Poliiticians Have No Idea ? What Poor People Go Through .

3/13/2014

                    Politicians have no idea what poor people go through, here is an
                    example of just one who's wealthy and knows not what it is to want!

        http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/12/record-breaking-nychomelessnessblamedonforprofitsheltersreport.html

                                                      Cheers....Joe......... 

The reasons for homelessness are many.  The 41% homeless families is the figure people should zero in on.  That is the direct result of the economic crisis and the housing crash.  People without jobs cannot pay rent or mortgage payments or even keep up taxes or insurance.  There was a time when "the wife went to work" or the oldest kids sold papers to make ends meet.  Today, the living cost requires two paychecks minimum - and many of those paychecks are a combination of low pay jobs without benefits.

Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act provides for catastrophic insurance.  Previously, one major illness and all a family's resources were gone and they were on the street. 

One mayor cannot be blamed.  In the crash of '29, many men roamed the rails and slept on the streets while their families struggled to find a place to live with relatives.  The Shakers, a religious sect without their own children, took in children that families could no longer afford to feed. Children were farmed out to relatives.

Today, the extended families are only among a few immigrant groups.  If you are down on your luck no one's door is open for a couch or a garage.  Poverty is a disease - get too close and you might catch it.

There is very little change in the help for those with mental issues.  These people, including vets, are on the streets.

While the myth is that government programs are forever bigger, in comparison to need, they are drastically shrinking.  No one cries over the $billions on aid to corporations and industrial conglomerates that take their jobs out of this country leaving millions unemployed.  No, they cut funding for those left behind with no jobs.

As city taxation grows and corporate and business bases move out of cities, all that's left are the poor and homeless.  The stress on city coffers it extreme.  Only by revitalizing cities will an end to homelessness have a fighting chance - and instead of revitalizing cities - huge shopping centers build fake cities with slanted parking in the burbs.

The problem is complex with multiple issues.  Taking them one at a time:  revitalizing the infrastructure in cities to attract employers is a first step.  Need to start somewhere.

Next, providing medical care for mental issues on a clinical, drop in basis is an absolute necessity.  Addictions rob society of productive workers for whom medical care would make a difference.

Affordable housing units on the Habitat for Humanity Model needs to be expanded.

And lest we forget education - training needs to be free that targets jobs available in a community.

3/13/2014

                                     DK...

                                            ....  

                                          Cheers...............Joe.. 

Agree with Joe.  You made a good summary of cause and effect, DK.

Poverty is a state of mind, just as wealth is.  Education can alter that "State of Mind". 
Believing at an early age that you will be poor because your parents were poor is just one aspect.
 
I'm just finishing a book by Deepak Chopra titled: Synchro Destiny.  A paragraph on page 265 caught my attention:  "In the broader sense of self, a critical mass of people in societies, communities, and institutions also determines the attitude of these larger bodies.  When a culture has a constricted identity, its emphasis is predominantly on profit-making, ruthless competition, economic imperialism, extreme nationalism, military conflict, violence, and fear.  If a critical mass of people were to express their expanded selves, not only would they spontaneously fulfill their personal desires, they would change the very way culture articulates itself.  In such a transformed culture the emphasis would be on service rather than on greed, cooperation instead of competition, open hearts instead of only markets..." Etc.

Ah, such a beautiful world it would be.  I live in a community of extreme wealth - where people now have the time and desire to give back for the lives they have lived.  Too bad it takes old age to find this wisdom in generosity and providing a meaningful existence.  However, if their lives had not previously been for profit and greed, they wouldn't have the wealth to give back now.  No matter what, a measure of a person is still based on their wealth. 

Even in my little church. We have many elderly people with birthdays but the one who has contributed substantial amounts to the church is the only one specially honored.  Hmmm

Abe F. March wrote:

 
I'm just finishing a book by Deepak Chopra titled: Synchro Destiny.  A paragraph on page 265 caught my attention:  "In the broader sense of self, a critical mass of people in societies, communities, and institutions also determines the attitude of these larger bodies.  When a culture has a constricted identity, its emphasis is predominantly on profit-making, ruthless competition, economic imperialism, extreme nationalism, military conflict, violence, and fear.  If a critical mass of people were to express their expanded selves, not only would they spontaneously fulfill their personal desires, they would change the very way culture articulates itself.  In such a transformed culture the emphasis would be on service rather than on greed, cooperation instead of competition, open hearts instead of only markets..." Etc.

Good example of a socially constructed reality, and what it takes to bring about change.

joefrank wrote:

3/13/2014

                    Politicians have no idea what poor people go through, here is an
                    example of just one who's wealthy and knows not what it is to want!

        http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/12/record-breaking-nychomelessnessblamedonforprofitsheltersreport.html

                                                      Cheers....Joe......... 

I'm sure they know...they just don't care about the poor. It's all about wealth, and power.