Meanwhile... US Homelessness and Poverty rates Skyrocket

Estragon, so you would simply blame the impending implosion of the capitalist system to plain fascism on human nature. What a fatalist you are ! Of course, one shouldnt overload oneself, but problems require action, not contemplation! Human nature doesnt stand alone in the wilderness. Society shapes the human being, as we all probably experienced profound changes throughout our lives... there is hope !!!


[Edited on 2-8-2003 by Mokuhadzushi]

All who know Estragon would know that he would never "blame" anything on any one cause ( I distinguish "blame" in its moral attributes as opposed to morally-neutral attributions of causality - not so na�ve is Estragon.
As for the "impending implosion (nice alliteration) of the capitalist system": well Marx had that pinned to historical materialism 150 years ago and it's yet to happen (not of course that there are any capitalist systems in the world to-day -all are to some degree mixed) - it's not happening now or soon and if it does it won't be because of a lack of charity.
No, I merely observe that - to reiterate -the relief of poverty is not a pressing political issue, regardless of what individuals may privately assert: not when it comes to taxes and budgets anyway.
The platitudes of the generous with others' money are all too frequently heard.One recalls the horror of the liberals whenever "workfare" in its various manifestations has arisen; but there's never been a sustained attempt at an alternative.
We all live in "caring societies': I merely suggest that we are rather picky about those for whom we care.

Originally posted by Estragon
As for the "impending implosion (nice alliteration) of the capitalist system": well Marx had that pinned to historical materialism 150 years ago and it's yet to happen (not of course that there are any capitalist systems in the world to-day -all are to some degree mixed) - it's not happening now or soon and if it does it won't be because of a lack of charity.

Excuse me, but Marx is the man of the hour ! Marxen's predictions are currently being fulfilled one-to-one : The rich are getting richer and the poor and getting poorer (well documented in the above article). Being near the exploitation limits of it's own population, structural economic growth has grinded to a halt, and capitalism becomes imperialism to violently subject foreign populations in natural resource-rich countries to it's interest-rate based exploitation. Meanwhile, fascism (=violent social and racial segregation) is gradually enforced to repress the exploited masses from claiming their surplus.

I didnt read a lot of Marx, but his historical predictions on the future of capitalism have never been more correct ...

www.marx2mao.org...



[Edited on 2-8-2003 by Mokuhadzushi]

But wait mog, what all the fuss about? This situation is not as important as the president autographing the flag, counting post numbers THAT is really bad....

So the economy, the media and all of the public America is left-leaning? What crack are you smoking, TC? Or is just that part of being republican?...

First of all, if these numbers that Moku has thrown out are accurate..and I really question whether they are or not because numbers have a way of bumping up a point or 12 everyime propaganda pieces get e-mailed from person to person. But if they are, we have to remember that a very small percentage of these people remain homeless over a long period. I will acknowledge that people fall in and out of good times and bad and clssifying someone as homeless might mean their apartment closed and they are activily searching for a new one. I feel its also worth noting that the highest extremes of these numbers occur in the liberally controlled states and cities which profess to care the most about them. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and there are people content to remain rolling stones for whatever reason but with all the government programs, the job and education opportunities, to remain homeless in the United States is a choice, pure and simple.

I believe I could be dropped naked in the middle of any city in this country with nothing but my ID and soc#..and in a months time, could have a place to live and maybe even a car to drive. Its all about priorities and choices. We can make it availible but we can't force people to take advantage of it. Its the old "you can lead a horse to water" cliche. Moku, I think you may have a very stained impression of the USA. If uneducated illegal aliens can come here, get a job, and end up raising their families here for generations, surely a legal citizen has no excuse. Sure, nothin's truly free and people all fall on hard times but just try to drag any one of them out of this country.

The problem of homelessness really has been a problem for many years but we are seeing a huge increase in just the last 3 years, nearly doubling the previous highwater marks for homelessness during the early 90's in America.

The cause and effect here are simply the economy and unemployment. The real issue is not the affect (unemployment, poverty, homelessness) but the way we gauge the people involved.

Once ones unemployment benefits expire you are no longer counted as "unemployed". The numbers they show are only those still eligible for benefits. Its been estimated that the actual percentage is double what is indicated by govt sources.

It's no wonder the charitable orgs can not keep up with the demand for services. People who once donated to such orgs are now forced to ask for help due to the lack of jobs and the poor economy.

shrub can bask in his war but the unemployed voters will see to it that he is not re-elected.

Don't forget those that are now under-employed, those who were forced by circumstance to take a lesser paying job because they could not find work in their regular well paying field.

I have several friends who fall into this category, highly educated people with advanced degrees now working as laborers since their field has been decimated by layoffs and corporatations taking good American jobs to other countries to save pennies.

[Edited on 5-8-2003 by USMC Harrier]

As a favorite comic once said concerning the homeless...

"If you could find a solution to where some corporate swine, or some politician could steal a couple million dollars each, you'd see the streets of American begin clear up pretty damn quick..."