[igrowone]

we talk about this like it is a modern problem
not saying that's wrong exactly, but remember the history
charity is extremely intrinsic to our species, bad word but true
from ancient rome, ancient greece, and many other places and times
thing was it was religiously driven, governments were involved but the society's religious values drove it
what's amazing is that total wealth has exploded beyond belief
yet poverty is certainly as bad in many places
the religious has faded from most places, perhaps not all bad but some good has left with it

[Tudo]

My Father worked 2 jobs back in the 50's, 1st one leaving the house at 3:30AM to get to the meat freezers at Swift + Company in Brooklyn and the 2nd one was cleaning out the insides of oil/gas tanker trucks ( oh did I forget to mention he was electrical guy on a freaking ww2 submarine ( That saw combat ) which the civilian government wouldn't recognize when he was released in the 40's?) and my Mom worked a full time job at Pratt Whitney and also took care of the house.




Life's tough, wear a helmet .

[alpo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF7hWzqdPDk

"Riding through the Homeless Camps in Anaheim California on the Santa Ana River Trail"

[MJPassion]

Originally Posted by Gry

A minimum wage may seem like bullshit to some, but to the average working person it represents a rung on a wage scale in a labor force they will be a part of all their lives.

It has meaning, and all labor is worthy of respect.

Minimum wages are THE drivers of inflation!

Every single time minimum wages are increased, the cost of everything else goes up as well.

To the OP...
Most of those people in the vid choose to live the way they do, save for the children.
I’m on the verge of choosing a similar path but more like the Redneck! After all, I’ve been living on about 5 thousand dollars a year for near 12 years now. I’ve never been homeless but it is a struggle!

Americans are a spoiled bunch of humans!
Even the homeless are spoiled!
This LA vid is nothing like a 3rd world nation. As already pointed out, they’ve got tents, supplies & free food kitchens!

[coldcanna]

One thing in the old days people used to up and move to where the economy happened to be strong. Living in Maine I see all these people in there 20's and 30's who live in mill towns that are being closed down. All thats left is a mom and pop gas station or small business with no real economy to speak of. What do you think will happen to all these shoe-string small businesses across rural America when their cost of labor doubles to $15 an hour? Forcing employers to pay X an hour is completely devoid of an understanding of economics. If you aren't happy with your wage go find a trade thats worth money in a town that has it. Period. Any other way is nonsense

[vta]

Some may say this is hit piece against Dems...but they own it so....

Seattle Liberals Kill Subway Sandwich With Minimum Wage

The well-known sub chain recently reintroduced its “Five Dollar Footlong” promotion that was a major success years ago, driven by one of the most effective ad jingles in recent memory.

At least one Subway in Seattle won’t be participating in the promotion, however. It turns out that stifling regulations and the constantly-rising minimum wage aren’t magic solutions after all.

“We are not participating in the $5 Footlong promotion,” a sign spotted at the restaurant explained.

“The cost of doing business in the City of Seattle is very high. We are balancing the highest minimum wage in the nation, paid sick leave, ACA, Secure Scheduling, Soda Tax and much more,” owner David Jones wrote.

“The biggest cost driver, as Jones’ sign mentions, is Seattle’s highest-in-the-nation minimum wage. It went from $9.47 to $11 per hour in 2015, then to $13 per hour in 2016, with a further increase to $15 per hour planned,” explained Reason Magazine.

“The result? According to researchers at the University of Washington’s School of Public Policy and Governance, the number of hours worked in low-wage jobs has declined by around 9 percent since the start of 2016 ‘while hourly wages in such jobs increased by around 3 percent’,” continued the magazine.

“The net outcome: In 2016, the ‘higher’ minimum wage actually lowered low-wage workers’ earnings by an average of $125 a month.”

Once again, a Democrat policy ends up hurting the same people Democrats claim to “help.” Promising to raise the minimum wage might garner votes from those who are not financially literate — which means liberals — but it’s only a matter of time before the economy corrects and low-wage earners are the hardest hit.

Think about it: If minimum wage could be magically increased with no side effects, why don’t we simply make minimum wage $100 per hour tomorrow?

The answer, which almost everyone knows intuitively, is that this isn’t sustainable, and it would be only a few days before every business was in the red. Business owners don’t have a bottomless pit of cash, or they wouldn’t need to run a business at all. Revenue must come from somewhere.

If $100 per hour continued, every store would have to hike its prices to compensate. Gas would be over $20 per gallon. Grocery costs would skyrocket. Even casual observers understand that this wouldn’t work.

Yet that’s exactly what the left tries to do, on a slightly smaller scale. They promise wage increases while pretending that there will be no ill effects… but the world doesn’t work that way.

A more expensive sub may be just an inconvenience, but every other area of Seattle’s economy is inflating and adjusting to the increase at the same time.

Everything is connected, and nothing comes for free.

America should watch this failing experiment closely, before it comes to your city next.

Like and share this on Facebook and Twitter to remind everyone there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by MJPassion

Minimum wages are THE drivers of inflation!

Every single time minimum wages are increased, the cost of everything else goes up as well.

To the OP...
Most of those people in the vid choose to live the way they do, save for the children.
I’m on the verge of choosing a similar path but more like the Redneck! After all, I’ve been living on about 5 thousand dollars a year for near 12 years now. I’ve never been homeless but it is a struggle!

Americans are a spoiled bunch of humans!
Even the homeless are spoiled!
This LA vid is nothing like a 3rd world nation. As already pointed out, they’ve got tents, supplies & free food kitchens!

People don't choose to be homeless, they don't choose to be poor. It's a shitty system. If you're interested, check out the vid on the working poor in America. Some people are working 2 or more jobs just to put a roof over and feed their kids, and are just hanging on by their finger nails. The middle class is under attack with many just a sickness away from homelessness, due to your insane health care system. Here in Australia health care is pretty much free. Sure we pay a tax but it's not much and everyone benefits.
The system is starting to eat itself. Who’s it going to sell all its crap to if the middle class keeps getting hammered like it is. It's so wrong when just 8 men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, when there's more than enough to go around.
Mate, it's only fucking money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAKyi3SYC_I

[yesum]

Guess Mumbai will have soon have lots of Americans going over there then. Probably safer.

Your mind is in disconnect because you see a bad situation. No comparison to Mumbai or Calcutta to the US, but hey, with all the poor flooding in that could change. I think the health care system here needs socialized medicine and then an option to pay. Guaranteed income might be useful one day, they get it one way or the other really. Same with the healthcare.

Some people do choose to be homeless rather than spend the money on rent. Some do not. Lots of them are unemployable, maybe thru no fault of their own. Mental illness, drugs.

[Bud Green Sr.]

Originally Posted by Mick

Mate, it's only fucking money.

While I agree with your ideals, seriously mate, try telling that to the few that have the millions and billions...

Do you really think that they're just gonna give it to you?

Wake up, smell the coffee, develop a work ethic, learn a trade or get an education....

[armedoldhippy]

Originally Posted by Bud Green Sr.

While I agree with your ideals, seriously mate, try telling that to the few that have the millions and billions...

Do you really think that they're just gonna give it to you?

Wake up, smell the coffee, develop a work ethic, learn a trade or get an education....

i have a great work ethic, have a degree in mech. engineering (welding tech) education etc. BUT, i live in an economically depressed part of the country. a large part of WHY is that Tennessee is a "right to work" state, you work for what pitiful wages they offer or lose your home. we are but serfs. my wife still has ALL of her family here, i cannot leave...yet. business owners in this country all want to be billionaires & it matters not one fucking bit to them how many people they keep impoverished as long as THEY get to keep 95% of the profit the company makes. " decent raises? HAHAHAHAHAHA....no. love your sense of humor though." the company i currently work for had record profits last year, and is ahead of that schedule THIS year. know what raise i got for busting my ass & enriching the owners family? 30 cents an hour. over a 12 hour shift, that means i can buy 3 damn cokes out of the machine in the break room. meanwhile, he flew his entire extended family on his jet to Hawaii, Thailand, & a few islands in the south Pacific a few months ago...