people are just so fucked up they can't take care of themselves?

"little resemblance to reality"?.... Double WTF? Do you live in our world?

Reality is that lots of people are screwed up.. not sick, not hurt, just screwed up by fate, genetics, or past personal habits. Then I suggest that we should care for them too ... and you say that's from the teabagger playbook?

WTF did you think I meant by "What do we do with those people? I don't like to support them, but what else can human beings do? Let them die?"?

Does that sound like something a teabagger would say?

[etherealtruth]

30. Perhaps they live in a severely economically depressed area

Any idea what the unemployment rate in a city like Detroit is?

[Autumn]

2. Poverty. In the greatest Country in the world.

Anyway I was told all my life it was the greatest Country in the world. Guess not. I imagine that "portfolio" is very common. Hell of a recovery isn't it.

[katnapped]

6. Of course it's the greatest in the world...

If your name is Koch, Walton, or Obama.

[bobbolink]

10. You got that right!

I had someone tell me the other day..."What I know is that healthcare in this country is STELLAR!"

Yeah, if you have big bucks for everything.

Even telling her that we place #37 in the world was dismissed.

Some people just can't get it no matter what.

[eilen]

8. I had a convo the other day with an old friend of mine

who is one of those brainwashed conservatives. She actually complained that her own mother was getting Social Security and she only worked for a short time as a waitress and how that really wasn't fair to all the people who have worked their whole lives and contributed to the system. She went on about how her brother supports her (she lives in his house, helps with his kids and pays him a nominal rent (!?).

I told her that is why it exists.

I told her "Would you rather she starve on the streets?"

She said "Well, I'd be happy to support her if she didn't have my brother."

I said "What if she had no kids or even no kids that were willing to do that?"

Then I said-- Listen, I don't begrudge your Mom her $800 a month to live on. She likely has Medicare A and B costs to pay and occasionally likes to eat.

It's pretty bad when Conservative on Steroids (Limbaugh, Beck) turn you against your own mother.

[bobbolink]

12. "It's pretty bad when Conservative on Steroids turn you against your own mother."

Can you believe we have come to this?

I just have to dismiss that kind of hatefulness (and that is what it is) and concentrate on educating people who are trainable.

Most "progressives" don't know the real facts, and if they do, they are mostly unwilling to take any kind of action, so there is a lot of work to do just "among our own kind."

I hope you will join us in that!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x575072

[eleny]

16. Doing thier corporate masters proud

It sounds like she has to hold on to her philosophy so tightly that there isn't even room left for compassion for her own mother. Her mother!

[KT2000]

23. How to fix that

Tell her - guess what! Your mom is moving out of your brother's house and in with you!
What a selfish person she is.

[Starry Messenger]

19. recommend.

And there are people here who would suggest that with a little pluck and elbow grease, a person in these horrible circumstances could make the best of it. We are a despicable country.

[bobbolink]

21. "Right here", indeed.

And that's why some DUers right now are in the grips of despair.

:cry: