Poverty in America

That’s a reason for riots!

OK, but don’t you dare burn down my Starbucks!

With no electricity, no phone/laptop charging, no phone, no internet, no ILP, no news. :confused: No, no, no. :evilfun:

I know that catastrophes bring new starts. But in the case of our globalism, the catastophe needs to be a global one, highly likely.

Wendy wrote:

Wendy, I agree with everything you have written.

If people think the poor enjoy their existence, let those people change places with a poor person for a week, perhaps sleep on the street in winter time, not eat regular nutritious meals, not have a place that is safe to go to, not have medical or dental attention or a sense of purpose. It takes more than the minimum wage to live adequately in this day and age.

Poverty is a dark place, where nobody willingly goes.

Yes, they do and they are a much smaller area to have such high records of sin.

It is obvious that most of those who have posted here have a pretty good idea of what poverty means. There are a few differences, but in the main… I re-read all of the posts, sifting through all the bitching, moaning, and complaining looking for one thing: SOLUTIONS. Short of burning the whole fucking world down, where are the solutions? Either we come up with plausible workable solutions or this thread is like so many others. Blah blah blah, blather blather…

What is a solution? It isn’t “We should do this”. A viable solution addresses not only what, but HOW, WHEN, WHERE, replete with concise definitions of what is intended. Hard work? Painful thinking it through? Damn betcha. That is the challenge.

I apologize to those who only posted here to rant and have no interest in actually acting on their convictions.

I’m not sure what you are asking for Tentative? Study history and sociology for a shift, a time-line that can be pointed out, tracked, and correlated to today’s income disparity looking for what went terribly wrong, then define that? You are confusing me!

If my suggestions below are missing your mark, you’re going to have to get us started.

Wendy’s hard workers union USA (has a certain ring to it) for all full-time working citizens, the little guys and gals who earn under $40,000 a year are organized and represented in the government, at their worksites, in the media/public platforms to earn a living wage of $20.84.

Research labor laws for every state (they would need to be unified)
Research corporate laws that favor the industry over the worker
Get rid of government regulations that hurt both the industry and the workers, except in cases of safety practices, workplace safety/product safety/public safety

Slogan: An honest days work for an honest days pay. Old school, but effectively true today.

Wendy, We might have differences on what could or should be done, but that isn’t the point. What IS the point is where do people sign up? I’m all for a union of whatever makeup, but “viable” means something is happening beyond just yammering about it. Isn’t it time to get beyond wisecracks coming from the peanut gallery? Where is the buy in? Is there any commitment to actually act on our beloved principles? Can you see that without actionable planning and execution, this thread (like most of 'em) reads like condescending voyeurism. Oooh, there is a big problem! and it’s being caused by those other people! It makes me feel so good to point this out. BULLSHIT! Who is willing to put their ass on the line and begin doing something about it?

And that was the point I was trying to make. Sorry if it was confusing. Eloquence isn’t my strong suit.

I am motivated to act, but I’d like to make my actions count, so how do we organize a gameplan, a feasible gameplan that would yield positive results. What’s the first step? I know…try out making an ILP user’s group where we could all meet to discuss the options.

You obviously have not or not carefully read those posts you are talking about.

A catastrophe is a solution. It’s no good solution, I know, but it is a solution. Ask geologists if you don’t believe me.

I am not saying that I prefer a catastrophe as a solution. I am only saying that a catastrophe is a solution. You have asked for solutions, I have answered with an example, Now, stop bitching, moaning, complaining, whining.

Also: Where are your promised solutions? Do you have any solution at all?

Mission statement
Website with forum
GoFundMe account or similar
Non-profit business license with assigned officers
P.O. Box
Bank Account
Slogan with meme pics
Ads online, newspapers, TV, etc.
Volunteer Conference with guest speakers
Office space and utilities headquarters, by state, by region
Public Meetings
Endorsements
Expense accounts for travel
Lobbying for bills

Mr R wrote:

That really is the crux of the matter for a vast majority of people.

I think schools should have a compulsory subject teaching kids to save and budget money in order to learn how establish themselves financially.

I would not recommend the stock market for most as not everyone is a winner and the motto is you have to be able to ‘afford a loss’ to play the game.

Foster a respect for money, not a love of money and understand your income.

I don’t think everyone should actively trade, but I do think everyone should actively contribute to savings and there are plenty of good buy and hold strategies that are known to pay off over time and to minimize risk.

Are you trying to start up a hedge fund? You read like an ad in Fortune magazine.

You could always get a Starbucks franchise. There must be at least one street corner available.

Hello Faust
I think that government can enhance the opportunities the poor have to make it out of this condition by providing clinics to help with addiction, provide counseling, education, and perhaps for a few that show promise, temporary addresses. I know that’s a lot for a “clinic”, so we can call it a “Kushner-clinic”. Another thing they could do to improve is to enforce minimum standards for housing, just as they do for restaurants. Landlords can sometimes get away with anything, and like you said, where money is not the issue, then there is no excuse. Even if you, as a landlord, take in the desperate and give them a roof does not mean that you get to define what a “roof” actually is. Now this could lead to some landlords going out of business, taking away the chance of the poor to have any sort of “roof”, by whomever’s definition, but if the roof is such that it becomes a prison, or worse their grave, then this is better in the end.

Omar,

You’re right. Any sort of help clinic almost has to become a “community” in itself because those in need have all sorts of problems, not just one. The best clinics link up with as many “helpers” as possible. They need doctors, lawyers, auto mechanics, every specialty out there.

One of the problems for the “slum lords” is that the people they shelter must leave their roof in the same or better condition when they moved in. Landlords often have to completely redo an apartment that was trashed by the last occupants and that costs money. This is a problem not only in the cities but in the smallest towns and villages everywhere in the country. There needs to be accountability on the part of the landlord and tenant alike.

The tenants accountability is called a security deposit. What is the landlords accountability called?

Highbrow piety vs Insidious reality.

“Profit”.

Profit which should be held in an interest accruing account until the tenant moves out and the city inspects the condition of the place to see who gets the security deposit and who gets the profit, tenant, landlord, or city fines.