Fornits
General Interest => Tacitus' Realm => Topic started by: webcrawler on September 30, 2005, 04:11:00 PM
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Long, but great read.
http://www.mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments ... meless.pdf (http://www.mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/Why%20Are%20People%20Homeless.pdf)
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NPR's Marketplace presented a series of commentaries on Povery, post hurricanes, posing two questions: Does poverty serve anyone's interests? If so, whose?
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/feat ... tycomment/ (http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/povertycomment/)
All were good, but I particularly enjoyed Evelyn Dortch, founder of DAWG
http://www.geocities.com/itsdadawg/ (http://www.geocities.com/itsdadawg/)
She tells of a million dollar program that had about 20 people particpating, to teach the poor how to apply make-up and deodorant. I agreed with her, that those funds could've been best used to teach a marketable skill.
and Bruce Bartlett- National Center for Policy Analysis
Bartlett elaborates, that the presence of poor folks creates jobs and opportunity for 'helpers'.
POVERTY STATS 2004:
Overall American poverty rate: 12.7% percent (up from 12.5% in 2003)
In 2004, 37 million people were in poverty (up 1.1 million from 2003)
Poverty level for a household with two children under age 18: $19,157
17% of American children live in families with below-poverty incomes
Since 2003 the number of people who work but remain in poverty increased by 563,000 (from 5.8% to 6.1%)
Federal minimum wage: $5.15/hour
Annual salary at a full-time minimum wage job: $10,712
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On 2005-09-30 13:11:00, webcrawler wrote:
"Long, but great read.
http://www.mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments ... meless.pdf (http://www.mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/Why%20Are%20People%20Homeless.pdf)"
An excellent description that covers it all. Maybe people whose armchair fix for homelessness is that they "Get a job" should read it.
I moved to SW Florida after the hurricanes redecorated the area, and I'm still amazed at how the housing prices have damned near TRIPLED while people are still living in FEMA parks. How do they have a chance in hell of rebuilding?
I also heard another nugget the other day: A customer of mine asked me to excuse his living room because his housekeeper was forced to cut her hours. Apparently, those still living in the FEMA trailers are only allowed to work under 30 hours a week, even though they don't have homes to go to.
Now you gotta think - what does a housekeeper make? Maybe 10 bucks an hour if they work with an agency (as this girl does). That grosses what... 300 a week, 1200 a month. The average RENTAL in this area is $1000. You can get something really scuzzy for $800.
Yet, there are people actually BITCHING that people in the FEMA parks are still "sponging off the government".
Yeah, there are people out there that won't do shit for themselves, and make shitty decisions and wind up homeless. But when someone wants to make a change, and find themselves limited on what they can do, how does that help the problem?
And I can only go by what I know - which is what I've described. But I'm also told that in other areas of the country, the homeless problem is compounded by outlandish housing prices, but the programs that are supposed to help people get into homes severely limit them in income.
Habitat for Humanity is a great idea - however, you don't qualify unless you have children. So what is one to do if they don't? What about the people that are physically or mentally unable to work? What about the 55-plusser who simply isn't hirable?
Ah, the list goes on. But this problem has been around for decades, and it's only getting worse, and I don't believe that the average homeless person wants to be homeless.
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Heh heh, hell $10 is being generous for working as a maid with a service. Out here it's $7 or $8 an hour and the average 3 bedroom apt is at least $1000 a month. Yeah, so many people just don't get it or just don't care.
Another thing that sickens me is to see our govt failing vets. It breaks my heart to see so many of them out here homeless. Regardless of my feelings about war the govt should be doing more for the people that served their country instead of just using them as pawns and disgarding them when no longer needed.
Have you ever read this book:
http://www.henryholt.com/holt/nickelanddimed.htm (http://www.henryholt.com/holt/nickelanddimed.htm)
It was a pretty decent read. At first I was refusing to read it and was a little upset that an upper middle class woman wrote about her experiment of living in poverty and being homeless because there are plenty of people struggling out here that can tell their stories with just as much validity, if not more. So anyhow, I ended up reading this book and opened my mind and I was pretty impressed how she accurately portrayed people and how she understood how hard it is for people to make it out here.
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On 2005-10-01 14:37:00, webcrawler wrote:
"Heh heh, hell $10 is being generous for working as a maid with a service. Out here it's $7 or $8 an hour and the average 3 bedroom apt is at least $1000 a month. Yeah, so many people just don't get it or just don't care.
I hear ya - it's ridiculous. The places I'm describing here are the ones that I've looked at, which are two bedrooms. Three bedrooms cost an extra 300-500. I'm renting a pretty decent house - but for the life of me, I'll never understand why the showerhead is 5 feet high! Very small builders?
Another thing that sickens me is to see our govt failing vets. It breaks my heart to see so many of them out here homeless. Regardless of my feelings about war the govt should be doing more for the people that served their country instead of just using them as pawns and disgarding them when no longer needed.
My own father is a vet and holds some kind of office with his local VFW. I've heard the same shit from him, along the lines of "These guys don't want help - they can make 30K standing on the side of the road ... don't you give them a dime!"
Needless to say, my conversations with my dad revolve around computers, food and wine.
Have you ever read this book:
http://www.henryholt.com/holt/nickelanddimed.htm (http://www.henryholt.com/holt/nickelanddimed.htm)
It was a pretty decent read. At first I was refusing to read it and was a little upset that an upper middle class woman wrote about her experiment of living in poverty and being homeless because there are plenty of people struggling out here that can tell their stories with just as much validity, if not more. So anyhow, I ended up reading this book and opened my mind and I was pretty impressed how she accurately portrayed people and how she understood how hard it is for people to make it out here."
Unless it comes on an audiobook, it will have to go on my "to read" list. :smile:
That's another thing - and I'm not giving blatant morons excuses - but I think a portion of the ignorance comes from being too damned busy making money to KEEP their homes, that they're not able to read things or do independent research, or consider anything outside of their own lives.
Ignorance is curable - stupidity is not.
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On 2005-10-01 14:50:00, Helena Handbasket wrote:
...a portion of the ignorance comes from being too damned busy making money to KEEP their homes, that they're not able to read things or do independent research, or consider anything outside of their own lives.
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You have pin-pointed the very essence of the Con. This is the dirty little open secret of our economic system, and the key to how 95% of the population gets screwed by the other 5%.
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I share your sentiments webcrawler, but perhaps it takes a MC white woman to present it so other MC folks can hear.
Here's a review of N&D
Servant leadership defiled:
Reflections on Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed
By C. Melissa Snarr
In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join the millions of Americans who work full-time [yet still] and earn poverty-level wages. Ehrenreich, a nationally renowned writer who contributes to The New York Times, Time, and The New Republic, wanted to cover the impact of welfare reform by immersing herself in the world of the working poor in the United States. She and her editor openly wondered how anyone could survive, let alone prosper, on six to seven dollars an hour. He challenged her to find out. So began a yearlong journey, during which Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered as an inexperienced homemaker returning to the workforce.
Criss-crossing the country from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. As Ehrenreich remarks, she quickly discovered that no job is truly ?unskilled,? that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors. :lol:
Ehrenreich?s book, Nickel and Dimed, offers a fascinating account of one woman?s attempt to live on ?low-skill? wages in different service industries and her daily struggle to survive. Ehrenreich is honest about the constructed reality of her experience. She could always opt out of extreme hardship (medically, physically). She started with a thousand dollars in her pocket and chose cities that had relatively good labor markets. But her book does offer the reader an easy entry into the complex world of the working poor. I hope she will spur readers to think and read more about living wages, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and the role of unions for the working poor. But for those of us working in various ?servant leadership? enterprises, Ehrenreich?s book should raise these issues and more. We should think carefully about the damage wrought by hypocrisy.
?Servant Leaders??
Ehrenreich?s final job in her immersion experience was at a Minnesota Wal-Mart where she earned seven dollars an hour. ?Barbara? (as her nametag read) worked full time keeping the ladies? clothing department ?shoppable? (picking up after customers and arranging clothes). She worked the 2 to 11pm shift full-time and had to negotiate skillfully her two fifteen-minute breaks, when, ?there?s the question of how to make the best use of a fifteen-minute break when you have three or more urgent, simultaneous needs?to pee, to drink something, to get outside the neon and into the natural light, and most of all, to sit down.?
Ehrenreich?s experience at Wal-Mart was not significantly different from the struggles, friendships, and burdens in her other jobs. What was different for Ehrenreich was the language and culture that enwrapped her Wal-Mart experience. From the time Ehrenreich entered orientation, she was told that ?respect for the individual? was a key value for Wal-Mart. As the trainers noted, some of the best ideas often come from employees, or ?associates,? such as the decision to employ the elderly as ?people greeters? at the entrance of every store. Because their ideas are welcome and valued, ?associates? are told to think of their managers not as bosses but as ?servant leaders,? serving them as well as the customers.
And then Ehrenreich says it wryly: ?Of course, all is not total harmony, in every instance, between associates and their servant leaders.?
For immediately following the trainers? assurance, the ?servant leaders? show the associates a video warning about criminal activity and a video entitled ?You?ve Picked a Great Place to Work,? warning about the sedition of unions. Then comes the lecture on ?time-theft.? Doing anything other than working on company time, including phone calls, bathroom breaks, and talking to other associates, is strictly forbidden. [Work, or prison??] In fact, throughout the chapter, Howard, the assistant manager, becomes a lurking figure who constantly catches associates in ?time theft? as they talk with each other.
The lurking image of Howard could provoke in the reader just a disappointed smile about another manager?s use and abuse of the term ?servant leader.? But there are deeper issues to be seen in Ehrenreich?s work. There is a more thorough challenge to ?servant leadership? intrinsic in organizations that pay low-income or ?poverty? wages.?
Structural Issues Matter
The fact is that most employees in low-paid service jobs cannot afford to support themselves, let alone a family, on seven or eight dollars an hour.
For example, to be deemed affordable, rents usually need to be at 30% of one?s income. But as Ehrenereich notes, housing analysts report that 59% of poor renters, or 4.4 million households, spend more than 50% of their income on housing.
As ?Barbara? quickly found out, without the first month?s rent, it?s extremely difficult to secure a ?legitimate apartment.? Budget hotels become the primary option. Even with two jobs amounting to $320 dollars a week, the $179 budget hotel took 55% of her income. Ehrenreich then turned to aid agencies whose lists, she discovered, are already out of date. The agency finally suggested she move into a shelter until she could save enough money. Ehrenreich writes, ?our bright blue vests bear the statement ?At Wal-Mart, our people make the difference.? Underneath those vests, though, there are real-life charity cases, maybe even shelter dwellers.?
Affordable housing shortages abound in US cities and they actually get tougher in stronger economic times. As former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo notes, the ?cruel irony? of affordable housing shortage is that ?the stronger the economy, the stronger the upward pressure on rents.? This cycle seems particularly cruel. Ehrenreich bemoans, ?The rich and the poor, who are generally thought to live in a state of harmonious interdependence?the one providing cheap labor, the other providing low-wage jobs?can no longer coexist.?
Ehrenreich?s book is rich with anecdotes that illustrate some of the daily-ness of a working poor person. One employee continually comes by to negotiate the seven dollar collared shirt that has a stain on it. (Employees must wear collared shirts). She is finally told that employees do not receive any discounts on sale items. Suddenly the seven-dollar shirt no longer fits into the budget of the seven-dollar-an-hour employee. For students or people unaware of the dynamics of poverty, the book provides memorable moments that illustrate daily struggles.
But Ehrenreich?s final rant should give those studying ?servant leadership? a more thorough pause: ?Someone has to puncture the prevailing fiction that we?re ?family? here, we ?associates? and our ?servant leaders,? held together solely by our commitment to the ?guests.? After all, you?d need a lot stronger word than dysfunctional to describe a family where a few people get to eat at the table while the rest?the ?associates? and all the dark-skinned seamstresses and factory workers worldwide who make the things we sell?lick up the drippings from the floor: psychotic would be closer to the mark.?
Yes ?Barbara,? please puncture the prevailing fiction. And do it pointedly. For servant leadership is about a call to meet the highest priority needs of those in an organization and community, not staving off unionization. Servant leadership is about individuals having caring relationships in the organization, but it is also about the wages and policies of an organization.
In my view, and in Robert Greenleaf?s view, servant leadership is about how individuals and organizations embody healing and generativity in the world. ?Servant leaders? do not have the option to ignore the impact of wages, adequate health care, and affordable housing on individuals and communities. To promote ?servant leadership? without an eye to how love links to dignity and justice is to miss the heart of servant leadership.
Ehrenreich?s work in Nickel and Dimed should remind all readers that structural issues such as living wages, adequate health care, and affordable housing matter. As educators and trainers, we have an obligation to say that they should matter even more to ?servant leaders.?
1 Spears, Larry. ?Tracing the Impact of Servant Leadership,? Insights on Leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998, p3.
2 Dreier, Peter. ?Why America?s Workers Can?t Pay the Rent,? Dissent, Summer 2000, pp38-44.
3 Spears, p3.
There are some good links in another thread here:
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... t=80#54995 (http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=5152&forum=32&start=80#54995)
The Living Wage Campaign is a good one to support:
http://www.universallivingwage.org/ (http://www.universallivingwage.org/)
Be sure to check out the ULW Formula:
http://www.universallivingwage.org/ (http://www.universallivingwage.org/)
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On 2005-10-01 20:09:00, Anonymous wrote:
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On 2005-10-01 14:50:00, Helena Handbasket wrote:
...a portion of the ignorance comes from being too damned busy making money to KEEP their homes, that they're not able to read things or do independent research, or consider anything outside of their own lives.
"
You have pin-pointed the very essence of the Con. This is the dirty little open secret of our economic system, and the key to how 95% of the population gets screwed by the other 5%."
Well yeah, but it's nothing we all didn't already know. So we got the problem pinned down, so where's the solution?
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I don't think the majority of people know this. And I've come to doubt that they would do a darn thing if they did.
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I read Nickel and Dimed. That is a fantastic read.
Here is one thing that Americans should do: you fucking go through an agency to hire a housekeeper? Fuck that shit. What the fuck is your problem? They are paid a FRACTION of what the bossy-boss takes in. HIRE YOUR FUCKING HELP YOUR DAMN FUCKING LAZY ASS SELF! Get a goddamned clue. Jesus fucking christ. If your "maid" doesn't have her own transportation, FUCKING GO PICK HER UP! Pay her a Good Wage. Get your neighbors to hire her, or him, excuse me. Work it the fuck out, people.
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Sell one of your damn antiques or some of the shit in your house you never use anyway and buy him or her a little used car. Okay? It's not that hard.
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On 2005-10-02 10:31:00, Anonymous wrote:
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I don't think the majority of people know this. And I've come to doubt that they would do a darn thing if they did. "
Well, maybe I'm a little naive... I've only been on this planet for 36 years. I've been told (not so nicely) that those in power are there for a reason, and the older, white gentlemen know a hell of a lot more than the rest of us schmoes.
So yeah, logic follows that they plain-out don't give a fuck.
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A Poverty Of Understanding
Nancy Cauthen
September 30, 2005
Dr. Nancy Cauthen is deputy director of the National Center for Children in Poverty, the nation?s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the health, economic security, and well-being of America?s most vulnerable children and families. NCCP is a non-partisan, public interest organization that creates knowledge to find solutions at the state and national levels. For more information, visit: http://www.nccp.org (http://www.nccp.org).
In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina?and the contribution of various governments to the catastrophe?we suddenly have national leaders talking about poverty. Not surprisingly, they?re simply talking past one another.
For starters, they can?t agree on the nature and depth of poverty in the United States. Using the federal government?s official poverty measure?which is about $16,000 annually for a family of three and $19,000 for a family of four?17 percent of the nation?s children are living in poor families. That?s 12 million children, and the number is increasing.
Perhaps most stunning is that 7 percent of children?5 million?live in families with incomes of less than half the poverty level. That?s a paltry sum?less than $8,000 for a family of three and $9,600 for a family of four.
These are the official statistics. But just about everyone agrees that the feds? current measure is woefully out of date. We measure poverty by a standard set more than 40 years ago. Data collected in the 1950s indicated that families spent about one-third of their income on food. Poverty is still measured by multiplying the cost of the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s ?economy food plan? by three.
Our national poverty figures obscure dramatic variation by place and race. In New Hampshire, 7 percent of children are poor, whereas in Arkansas, the figure is 25 percent. About 10 percent of white children live in poverty, while roughly 30 percent of African-American and Latino children do. Before Katrina, 38 percent of children in New Orleans were poor.
Of course these days, food comprises far less than a third of an average family?s expenses, while housing, child care, heath care, and transportation costs have grown disproportionately. What?s more, the official poverty measure doesn?t take in account government benefits, payroll and income taxes, or work-related expenses such as child care and transportation. Does a national poverty standard make sense in a country where the cost of living varies substantially not only from state to state?say, from California to Kansas?but also between cities and rural areas within states?
Most analyses?including those from the U.S. Census Bureau?suggest that taking all these factors into account would increase poverty rates. No administration has wanted to take on this burden, so we continue to measure poverty by an irrelevant metric.
But research indicates that it takes an income of anywhere between ONE AND A HALF TO THREE TIMES the current poverty level to meet basic family needs. Using twice the poverty level as a proxy, 38 percent of the nation?s children?some 29 million?are living in families with inadequate incomes. The bottom line is that by any reasonable standard, we have a big problem.
So what can be done? First, we?re long overdue for an intelligent conversation about why the richest country in the world has the highest poverty rate among advanced democratic nations.
There simply AREN'T ENOUGH JOBS THAT PAY DECENT WAGES, especially for those who lack a college degree. We spend far more money on medical care than other nations, yet we have 44 million people without health insurance. Our neglect of public education leaves many graduates unprepared for work or for college. And mounting tuition means that higher education is increasingly out of reach. Many of our preschoolers languish in child care settings that lack appropriate supervision, stimulation and nurturance, their caregivers often making poverty-level wages themselves.
These realities also make maintaining a middle-class existence more precarious. Many middle-income families are merely one crisis?a medical emergency, job loss or divorce?away from financial ruin. Fewer employers offer the kind of job stability they used to, and fewer provide employees with pensions and affordable health care.
The divide between the affluent and average working American families?let?s not forget that the majority of poor families have at least one worker?is most clear when it comes to assets. The richest 5 percent of American households control nearly 60 percent of the nation?s wealth, while the BOTTOM 40 PERCENT HAVE LESS THAN A PERCENT. What?s more, low- and middle-income families are increasingly saddled with debt. Given an inability to make ends meet, not to mention the spiraling cost of housing, millions of Americans are literally mortgaging their futures.
Only after we acknowledge this growing divide between the well-heeled haves and everybody else can we begin to have a meaningful dialogue about policy. We need to confront two major challenges.
We need a bold agenda that supports working families so that parents can once again aspire to providing their children with a better future. This means addressing stagnating wages and families? need for workplace flexibility. It means improving public education?including integrating our schools not just across race and ethnic lines but also across income?and increasing access to higher ed. It means figuring out how to make decent housing, health care and child care affordable for all. It means rebuilding our public institutions and national infrastructure.
A clear lesson from the New Deal and Great Society is that the most successful programs?Social Security, Unemployment Insurance and Medicare?target people across income. In contrast, means-tested programs tend to be meager and stigmatizing. As the saying goes, programs for poor people are poor programs.
The second challenge is to address the needs of the most disadvantaged. Before Katrina, more than half of New Orleans residents did not own their homes; one in five households did not have a car, and eight percent had no phone service. Families trapped by this kind of deep poverty?and living in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poor people?need more than the Band-Aid© approaches that have passed for anti-poverty programs in the past.
Thousands of Americans have been prompted by Katrina to ask what kind of society we want to have. Rising inequality?and the near absence of any meaningful level of social mobility?belie America?s promise of equality, opportunity and justice for all. After 25 years of talk about ?personal responsibility,? it?s time to talk also about the obligations of government to its citizens.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 791517.htm (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/12791517.htm)
Real homes key to solving homelessness
By Patty Fisher
Mercury News
Twenty years ago, Americans approached the homeless problem much as we would an earthquake or hurricane: We opened shelters. We thought that if homeless people just had a temporary roof, then they'd be back on their feet in no time.
But we were wrong. The homeless population grew. The shelters stayed full. So we built more shelters because we didn't understand the nature of the problem. Homelessness is indeed a temporary crisis for some people, like so many of those wiped out in the Gulf Coast by Katrina. But for those who suffer from mental illness or drug dependency -- about one-third of the homeless population -- it can be a lifelong condition. For them, the answer is a permanent home.
That's all Susan wants.
She became homeless after bipolar disorder and alcoholism robbed her of her job as a registered nurse, her apartment, her car and her ability to cope with day-to-day life. When a debilitating stroke landed her in the hospital, she connected with social workers who found her a bed at the Spring Street Shelter in Redwood City.
``As soon as I walked into Spring Street, I knew I was home,'' said Susan, 55, who asked that I not print her last name.
But while Spring Street may be homey, it's not really home. Like other emergency shelters, it's just a triage station for the homeless, where they get some help -- and then must move on.
No place to call home
The problem is that there aren't enough places for people like Susan to move on to. That's why the opening of the Belmont Apartments is such welcome news. The 24-unit complex off El Camino Real in Belmont will provide permanent, affordable homes for low-income mentally ill people who otherwise would be on the streets, in shelters or in jail.
The non-profit Mental Health Association of San Mateo County, which built the $5.5 million complex with public and private money, will provide on-site case management, peer counseling and other services that the mentally ill need to live on their own.
A similar vision -- on a much larger scale -- is taking shape in Palo Alto at the Opportunity Center of the Midpeninsula, which opens next summer. The Opportunity Center will provide daytime services for the local homeless population and 89 apartments, of which 35 will be reserved for people with mental or physical disabilities.
Innvision has opened several smaller supportive housing complexes in San Jose, serving about 300 people who are mentally ill or survivors of domestic violence.
This is the 21st century homeless solution. The feds and the states have set a goal of ending homelessness in a decade, and fortunately they realize that the only way they have a prayer of reaching that goal is to build homes, not homeless shelters.
Focusing on abilities
With airy patios, lots of storage space and soothing blue hues, the Belmont Apartments feel like home. Caseworkers will be there to check in with residents, who will be free to come and go as they please.
``Being mentally ill can be very isolating,'' said Melissa Platte, executive director of the Mental Health Association of San Mateo County. ``Here they will be living together in a safe environment, where people know you have disabilities, but they focus on your abilities.''
Susan has applied for one of the 450-square-foot studios. Her rent would be one-third of the $1,280 a month she gets from SSI and a part-time job as a dog groomer.
While Spring Street Shelter has been a supportive place for her, Susan thinks she's ready for a place of her own. And Belmont seems like the perfect fit. She even has a pet blue beta fish, which will match the blue carpet and countertops.
Patty Fisher writes about the Peninsula on Wednesday and Saturday. Contact her at [email protected] or call (650) 688-7510.
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At $425 for 450sf or .95/sf, doesn't sound like any special deal for the residents. The apartment owner is charging market rates and the rents are guarenteed, no philanthropy here. What a sweet deal!! As good as Section 8. How long till these places will be run down because the owner pockets all the cash and puts none back into the property.
What might they get for one-quarter their income? Ya know that was the standard until the cost of living exceeding income potential. Hell, you can buy a house now without divulging your income.
Maybe the poor should catch on and get themselves a dx so they can draw SSI and have a decent place to live. I'm sure there are a large number who feel they can't 'cope with day-to-day life' on skid row.
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The county I live in has built supportive affordable housing and it has met a lot of community opposition. It's a shame there is not enough to go around. The waiting lists are very long. A person can expect to wait a few years before a unit becomes available. Same thing with HUD subsidized housing and Section 8. It's frustrating to say the least.
Right now HUD has a program that helps renters with Section 8 become home owners. The renter attends money management, credit repair, and household upkeep classes to prepare them for home ownership and get approved for a mortgage. Once the renter becomes a homeowner HUD subsidizes the mortgage the same way they did the rent. Great way to save money when most mortgages are lower than rent. A win win situation.
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Good series from 2001:
Making It On The Minimum
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/minimum/ (http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/minimum/)
Ehrenreich is featured in two of the five short pieces.
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August 30, 2005
New Report on Income and Poverty
Today the U.S. Census released its annual report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States. The number of Americans living in poverty increased to 37.0 million, or 12.7% of the population in 2004, compared to 35.9 million (12.5%) in 2003. Median household income was unchanged.
This is the fourth year in a row that poverty has increased.
The poverty rate among seniors decreased from 10.2% in 2003 to 9.8% in 2004, while it increased for children (from 17.6% to 17.8%) and adults age 18-64 (from 10.8% to 11.3%).
Although the economy has grown in recent years, poverty has increased. The data show low-income people getting a shrinking share of a modestly growing pie. The share of income going to Americans in the lowest quintile of the income distribution went from 3.6% in 1999 to 3.4% in 2004. At the same time, the share of income going to those in the highest quintile went from 49.4% to 50.1%.
This CPS income and poverty data release each year does not include the food insecurity data, which usually come out in October. However, those numbers went up each year in 2001, 2002, and 2003, just as the poverty numbers did, and now the Census Bureau has reported that the poverty rate increased again in 2004.
Proposals in Congress to cut food stamp spending over the next five years would only exacerbate the worsening situation faced by millions of low-income people.
For more information, see the U.S. Census release at:
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www ... 05647.html (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/005647.html)
See the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities¹ release at:
http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05pov.htm (http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05pov.htm)
See the Coalition on Human Needs¹ release at:
http://www.chn.org/issues/statistics/povertyday.html (http://www.chn.org/issues/statistics/povertyday.html)
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Poverty Growing And Is Undercounted As Well
(?US Poverty: Chronic Ill, Little Hope For Cure,? boston.com, October 5, 2005)
Since 2000, the number of poor people in the U.S. has grown every year, and by almost 5.5 million in total. The shocking New Orleans pictures of poor black people begging for help prompted comparisons with conditions in developing countries from Somalia and Angola to Bangladesh. The percentage of African-Americans living in poverty is 24.7 percent, a percentage almost twice as high as the overall rate for all races (12.7 percent). But in America, there are also three times as many poor whites as blacks, and the poverty rate for whites has risen faster than that for blacks and Hispanics. "Every August, we Americans tell ourselves a lie," says David Brady, a Duke University professor, referring to the time when the U.S. Census Bureau releases annual poverty figures. "Taking everything into account, the real [poverty] rate is around 18 percent, or 48 million people. Poverty in the United States is more widespread, by far, than in any other industrialized country." Many of the American poor are ?working poor? whose wages are not enough to keep them above the poverty line and tens of thousands of whom are forced to sleep in cars, trailers, long-term motels and shelters. However, minimum wage jobs, without health insurance and other benefits, are the only jobs available to millions of Americans with basic education.
http://tinyurl.com/dypxn (http://tinyurl.com/dypxn)
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On 2005-10-11 21:54:00, webcrawler wrote:
" Poverty Growing And Is Undercounted As Well
(?US Poverty: Chronic Ill, Little Hope For Cure,? boston.com, October 5, 2005)
Since 2000, the number of poor people in the U.S. has grown every year, and by almost 5.5 million in total. The shocking New Orleans pictures of poor black people begging for help prompted comparisons with conditions in developing countries from Somalia and Angola to Bangladesh. The percentage of African-Americans living in poverty is 24.7 percent, a percentage almost twice as high as the overall rate for all races (12.7 percent). But in America, there are also three times as many poor whites as blacks, and the poverty rate for whites has risen faster than that for blacks and Hispanics. "Every August, we Americans tell ourselves a lie," says David Brady, a Duke University professor, referring to the time when the U.S. Census Bureau releases annual poverty figures. "Taking everything into account, the real [poverty] rate is around 18 percent, or 48 million people. Poverty in the United States is more widespread, by far, than in any other industrialized country." Many of the American poor are ?working poor? whose wages are not enough to keep them above the poverty line and tens of thousands of whom are forced to sleep in cars, trailers, long-term motels and shelters. However, minimum wage jobs, without health insurance and other benefits, are the only jobs available to millions of Americans with basic education.
http://tinyurl.com/dypxn (http://tinyurl.com/dypxn)
The working poor now were also once the middle and upper-middle classes that have had their jobs outsourced for cheap labor.
I don't have a lot of time here, but I'm pretty tired of hearing about the "lazy people" (read: those in poverty) when we all know someone who was making a damned good living as little as two years ago.
I'm not talking about your post, btw - it was just a thought I had today while listening to a fundy customer bitch about the state of the world while I held my tongue. :flame:
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However, minimum wage jobs, without health insurance and other benefits, are the only jobs available to millions of Americans with basic education.
"
Which is why it makes sense to deal dope, whether it's weed, crack, or smack. Work a minimum-wage job at McD's? Puh-leaze. That don't pay the bills. Selling drugs does.
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On 2005-10-12 13:52:00, Anonymous wrote:
"hich is why it makes sense to deal dope, whether it's weed, crack, or smack. Work a minimum-wage job at McD's? Puh-leaze. That don't pay the bills. Selling drugs does."
Couldn't agree more. IN order to make it in this 'system' you got to break the rules.
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"
On 2005-10-11 21:54:00, webcrawler wrote:
However, minimum wage jobs, without health insurance and other benefits, are the only jobs available to millions of Americans with basic education.
My first thought was that there aren't many decent jobs available regardless of people's level of education. They're just not there.
I honestly believe that the people of this commonwealth, or more likely the region regardless of political boundaries, could significantly reduce homelessness and poverty while improving other important issues in one major move if we had the will to do it. All we have to do is smarten up enough to ignore the laws that currently make it impractical to switch over to agricultural fuel sources.
That would put farmers and their land to work, draw labor out of the cities, draw investment for the processing plants, create local fuel independence AND recession-proof export products. History gives us a kind of chart, and we dare not surrender even a small rushlight in the darkness. The hasty reformer who does not remember the past will find himself condemned to repeat it.
--John Buchan
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What laws, please.
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http://tinyurl.com/dypxn (http://tinyurl.com/dypxn)
Your tinyurl isn't working, WC.
I have strange thoughts on a day off when the house is clean and Red Tide is in full bloom... . I wonder how many Ed-Cons (or ex-EdCons) are struggling with poverty or homeless. :???:
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Don't know why the link stopped working :sad: Was trying to save space.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washi ... 92?mode=PF (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/05/us_poverty_chronic_ill_little_hope_for_cure_1128520592?mode=PF)
US poverty: chronic ill, little hope for cure
By Bernd Debusmann | October 5, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four decades after a U.S. president declared war on poverty, more than 37 million people in the world's richest country are officially classified as poor and their number has been on the rise for years.
Last year, according to government statistics, 1.1 million Americans fell below the poverty line. That equals the entire population of a major city like Dallas or Prague.
Since 2000, the ranks of the poor have increased year by year by almost 5.5 million in total. Even optimists see little prospect that the number will shrink soon despite a renewed debate on poverty prompted by searing television images which laid bare a fact of American life rarely exposed to global view.
The president who made the war declaration was Lyndon Johnson. "Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope, some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. This administration declares unconditional war on poverty in America."
That was in 1964. Then 19 percent of the U.S. population lived below the official poverty line. That rate declined over the next four years and in 1968, it stood at 12.8 percent.
Since then, it has fluctuated little. Last year, it was at 12.7 percent, proof that poverty is a chronic problem.
The state of poverty in the United States is measured once a year by the Census Bureau, whose statistics-packed 70-plus page report usually provides fodder for academic studies but rarely sparks wide public debate, touches emotional buttons, or features on television. Not so in 2005.
The report coincided with Katrina, a devastating hurricane which killed more than 1,100 in Louisiana and Mississippi. Live television coverage with shocking images of the desperate and the dead in New Orleans showed in brutal close-up what the spreadsheets of the census bureau cannot convey.
SCENES SHOCKED WORLD, SHAMED AMERICANS
The images shocked the world, shamed many Americans and prompted comparisons with conditions in developing countries from Somalia and Angola to Bangladesh. The pictures from New Orleans showed poor black people begging for help. Most of the rescuers, when they finally arrived, were white.
The percentage of black Americans living in poverty is 24.7, almost twice as high as the overall rate for all races.
In predominantly black New Orleans, that disparity translated into those with cars and money, almost all white, fleeing the flood while more than 100,000 car-less blacks were trapped in the flooded city.
Some commentators wondered whether the crisis showed that political segregation, America's version of apartheid which formally ended with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, had merely been replaced by economic segregation. Poor black Americans in one part of a city, affluent whites in the other.
A host of other American cities have such divides, including Newark, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Oakland, Miami and the U.S. capital itself. It is a 10-minute drive from the White House to the heart of Anacostia, the city's poorest neighborhood, but they could be in different worlds.
But the black-equals-poor scenes from New Orleans do not portray the full picture. There are three times as many poor whites as blacks in the United States and the poverty rate for whites has risen faster than that for blacks and Hispanics.
Academic experts also say the government's figures minimize the true scale of poverty because they are outdated. The formula for the poverty level was set in 1963 on the assumption that one third of the average family's budget was spent on food.
This is no longer true. Housing has become the largest single expense and tens of thousands of the "working poor," the label for those who work at or near the minimum wage, are forced to sleep in cars, trailers, long-term motels or shelters.
U.S. POVERTY WORST IN INDUSTRIALISED WORLD
"Every August, we Americans tell ourselves a lie," said David Brady, a Duke University professor who studies poverty.
"The poverty rate was designed to undercount because the government wanted to show progress in the war on poverty.
"Taking everything into account, the real rate is around 18 percent, or 48 million people. Poverty in the United States is more widespread, by far, than in any other industrialized country."
Poverty is a universal problem, as is inequality. The world's 500 richest people, according to U.N. statistics, have as much income as the world's poorest 416 million.
The post-hurricane poverty scenes were so remarkable for most of the world because of the perception of the United States as the rich land of unlimited opportunity.
No other country spends so much money -- billions of dollars -- to keep job-hungry foreigners out; no other country has an annual lottery in which millions of people play for 50,000 permanent resident "green cards," no other country has as many legal and illegal immigrants, all drawn by dreams of prosperity.
For many Americans they remain just that: dreams. While there are arguments over how poverty is measured -- conservatives say the census overstates it because it does not take into account food stamps and other subsidies -- there is consensus on one thing.
The minimum wage, which rose by 15 cents to $6.35 an hour on October 1, is not enough to keep you above the poverty line. Yet minimum wage jobs, without health insurance or vacations, are the only jobs available to millions of people with only basic education.
The well-paid unskilled jobs in heavy industry which once lifted working-class Americans into the middle class are largely gone and the decline continues. Since 2001, the United States has lost more than 2.7 million manufacturing jobs. Low-paid clerical work is being outsourced to developing countries.
Another U.S. president, the late Ronald Reagan, had it right when he said, in 1988: "The federal government declared war on poverty, and poverty won."
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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On 2005-10-01 14:18:00, Helena Handbasket
An excellent description that covers it all. Maybe people whose armchair fix for homelessness is that they "Get a job" should read it.
I moved to SW Florida after the hurricanes redecorated the area, and I'm still amazed at how the housing prices have damned near TRIPLED while people are still living in FEMA parks. How do they have a chance in hell of rebuilding?
I also heard another nugget the other day: A customer of mine asked me to excuse his living room because his housekeeper was forced to cut her hours. Apparently, those still living in the FEMA trailers are only allowed to work under 30 hours a week, even though they don't have homes to go to.
Now you gotta think - what does a housekeeper make? Maybe 10 bucks an hour if they work with an agency (as this girl does). That grosses what... 300 a week, 1200 a month. The average RENTAL in this area is $1000. You can get something really scuzzy for $800.
Yet, there are people actually BITCHING that people in the FEMA parks are still "sponging off the government".
Yeah, there are people out there that won't do shit for themselves, and make shitty decisions and wind up homeless. But when someone wants to make a change, and find themselves limited on what they can do, how does that help the problem?
And I can only go by what I know - which is what I've described. But I'm also told that in other areas of the country, the homeless problem is compounded by outlandish housing prices, but the programs that are supposed to help people get into homes severely limit them in income.
Habitat for Humanity is a great idea - however, you don't qualify unless you have children. So what is one to do if they don't? What about the people that are physically or mentally unable to work? What about the 55-plusser who simply isn't hirable?
Ah, the list goes on. But this problem has been around for decades, and it's only getting worse, and I don't believe that the average homeless person wants to be homeless.
"
I was catching up on some reading tonight before bed and came across an article regarding a FEMA trailer park in Punta Gorda, FLA. The residents have to be out by February and it didn't seem there was much hope beyond the trailer park. Apparently many of the residents of the park were living in public housing which has since been demolished to make way for luxury condos. Gentrification at it's "finest" I suppose.
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On 2005-10-13 21:52:00, webcrawler wrote:
"
On 2005-10-01 14:18:00, Helena Handbasket
An excellent description that covers it all. Maybe people whose armchair fix for homelessness is that they "Get a job" should read it.
I moved to SW Florida after the hurricanes redecorated the area, and I'm still amazed at how the housing prices have damned near TRIPLED while people are still living in FEMA parks. How do they have a chance in hell of rebuilding?
I also heard another nugget the other day: A customer of mine asked me to excuse his living room because his housekeeper was forced to cut her hours. Apparently, those still living in the FEMA trailers are only allowed to work under 30 hours a week, even though they don't have homes to go to.
Now you gotta think - what does a housekeeper make? Maybe 10 bucks an hour if they work with an agency (as this girl does). That grosses what... 300 a week, 1200 a month. The average RENTAL in this area is $1000. You can get something really scuzzy for $800.
Yet, there are people actually BITCHING that people in the FEMA parks are still "sponging off the government".
Yeah, there are people out there that won't do shit for themselves, and make shitty decisions and wind up homeless. But when someone wants to make a change, and find themselves limited on what they can do, how does that help the problem?
And I can only go by what I know - which is what I've described. But I'm also told that in other areas of the country, the homeless problem is compounded by outlandish housing prices, but the programs that are supposed to help people get into homes severely limit them in income.
Habitat for Humanity is a great idea - however, you don't qualify unless you have children. So what is one to do if they don't? What about the people that are physically or mentally unable to work? What about the 55-plusser who simply isn't hirable?
Ah, the list goes on. But this problem has been around for decades, and it's only getting worse, and I don't believe that the average homeless person wants to be homeless.
"
I was catching up on some reading tonight before bed and came across an article regarding a FEMA trailer park in Punta Gorda, FLA. The residents have to be out by February and it didn't seem there was much hope beyond the trailer park. Apparently many of the residents of the park were living in public housing which has since been demolished to make way for luxury condos. Gentrification at it's "finest" I suppose.
"
Not sure about that, but it sounds about par for this course. I do know that a lot of regular apartment buildings are still sitting there untouched after the storm.
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They should march to the whitehouse in masse and camp out on the lawn.
Organization would be a problem, as they spread them out in multiple states.
What will happen when their time is up and they have no home to return to?
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On 2005-10-14 06:00:00, Anonymous wrote:
"
They should march to the whitehouse in masse and camp out on the lawn.
Organization would be a problem, as they spread them out in multiple states.
What will happen when their time is up and they have no home to return to?"
Security would be a problem too - it's probably considered George Bush's private property these days as well.
As far as the FEMA Parks go, that's a good question - and it's dropped off the media radar here. Like WC said - they were due out in February, but they've extended the stay, but I don't know for how long. I'll see what I can find out.
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On 2005-10-12 20:34:00, Anonymous wrote:
"What laws, please."
The ones that require a prohibitively expensive and impractical level of inspection, definition and certification before one free soverign adult is allowed to produce and sell fuel products to another free soverign adult.
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
"Isn't your pants' zipper supposed to be in the front?"
--Hobbs to Calvin
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On 2005-10-02 20:44:00, Anonymous wrote:
Our neglect of public education leaves many graduates unprepared for work or for college.
Neglect :question: :exclaim: :rofl:
Oh my! Yeah, that's it! It's not that administration and shrinks outnumber teachers by about 2-1, it's not all the extra cops and laws. Nothing at all to do w/ the Federal No Child Left Behind (by recruiters) or the invasive DARE and other snitch programs, NO! That's not a problem. What we need is MORE of the same shit to finally get the schools to start turning the bend.
God damn, WHY are people so fucking gullible?
It takes only about 30 hours of contact instructin to teach most kids (or adults) basic litteracy and numeracy. That's it, that's all it takes. From that point, just stay the hell out of the kid's way except when they ask for help and advice. Kids learn how to do the complex social dances and skilled stupid human tricks necessarry to successful living in exactly the same way they learn to walk and talk. We're all born w/ a natural drive to master every stupid human trick we see our older family members and neighbors demonstrate.
The fucked up think about the schools and our economy is that our schools have been a smashing success! They reliably turn out, year after year, a crop of helpless, dependent young adults who are completely incapable of thinking for themselves or even understanding when the authority figure placed before them is speaking nonsense.
It's working just fine for some people. That's why they haven't made any progress in fixing things to our liking. I say we quit paying them and quit obeying them.
To seek out the best through the whole Union, we must resort to the information which from the best of men, acting disinterestedly and with the purest motives, is sometimes incorrect.
Thomas Jefferson Letter to Elias Shipman and others of New Haven, July 12, 1801.
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On 2005-10-14 08:54:00, Antigen wrote:
"
On 2005-10-02 20:44:00, Anonymous wrote:
Our neglect of public education leaves many graduates unprepared for work or for college.
Neglect :question: :exclaim: :rofl:
Oh my! Yeah, that's it! It's not that administration and shrinks outnumber teachers by about 2-1, it's not all the extra cops and laws. Nothing at all to do w/ the Federal No Child Left Behind (by recruiters) or the invasive DARE and other snitch programs, NO! That's not a problem. What we need is MORE of the same shit to finally get the schools to start turning the bend.
God damn, WHY are people so fucking gullible?
It takes only about 30 hours of contact instructin to teach most kids (or adults) basic litteracy and numeracy. That's it, that's all it takes. From that point, just stay the hell out of the kid's way except when they ask for help and advice. Kids learn how to do the complex social dances and skilled stupid human tricks necessarry to successful living in exactly the same way they learn to walk and talk. We're all born w/ a natural drive to master every stupid human trick we see our older family members and neighbors demonstrate.
The fucked up think about the schools and our economy is that our schools have been a smashing success! They reliably turn out, year after year, a crop of helpless, dependent young adults who are completely incapable of thinking for themselves or even understanding when the authority figure placed before them is speaking nonsense.
It's working just fine for some people. That's why they haven't made any progress in fixing things to our liking. I say we quit paying them and quit obeying them.
To seek out the best through the whole Union, we must resort to the information which from the best of men, acting disinterestedly and with the purest motives, is sometimes incorrect.
Thomas Jefferson Letter to Elias Shipman and others of New Haven, July 12, 1801.
"
Something needs to be done about teacher's unions allowing incompetent teachers to remain on the job. My kids go to public schools and I have overall been satisfied with them. When I noticed things that were missing I spoke up and they were addressed. They are very open to feedback and implementing things that work for the students as well as the families.
I never thought I would utter those words out my mouth though. Growing up I went through shitty public and private schools and pretty much fell through the cracks. The label of being a bad kid pretty much followed me year after year and it just became a sort of self fufilling prohpecy. I was bored and restless being in such a cold, restrictive, and overly structured enviroment. Hell the teachers were nuts too. I've had books thrown at me, been slapped, pinched, shaken, and ridiculed more times I care to remember. I started skipping school in 5th grade as it just became too much for me to bear.
I was totally unprepared for college and no one ever gave me any sort of inspiration to go to college and find a career I was suited for. No ACT or SAT was ever mentioned to me. I entered college and had to take remedial math and English classes. Fortunatly, I had no problem excelling in college as it was much easier for me because I was treated with respect, had the ability to have more choices and my input was valued. I have noticed a lot of people that were the "troubled" kids in school excell in college. Perhaps our public school system needs to figure out why this is.
I'm pretty much for scrapping our current school systems and starting over. Some schools are already making major changes, but far too many are still caught up in the old ways of doing things.
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On 2005-10-14 06:00:00, Anonymous
What will happen when their time is up and they have no home to return to?"
I have witnessed a trend of low and moderate income people becoming nomads of sorts. Not by choice either.
There are just not enough affordable places to rent and many times landlords find other ways of shutting out these renters by discriminating with credit checks and criminal background checks.
Lack of secure employment and lacking basic necessities such as reliable transporation create a domino effect of people's lives unravelling. They soon find themselves evicted and life becomes going back and forth between shelters and short term housing till the the next crisis arises.
I don't forsee things getting any better as long as jobs continue to be outsourced to exploited workers overseas and our manufacturing jobs keep disappearing.
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***It's working just fine for some people. That's why they haven't made any progress in fixing things to our liking. I say we quit paying them and quit obeying them.
::cheers::
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http://mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/Peo ... ousing.pdf (http://mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/People%20Need%20Affordable%20Housing.pdf)
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http://mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/Why ... meless.pdf (http://mihomeless.org/mcahdocuments/Why%20Are%20People%20Homeless.pdf)
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On 2005-10-14 09:57:00, webcrawler wrote:
Perhaps our public school system needs to figure out why this is.
I'm pretty much for scrapping our current school systems and starting over. Some schools are already making major changes, but far too many are still caught up in the old ways of doing things.
Well, you'll find, if you try it, that educrats and even ran-n-file teachers turn hostile and sometimes dangerous whenever you get close to the nut of the issue.
Most of them believe with fervent faith that what they have been trained to do and have done for a living is all about educating children. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that they have been trained and have worked in the trade of preventing kids from educating themselves.
John Taylor Gatto, former NYC and NYS teacher of the year, explains it best. Here's his whole book online for free: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm (http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm)
The public school system is not going to fix the problem because that would put them all out of work. Not only that, it would force a significant segment of the population to give up their delusions of grandure and face the fact that they're really bad guys.
As far as scrapping the system, it's getting easier and easier to do that every year; at least from the pov of an individual student. When my dad was a kid, the compulsory schooling laws were not really enforced; except on a selective basis to hassle the trouble makers. But, for the most part, kids studied hard in order to get a diploma and education which were NOT guaranteed w/ minimal attendance and compliance. Kids actually failed classes and grades for purely accademic reasons. Can you imagine?
But things are different now. I took my kid out of public school as soon as she agreed that that was the better option. That was after first grade, which had been too much like kindergarten and, therefore, too boring for her. So we registered her as a homeschooler and just kept on doing what we had been doing; nothing. We read, she wanted to know how to do that. We discuss the issues of the day, naturally she wanted to be able to win an argument now and then. She made friends in real life and through online contacts, they also discuss various issues, she still likes to appear well informed and such. So, naturally, she saw to it that she was. We've never, ever had an argument over homework or study. When the french company that had hosted a server of her favorite online game shut down, naturally she wanted to learn enough French to communicate w/ her new friends. All we had to do was buy the book and cds and stay the hell out of her way. Now, when we argue over the typical family stuff, we often get cussed out in French.
She decided this year that she wanted to go to highschool. So we borrowed a set of 8th grade curriculum from the school so she could make sure she was up to speed. She was, no remediation required. There are no French speakers in her school. But, on the up side, the other students are willing to pay $3/copy for CDs containing all of their favorite songs. And, since she's had the leisure and freedom to explore areas of interest not usually spoon-fed to highschool age kids, they all think she's some kind of genius.
My point is this; at this stage of the comic tragedy that is the American education story, all that is necessary to improve on the system for yourself is to DROP OUT! If you want to solve the overal, public education problem, we'll have to do it enmass.
Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.
--Carl Schurz, German-born U.S. general and U.S. senator
_________________
Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
Drug war POW
Seed Chicklett `71 - `80
Straight, Sarasota
10/80 - 10/82
Apostate 10/82 -
Anonymity Anonymous
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The U.S. Congress has been ordered to cut $3 billion from farm and nutritional programs by the Bush Administration. Congress is currently debating over which programs should be cut. At the moment, the GOP is leaning towards cutting conservation programs as well as food stamps for hundreds of thousands of poor people. Currently, half of all food stamp recipients are children.
But a broad coalition of nonprofit public interest organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association, Oxfam, Community Food Security Coalition, and the Land Stewardship Project, adamantly disagrees with placing the burden of budget cuts on the backs of the needy and the environment. Instead, we STRONGLY feel the cuts should be taken out of the $20 billion annual pork-barrel subsidies that are currently being given to the wealthiest factory farms, commodity exporters, and industrial agriculture corporations.
Iowa Senator Grassley has proposed an amendment to USDA appropriations that would cap taxpayer subsidies to corporate farms at $250,000 a year. It's no surprise that even this modest attempt at reducing corporate welfare is being attacked by corporate agribusiness. The nation's food stamp recipients, as well as the environment, need your support now, as this decision will be made in the next few days. Take action and support the "Rural America Preservation Act" (S. 385, a Senate bill which would set a cap on subsidies).
Send a message here:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizati ... n_KEY=1200 (http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1200)
Spearheaded by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga) and GOP supporters, the proposal would eliminate food stamps for more than 300,000 impoverished people. Currently, more than half of all food stamp recipients are children, and a quarter are senior citizens. While millions of Americans are looking for ways to cope with the aftermath of hurricanes and drought, powerful members of the Senate are being swayed by agriculture industry lobbyists, who are pushing for food stamps cuts while supporting massive tax payer subsidies to the nation's wealthiest industrial agriculture
operations. "Right now the difference between life and death for many Americans is the food stamp program," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "We
should not, we cannot, cut the very nutritional programs that are literally saving lives."
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On 2005-10-14 12:07:00, Antigen wrote:
"
On 2005-10-14 09:57:00, webcrawler wrote:
Perhaps our public school system needs to figure out why this is.
I'm pretty much for scrapping our current school systems and starting over. Some schools are already making major changes, but far too many are still caught up in the old ways of doing things.
Well, you'll find, if you try it, that educrats and even ran-n-file teachers turn hostile and sometimes dangerous whenever you get close to the nut of the issue.
Most of them believe with fervent faith that what they have been trained to do and have done for a living is all about educating children. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that they have been trained and have worked in the trade of preventing kids from educating themselves.
John Taylor Gatto, former NYC and NYS teacher of the year, explains it best. Here's his whole book online for free: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm (http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm)
The public school system is not going to fix the problem because that would put them all out of work. Not only that, it would force a significant segment of the population to give up their delusions of grandure and face the fact that they're really bad guys.
As far as scrapping the system, it's getting easier and easier to do that every year; at least from the pov of an individual student. When my dad was a kid, the compulsory schooling laws were not really enforced; except on a selective basis to hassle the trouble makers. But, for the most part, kids studied hard in order to get a diploma and education which were NOT guaranteed w/ minimal attendance and compliance. Kids actually failed classes and grades for purely accademic reasons. Can you imagine?
But things are different now. I took my kid out of public school as soon as she agreed that that was the better option. That was after first grade, which had been too much like kindergarten and, therefore, too boring for her. So we registered her as a homeschooler and just kept on doing what we had been doing; nothing. We read, she wanted to know how to do that. We discuss the issues of the day, naturally she wanted to be able to win an argument now and then. She made friends in real life and through online contacts, they also discuss various issues, she still likes to appear well informed and such. So, naturally, she saw to it that she was. We've never, ever had an argument over homework or study. When the french company that had hosted a server of her favorite online game shut down, naturally she wanted to learn enough French to communicate w/ her new friends. All we had to do was buy the book and cds and stay the hell out of her way. Now, when we argue over the typical family stuff, we often get cussed out in French.
She decided this year that she wanted to go to highschool. So we borrowed a set of 8th grade curriculum from the school so she could make sure she was up to speed. She was, no remediation required. There are no French speakers in her school. But, on the up side, the other students are willing to pay $3/copy for CDs containing all of their favorite songs. And, since she's had the leisure and freedom to explore areas of interest not usually spoon-fed to highschool age kids, they all think she's some kind of genius.
My point is this; at this stage of the comic tragedy that is the American education story, all that is necessary to improve on the system for yourself is to DROP OUT! If you want to solve the overal, public education problem, we'll have to do it enmass.
Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.
--Carl Schurz, German-born U.S. general and U.S. senator
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Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
Drug war POW
Seed Chicklett `71 - `80
Straight, Sarasota
10/80 - 10/82
Apostate 10/82 -
Anonymity Anonymous"
Well said, Ginger, I agree on all points.
Very cool about your daughter, she sounds like a great kid!
:tup:
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On 2005-10-16 12:53:00, Anonymous wrote:
Well said, Ginger, I agree on all points.
Very cool about your daughter, she sounds like a great kid!
:tup: "
Thanks. And yeah, she is. I couldn't be prouder of any of them.The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.
--Thomas Sowell
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Thanks for the lead. I agree, farm subsidies need to stop. But doing it piecemeal like this can bankrupt a lot of small farmers while trying to injure the laviathan. I'm not quite ready to sign onto the organization, but I will look into it.
Mean time...
On 2005-10-16 11:57:00, Anonymous wrote:
"Right now the difference between life and death for many Americans is the food stamp program," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "We
should not, we cannot, cut the very nutritional programs that are literally saving lives."
...another strong argument against taking welfare of any kind. Better to take your chances in some gray market enterprise or live austerly than to go on the dole. When you reach out to grab the cash, that's when they slap the cuffs on ya'.
All our liberties are due to men who, when their conscience has compelled them, have broken the laws of the land.
--William Kingdon Clifford
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Well here's an initative toward self sufficiency:
LOW INCOME KIDS CREATE HEALTHY FOOD AD CAMPAIGN
Bus riders in Seattle are seeing many of the traditional junk food advertisements on the buses converted into pieces of art made by children. According to students in the area, they had never seen an advertisement for fresh fruits and vegetables, but could list countless junk food ads they see daily. Thanks to several local grants and a wealth of creative thinking, a small group of local organizers created an innovative program to improve the nutrition of low-income inner city kids by teaching them gardening, cooking and food self reliance skills. The program has helped nearly a thousand minority and low income kids create their own advertisements for healthy foods which are posted on city buses. The same program is now offering opportunities for low income inner-city students to tour local farms and to learn about gardening. http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/kidads101305.cfm (http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/kidads101305.cfm)
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Community Supported Agriculture is proving to be an excellent way to protect and sustain the local 'truck farm' and eliminate all the middle men, as well as the dependence on oil to transport our food across the nation. Because the produce is organic, it's more nutritious and fresher. Many, many pluses.
Much on the net:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2 ... culture%22 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22community+supported+agriculture%22)
A sample:
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/csa.html (http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/csa.html)
In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community?s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Members or shareholders of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer?s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm?s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land. Members also share in risks, including poor harvest due to unfavorable weather or pests. ? USDA definition
BTW Ginger, PA has many CSAs:
http://wsare.usu.edu/pub/index.cfm?sub=csa (http://wsare.usu.edu/pub/index.cfm?sub=csa)
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Cool. I looked into that a little bit awhile back. Not sure if I can sell the rest of the family on it or not. Took me 16 god damned years to sell them on getting out of Florida! But thanks for the reminder.
Never underestimate the power of the status quo...America's schools are part of government, subject to public whim and will. By and large, we have the kind of schools that people want. While they acknowledge the need for improvement, in other people's schools, most American are reasonably content with their own.
--Former public school superintendent Ronald J. Perry, 1992.
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Hey, I know some of these guys! Couple of real old coots, reliably show up at flea markets and farmers' markets. Couple of others have occasional stands. I knew their stuff was good and cheap, but didn't know it was guaranteed organic. What a deal!
When the government's boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence.
-- Gary Lloyd