US Is Not A First World Country

[jpeyton]

I don't understand how a country can mortgage their future on a $1 trillion war, but completely abandon their own citizens. Even if KBR is raking taxpayers over the coals, I'd rather have them here at home building low cost housing for the homeless instead of pipelines and pumping stations in Iraq.

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According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Cassandra is one of 1.35 million children in the United States that are homeless on any given night. The 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty found that 8,624 people are affected in DeKalb County, where there is a 10 percent poverty rate for children. Poverty-stricken families and children who cannot afford a place to live are left on the street or in shelters.

Homeless youth face lifelong challenges like succeeding in school, developing emotionally and struggling to find a real home.

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I don't understand how a country can mortgage their future on a $1 trillion war, but completely abandon their own citizens. Even if KBR is raking taxpayers over the coals, I'd rather have them here at home building low cost housing for the homeless instead of pipelines and pumping stations in Iraq.

Text

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Cassandra is one of 1.35 million children in the United States that are homeless on any given night. The 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty found that 8,624 people are affected in DeKalb County, where there is a 10 percent poverty rate for children. Poverty-stricken families and children who cannot afford a place to live are left on the street or in shelters.

Homeless youth face lifelong challenges like succeeding in school, developing emotionally and struggling to find a real home.

Even though we have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world.... yeah.....

 

[GrGr]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I don't understand how a country can mortgage their future on a $1 trillion war, but completely abandon their own citizens. Even if KBR is raking taxpayers over the coals, I'd rather have them here at home building low cost housing for the homeless instead of pipelines and pumping stations in Iraq.

Text

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Cassandra is one of 1.35 million children in the United States that are homeless on any given night. The 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty found that 8,624 people are affected in DeKalb County, where there is a 10 percent poverty rate for children. Poverty-stricken families and children who cannot afford a place to live are left on the street or in shelters.

Homeless youth face lifelong challenges like succeeding in school, developing emotionally and struggling to find a real home.

Even though we have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world.... yeah.....

In the Western world?

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I don't understand how a country can mortgage their future on a $1 trillion war, but completely abandon their own citizens. Even if KBR is raking taxpayers over the coals, I'd rather have them here at home building low cost housing for the homeless instead of pipelines and pumping stations in Iraq.

Text

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Cassandra is one of 1.35 million children in the United States that are homeless on any given night. The 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty found that 8,624 people are affected in DeKalb County, where there is a 10 percent poverty rate for children. Poverty-stricken families and children who cannot afford a place to live are left on the street or in shelters.

Homeless youth face lifelong challenges like succeeding in school, developing emotionally and struggling to find a real home.

Even though we have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world.... yeah.....

You have any info to back up that claim??

 

[beyoku]

<---- family has been homeless 🙁

 

[dmens]

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless

Yeah, like those poverty pimps can be trusted.

More trusted sources estimate between 800k to 900k total people who experience homelessness at any given time.

 

[RightIsWrong]

Originally posted by: dmens
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless

Yeah, like those poverty pimps can be trusted.

More trusted sources estimate between 800k to 900k total people who experience homelessness at any given time.

And those "more trusted sources" are......???

 

[dmens]

Homelessness Resource Center

Note how that site spends a lot of time talking about mental health and substance abuse, two major factors causing homelessness, as opposed to "economic justice".

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: dmens
Homelessness Resource Center

Note how that site spends a lot of time talking about mental health and substance abuse, two major factors causing homelessness, as opposed to "economic justice".

Seriously, if we can find a good way to clean up the drug problem then a lot of other issues will be easier to deal with.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: dmens
Homelessness Resource Center

Note how that site spends a lot of time talking about mental health and substance abuse, two major factors causing homelessness, as opposed to "economic justice".

Seriously, if we can find a good way to clean up the drug problem then a lot of other issues will be easier to deal with.

We should make drugs illegal, and thus, get them off the streets.

 

[mattpegher]

Homelessness is certainly disturbing at any level. And no one questions that we need to address those with mental health or drug problems. The biggest pill however seems to be that as a nation we should not allow anyone to work a full time job for any pay less than what is necessary to cover minimal housing and expenses. Our national minimum wage is so low that only those who are being housed by others can afford to waste their time at such low paying jobs. (I am a bit tired of hearing how Macdonalds workers only need 1/3 of what is necessary because their just kids living their parents house.)

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
Homelessness is certainly disturbing at any level. And no one questions that we need to address those with mental health or drug problems. The biggest pill however seems to be that as a nation we should not allow anyone to work a full time job for any pay less than what is necessary to cover minimal housing and expenses. Our national minimum wage is so low that only those who are being housed by others can afford to waste their time at such low paying jobs. (I am a bit tired of hearing how Macdonalds workers only need 1/3 of what is necessary because their just kids living their parents house.)

I suggest you study economics.
If we gave everyone working below ?living wage? a raise tomorrow the cost of living would go up as well and their ?living wage? would no longer be high enough.

 

[ProfJohn]

BTW nice to see that we are making up cost figures for the war now.
At $100 billion a year we will need another 5 years in Iraq to reach the trillion dollar level.

The 2008 budget is going to be around $2,900 billion. The war only accounts for $100 billion of that. Maybe we should take some of the other $2,800 billion and use it to fight homelessness? (Not that it would make a difference since most chronic homeless people are there due to their own choices in life.)

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
BTW nice to see that we are making up cost figures for the war now.
At $100 billion a year we will need another 5 years in Iraq to reach the trillion dollar level.

Did I ever say that was the current total?

And do you deny we'll be there 5 years from now?

'nuff said.

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
BTW nice to see that we are making up cost figures for the war now.
At $100 billion a year we will need another 5 years in Iraq to reach the trillion dollar level.

Did I ever say that was the current total?

And do you deny we'll be there 5 years from now?

'nuff said.

I thought you wanted us to leave. But you are making up figures based on us staying for another 5 years?
Is the truth not sensational enough for you? $100 billion a year just doesn?t sound as good as $1 trillion?

 

[mattpegher]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: mattpegher
Homelessness is certainly disturbing at any level. And no one questions that we need to address those with mental health or drug problems. The biggest pill however seems to be that as a nation we should not allow anyone to work a full time job for any pay less than what is necessary to cover minimal housing and expenses. Our national minimum wage is so low that only those who are being housed by others can afford to waste their time at such low paying jobs. (I am a bit tired of hearing how Macdonalds workers only need 1/3 of what is necessary because their just kids living their parents house.)

I suggest you study economics.
If we gave everyone working below ?living wage? a raise tomorrow the cost of living would go up as well and their ?living wage? would no longer be high enough.

Are you suggesting that there is no way our economy can absorb the expense. Hell just one less CEO making 50 million+ could pay for all the Macdonalds workers raises.
Please enlighten us as to how we can assure a fair minimum living standard or are some people just not worth our bothering.

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
are some people just not worth our bothering.

Some people, yes. Mainly the ones who possess no self-sufficiency or will to succeed in life. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness guarantees that people have those opportunities, but they also have the right to squander them.

A fair and effective social safety net should help those who through no fault of their own become victims of uncontrollable events. Trying to force an economy to cater to the lowest denominator of a society only discourages personal sacrifice and hard work to become successful.

 

[dmens]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
I am a bit tired of hearing how Macdonalds workers only need 1/3 of what is necessary because their just kids living their parents house.

Why? It's true. The vast majority of minimum wage earners move on within a year. The ones who stay usually aren't worth helping.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: mattpegher
are some people just not worth our bothering.

Some people, yes. Mainly the ones who possess no self-sufficiency or will to succeed in life.

Originally posted by: dmens
The ones who stay usually aren't worth helping.

Mainly the children whom the article is talking about, right?

Maybe McDonald's should lower their hiring age to 10 so these leeches can get a job and become self-sufficient. :roll:

 

[dmens]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Mainly the children whom the article is talking about, right?

Maybe McDonald's should lower their hiring age to 10 so these leeches can get a job and become self-sufficient. :roll:

Parents are responsible for their children, not the government. If a parent feels incapable of taking care of a child, or if the government decides as such, child services takes over.

Pretty pathetic attempt at the "think of the children" angle there. :laugh:

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: mattpegher
are some people just not worth our bothering.

Some people, yes. Mainly the ones who possess no self-sufficiency or will to succeed in life.

Originally posted by: dmens
The ones who stay usually aren't worth helping.

Mainly the children whom the article is talking about, right?

Maybe McDonald's should lower their hiring age to 10 so these leeches can get a job and become self-sufficient. :roll:

PS... given that the widely reported number of 700,000 - 800,000 homeless on any given night is about half as big as your reported 1.35 million *children* homeless on any given night, you don't have much credence quoting that article.

 

[dmens]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: jrenz
Even though we have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world.... yeah.....

You have any info to back up that claim??

US - chronic homeless estimates from 250,000-1,000,000, using 740,000 ~ 0.25%
Canada - 150,000 ~ 0.44%
Australia - 99,000 ~ 0.48%
EU - 3,000,000 ~ 0.61%

By the way, France doesn't even have an official definition for homeless, probably because there's so many of them. Paris alone is estimated to have 86000. Could this be another French attempt to hide inpalatable statistics by simply not reporting them? LOL. :Q

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: mattpegher

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: mattpegher
Homelessness is certainly disturbing at any level. And no one questions that we need to address those with mental health or drug problems. The biggest pill however seems to be that as a nation we should not allow anyone to work a full time job for any pay less than what is necessary to cover minimal housing and expenses. Our national minimum wage is so low that only those who are being housed by others can afford to waste their time at such low paying jobs. (I am a bit tired of hearing how Macdonalds workers only need 1/3 of what is necessary because their just kids living their parents house.)

I suggest you study economics.
If we gave everyone working below ?living wage? a raise tomorrow the cost of living would go up as well and their ?living wage? would no longer be high enough.

Are you suggesting that there is no way our economy can absorb the expense. Hell just one less CEO making 50 million+ could pay for all the Macdonalds workers raises.
Please enlighten us as to how we can assure a fair minimum living standard or are some people just not worth our bothering.

There is a huge difference between suggesting that a company pay its CEO less so it can pay its workers more and having the government step in and mandate raises for everyone.

If it is a good idea to have the government set a minimum wage then why not have the government set a maximum wage? Or even better, let?s just put the government in charged of figuring out how much everyone in this country gets paid.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: PrevaricatorJohn
There is a huge difference between suggesting that a company pay its CEO less so it can pay its workers more and having the government step in and mandate raises for everyone.

If it is a good idea to have the government set a minimum wage then why not have the government set a maximum wage? Or even better, let?s just put the government in charged of figuring out how much everyone in this country gets paid.

Same old PrevaricatorJohn[/i]. :roll:

You're spewing scare mongering dogma without the scantest reference to any applicable ethical or moral context.

There's a huge difference between the bargaining power of, and the restraint on, those few of unlimited wealth and an average wage earner, let alone those in poverty. A government of the people, by the people and for the people means it has a responsibilty, to the best of its ablity, to protect ALL the people to protect them from those who would otherswise unfairly exercise all the self agrandizing power they can buy.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: dmens

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: jrenz
Even though we have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world.... yeah.....

You have any info to back up that claim??

US - chronic homeless estimates from 250,000-1,000,000, using 740,000 ~ 0.25%
Canada - 150,000 ~ 0.44%
Australia - 99,000 ~ 0.48%
EU - 3,000,000 ~ 0.61%

By the way, France doesn't even have an official definition for homeless, probably because there's so many of them. Paris alone is estimated to have 86000. Could this be another French attempt to hide inpalatable statistics by simply not reporting them? LOL. :Q

You read statistics as the devil reads the bible, either that or you are illiterate.