Space and time
As our homeless problem continues to grow, we as a nation seem stuck in time for a solution.
We are in the same place as ten or even twenty years ago. We have gotten to the point of just looking at them. And then full stop.
Oh sure, playing "Whack-a-mole" with their encampments and pushing them to another location only to spread the eyesore around for everybody to see, and then evicting them again is, I guess doing something.
But largely a solution eludes us.
I say "us" in the sense of community, but it really is our supposed leaders that have failed.
They have exhibited a total lack of vision, commitment, and essentially, leadership. They are stuck on "let's just look at them some more and maybe they will go away".
Of course the most obvious problem is a flagging economy that is leaving more and more people behind with sub-standard wages, a doctored over medical care regime (thanks Obama), and little or no low income housing.
In my recent travels down to southern California, I swung by my old place that I lived in my last year of High School. A one bedroom duplex with a garage that cost me $65 a month, which I easily paid on a minimum wage of $1.61 an hour.
It was still there, over 60 years later.
Now it could be noted that I was a single young man with a car payment and a little Honda motorcycle to get me back and forth to school and work, and a low maintenance girlfriend, with full medical and dental coverage through my Retail Clerks Union membership, why shouldn't I be living large?
But it was minimum wage.
I'll repeat that just to make sure it sinks in.
It was minimum wage! And I still had to have my Mom sign all legal documents and co-sign for my furniture loan.
And I wasn't the only one, many of my schoolmates were living on their own.
What happened to our economy that allowed us to do that, in 1966, but not even possible today?
It's an Open Thread, what was your first starter home.
Comments
Another hint
In 1966, gas was 25 cents a gallon and I was still in conservation mode riding my little Honda Super 90 between work and school.
A silver quarter (yes they were really 90% silver in those days) would buy a gallon of gas.
Today, that same silver quarter (worth about 4 bucks) would still buy a gallon of gas.
Prices are not going up, that's a false flag.
The dollar is plummeting in value.
And it's going to get worse.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The devaluation of the dollar
Seems to be linked to the devaluation of American morals and spirit.
Inspirations may be solid individually, collectively they evaporate like
a wind blown mist.
Thanks for the OT!
Yeah, I hear ya
I've noticed over the decades with every downturn the morals seem to slide down with the economy.
The American spirit aways follows the same path.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
In the spirit of being thrifty
what with the decline of purchasing power
our stater home (a serious fixer-upper) is now
the permanent residence. Had it so long, now
renovating the renovations
the market tells me it is now worth about 6x
what we paid for it, but at least half of that is
false gains. IOW, I've lost about 1/3 equity as now
you can't buy a property like this for less than say
$400K around here. Although there is nothing on the
market in that range, we are being taxed at an inflated
rate. It is no wonder old folks on fixed incomes can no longer
afford to keep their houses.
Hope your family get-together was good!
Family get together went great
Some had to work and could not make it but were sent profusely filled platefuls of leftovers.
We always provide ample food and each family brings a dish, and plastic containers to take some home. It kind of doubles as a thanksgiving feast.
The highlight of the day is always the "white Elephant" event.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The tax issue is a slow motion crime
We have been warned about it for over a hundred years, and finally coming true.
I can remember back just after the Great Bush Banking Collapse when property values plummeted the local county commissioners were asked if our taxes would be re-evaluated. They said absolutely not, their costs of government remained the same and so would property taxes.
Like the old car jack that ratcheted up, our taxes will slowly keep going up, up, up.
Never down.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Heh, in 1966, initially, I was driving my first ever car;
a 1952 Plymouth Club Coupe that I bought from its owner for $25 cash.
Be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I was making $3.25 in the 70's and my car payment was $90
Plus I too had a Honda motorcycle that I paid cash for and rode it to college. Today the minimum wage is $4 and change higher and it hasn’t been raised since before Obama’s disastrous tenure. Democrats tried very hard to raise it, but the parliamentarian refused to allow it and democrats didn’t bother to try again. Shitlibs just let that pass. As they did all over failed bills.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
How they convince Americans
that the minimum wage should stay the same is bizarre.
But this is how they do it. Brainwash people into thinking prices are going up (usually using the old trope of Unions causing it) instead of the dollar becoming more and more worthless.
It is projection that the rest of the world is brainwashed.
It's insidious.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I hear people mostly on the right saying that minimum wage
jobs aren’t supposed to be permanent jobs or that people working them just need to go to school or just get better ones and basically blame the workers instead of companies that won’t pay a living wage. As for getting an education it’s strange how they don’t understand what generational poverty does to people. And then there’s the education differences with rich school districts getting more tax money and therefore can get better teachers than poorer districts get. Remember when Rahm closed down 41 schools in poor neighborhoods? How much of a difference did that make?
In addition to convincing people that minimum wage should stay the same they also are against single payer healthcare and so many things that we should have from government like other countries have. Yep they are brainwashed to be against things that would also make their lives better. Just like shitlibs wanting the 2nd amendment to disappear without understanding how the government would take advantage of it. Or that people would be unable to protect themselves from criminals.
One reason we started seeing school shootings and other mass shootings was because of the anti depressant drugs that were released back when the columbine shooting happened. Big pharma knew about the side effects of these drugs, but they hid them from the FDA who had no interest in making sure they were safe. And you will notice that they haven’t investigated them either.
As to throwing money away in the homeless programs I didn’t mean spending money on foreign adventures, but all the states giving it to organizations that are supposed to be fixing the problem. What are they spending it on that they aren’t making any headway? They should have long ago been audited to see. I’m betting that the heads of the organizations are getting high salaries, but it’s just a guess.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
We stayed at an RV resort
In Escondido for a couple of nights to recharge our batteries, empty tanks, get fresh water, do laundry, and take a long hot shower.
The resort was largely occupied by monthly renters, or rather, permanent campers.
The park brochure indicated space rent at $2000 a month!
Although it did include all utilities and trash, that seems a little over the top.
While most were travel trailers and motorhomes, there were a couple of single wide mobilehomes that look like camp host quarters.
I guess its better than being homeless.
Life according to Klaus Schwabe: You vill live in a trailer and be happy!
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
2K/month is $67/nite for full hookups, what were they
charging ordinary folk for same? That's not too outlandish for current rates in the Bay Area per the hip camp website
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
My first car
was a 53' Studebaker hardtop. Bright orange.
The cops could always find me wherever I went.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
We paid $75 a night
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Riding the storm out
ain't the first nor will be the last
watching the full moon (tonight) crossing the waves
waiting for the fallout
I think it's all part of the Big Picture
.
Everything around us is leaking at the same time.
What amazes me, and always has, is that People cannot feel the connection between their intentionally destructive acts against humanity somewhere in the world — and their own worsening well being. (Whether acting as an individual or as a supporting member of a group.)
This inability to sense the karmic cause of a chronic social deterioration (via collective human awareness) may be due to religion-based brain damage.
On that note: Happy New Year Everyone!
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Not to mention the shocking intellectual deterioration
...taking place in our immediate environment.
—
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
And yet
Christians are being bombed in Gaza, driven from their homes in the West Bank, and killed on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine.
Being a supposed Christian nation and supporting this is puzzling to me.
It has to be so kind of brain damage.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I wonder if any of the Christians who support Israel
had a problem with Bethlehem being shut down for Xmas because of what Israel was doing? They get high and mighty celebrating the birth of Jesus there and call for peace on earth while they are supporting an actual genocide because they think that will make Jesus return on their schedule not his. Bat shit crazy thinking if you ask me. Hoping for the rapture to take place which means that they will be dead and everyone else will have to live life under the anti christ….what demented thinking. Smdh!
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I am unaware of any religion
or beliefs that are rational. I am absolutely willing to stand corrected.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hi snoopy, I just had to tell someone this story,
which fits this theme.
I just sent the excerpt below to my m-i-l, who had a recent encounter with Evangelicals at the gravesite of her husband in Germany. Alongside his gravestone is a very little plaque in memory of her father who was killed in Dachau. She hardly knew her father as he and her mother divorced when she was 6 years old. She was raised by a single Pesbyterian French mother. Always wanting to feel an attachment with her Jewish father she has always worn a tiny jewish star around her neck. She described this ‘chance’ meeting with the Evangelicals at the cemetery with enthusiasm at first. She said she was happy to see a couple, the only other people in the cold, miserable weather. Then she said they were wearing a big Jewish star on their coats, advertising their support of Israel, which my m-i-l translated as support of Jewish people. Soon as she said they engaged her in conversation in such a friendly way I asked her if she knew what religion they are. She said he is Greek Orthodox and she is Evangelical. My response was don’t engage with them further. She asked, “are they dangerous, I gave them my telephone number after they said they’d like to invite me for a visit". I said, “no, they won’t hurt you, they basically want to convert you, sort of like missionaries”. Then we discussed how she could respond to them next time they make contact. Being the sharp and uninhibitedly straightforward person she still is at 90, she decided she will just tell them that she appreciates their concern, but that their experience and ways of life are different, and that she’d prefer not to meet them.
I sent her this for some explanation ...
I don't know why
these people don't just stick a gun in their mouths and jump ahead of the rest of us and move on to the promised land.
They'd get the best seats.
I'll be along in time. It's the last thing on my bucket list.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
That sounds like as good a plan as any
I think they'd probably prefer a private box seat in the audience.
religion-based brain damage
the pope formed a council to look into this /s
The twisted belief in Divine Intervention
...over realism has mostly destroyed all hope for rapid conscious evolution and Enlightenment.
We've got human monkeys walking around with bicameral brains, with one hemisphere eavesdropping on the other and believing they are talking to god. It's not just an Israeli problem. It's an infectious mental disorder.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Perfectly put Pluto
I looked for the name of the disorder in the DSM, but I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s been long forgotten or still undiscovered by ‘science’.
He will issue an edict
That will fix it.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Bingo…this
.
little or no low income housing.
How is it that no one brings up how HUD's budget keeps getting cut by order of the parasites on Wall Street? In my city there used to be a 2 year wait list to get the chance to look at a HUD apartment and in most cities it’s a 5 year wait. And good gawd they aren’t somewhere that anyone would want to live in. One apartment I looked at was dab smack in the middle of where people sell and take drugs.
Besides that how many billions have states thrown at the problem only to see it getting worse every year? Where is that money going? Lining the pockets of the organizations that are supposed to be non profit? Paying staff to sit around and talk about it? I posted this last night…
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/23/byli-d23.html
As billionaires get more wealthy the rise in homelessness goes up by 12% during Biden’s tenure. All poverty measures went down during Trump because he threw money at the problem…and Biden and democrats made sure that ended PDQ. And what makes this even sadder is that more elderly are finding themselves homeless because their social security payments aren’t keeping up with reality. And both parties want to make the situation worse and they have been attacking it for decades. Clinton was going to cut it, but he had a Monica problem. Obama was ready to cut it, but republicans wouldn’t go along with him. And Biden has been talking about cutting it and Medicare for 4 decades. But he’s allowing it to go broke with Medicare advantage and the ungawdly amounts given to hospitals during the pandemic…you know when they had protocols that killed patients instead of cheap meds that would have kept them alive.
Homelessness can easily be solved, but administrations would rather spend the money for it on wars for the parasite class.
Good essay!
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Bingo.... that
It's going overseas to bomb other peoples homes AND create a vision of America that is emulated by Israel........ kill a thousand for every one they that they kill. That'll teach 'em, dammit.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I was given a car to drive when I was 11 yrs old. 7th grade.
I drove in 1/4 mile to school on a quiet dirt road. Or, to a friend's home, or to the grocery store for my Mom, who couldn't drive. 25 cents was my weekly allowance for gas. I could baby sit, make $1.00, and not have to use my allowance.
HUD housing in my town of 800 people, filled with dope dealers/users, some prostitutes, is going for $1200 monthly for a 1 bed room apartment. The homeless do not come here, since traffic is light, stores spread apart, so they head to a town 15 miles away. Truck stops, store fronts, Walmart parking lots, etc..., all in walking distance, which my town doesn't have.
Until we regulate and tax, we will eventually be like the world's largest slum...in Nairobi...except much, much bigger.
We have already run out of space for deserving people to have shelter (chokes on "deserving") and the time is ticking away.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Still there
After 58 years, albeit upgraded.
Wonder how much it's going for now?
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
For all our remarkable abilities, we humans are clueless.
We act as if we are the rightful beneficiary of all of Earth’s ‘resources’. The consequences are both obvious and massively destructive to all life forms on the planet (except, perhaps, cockroaches).
Within our own species, individuals act entitled to have an abundance of whatever we ‘want’, even at the expense of a vast multitude of those with next to nothing. This massive disparity is taken as a deserving reward for the rich, and a sign of unworthiness or laziness of those afflicted by poverty. This unfortunate state of affairs is maintained by force, by those who ‘own’ large amounts of both tangibles and tokens of value; currency, stocks and bonds & etc.
With this sort of pervasive world view, the population ‘problem’ will be addressed by culling the human herd, rather than redistributing more equitably and in a sustainable manner. Extreme wealth is maintained as a virtue and the utter insanity and unsustainability of it all continues. Our public education supports this status quo, as do our politics and the laws politicians write, the banks that ‘hold’ and ‘lend” our collective wealth and even many of our religious organization embrace rampant ‘growth’ of both the population and the economy.
What seems most lacking in humans is an understanding of the vast interconnection and interdependence of everything, including humans. We are not exceptional or exempt from the laws of cause and effect. We are not the reason for life on Earth, we are part of it.
It is up to us to find our place and our responsibility to the whole, and live it from the inside out. That process can only begin when we begin see the havoc we have brought to this Earth and chose to turn our current trajectory completely on its head and begin to serve the real needs of the whole planet rather than the fictitious ‘needs’ of one’s own self.
It may not be too late, yet.
“What the herd hates most is the one who thinks differently; it is not so much the opinion itself, but the audacity of wanting to think for themselves, something that they do not know how to do.”
-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)