UN poverty official touring Alabama's Black Belt: 'I haven't seen this' in the First World

The only reason the Deep South poor have indoor plumbing is because of the federal government. I was a teen ager in the 60’s in Mississippi. The feds, Johnson I think, passed a program to update houses with indoor plumbing if you owned an acre of land. My grandparents benefited from this program. They were poor, but had farm land passed down for generations.

originally posted by: zatara
a reply to: links234

When ever I read about the homeless/ poverty in the US there is no american citizen with a comment whichgives a plausible explanation or understanding for such situations. Then I ask myself ..what tf? How come no american citizen does understand that its government allows this to happen... It can not be other than it is the polticians who allow this to happen and are not in service of the US people.

Vey bad things are happening in the US (government).

Who are voted in by the Ameriican people. You answered your own question within the body of the text, yet cannot see the forest through the trees and ended with the government being at fault. As long as people keep voting in the yahoos whom their repective parties endorse, the respective parties being populated by people WE also vote for, nothing will change.

The onus is on the people and a work ethic and money are not needed to fix the foundations of the entire problem. Education is. Educate yourselves on how the system works and vote for the changes you want. People have to care enough for the future generations in order to do this (changes like this will take a few generations to be fully realized) and, sadly, I'm not seeing that characteristic in the poor and uneducated people of America.

In other words, I am seeing nothing that would lead me to believe that the depth of the poverty across the nation is ever going to change.

Get used to it or prove me wrong.

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: Willtell

Judge not remember. the rich have their cash already. they can leave and stop investing and collapse the system if pushed too far. they already pay their legal share. you want them to un constituionally be forced to pay for things the government is to do. youre mad at the wrong ones. we need budget control. stop sending money to people everywhere else. cant save the world when you are in danger yourself.

BS--we don't need rich people. Their wealth can be taken. Dont you realize that they get wealthy IN OUR SYSTEM not in another world. Not on Mars. They benefit from roads, police, firemen, their employees educated in our schools, and public safety just like us. They went to schools the system provides just like we all did.

The problem is your just programmed to defend them. So you, without even thinking, defend a system that allows people to benefit from it and get rich to not pay their fair share. Because they extort cheap politicians who are voted in office by people like yourself

originally posted by: neo96
Why don't un 'officials' tour Detroit and other progressive utopias ?

On that's right I guess that isn't part of the 'black' belt.

Probably because the American people share a nation, regardless of partisan BS, and not everyone in the world is obsessed with "left this right that."

a reply to: RomeByFire

The problem with that is it’s always the right or republican conservative philosophy side that defends the wealth hoarding and theft of public resources that perpetuate poverty and misery in the world...


Sure democrats and leftists aren’t perfect but they at least understand a basic reality of fairness and justice that conservative republicanism doesn’t understand.

It’s about being in a so-called modern technological society where human beings in America still in the millions live in abject poverty while people can amass wealth reaching into the billions.

ITS THE SYSTEM THAT ALLOWED THEM TO GET RICH

THEY OWE THE SYSTEM!

a reply to: Willtell

"The System Allowed"?

If the system allowed them to get rich, then it allows others to do it too. There must be a way to get rich if the system has a way for it to happen.

Sounds to me like you are just principly opposed to anyone getting rich in general. I wonder if you'd be opposed to it if the system allowed you to get rich?

Of course, I think that may be part of your problem. You are taking the passive approach, waiting for the system to act in your behalf. Most people I know who end up halfway prosperous don't wait for the system to do jack for them. They take the bull by the horns and boogie down on their own behalf because they understand the system doesn't owe them squat.

a reply to: ketsuko

You’re not even reading what I write.

This thread is about government’s lack of funds to maintain a healthy infrastructure

It’s really not a thing about wealth. I'm glad for those who get wealthy, I don't begrudge their success at all…

I totally understand any society needs the wealthy business owners as they need workers.

My complaint is NOT about people getting rich, not at all, it’s about their hoarding their wealth and not paying their fair share in taxes that could be able to better maintain the societal infrastructure, the physical eco-system of our modern technological world.

And I’m not a communist or necessarily a socialist.

originally posted by: Willtell
a reply to: Wardaddy454

I’m talking about the objective reality that republicans are doing everything in their power to let the rich pay meager taxes and that is ruining the country.

I don't care what you're talking about because history has proven you wrong before.

Tax revenue went up with reganomics. Spending went up too. Why? because congress controls the purse strings and Democrats controlled congress.

originally posted by: Willtell
How much money do these people need? How many yachts can they buy?


How many planes and houses and race horses do they need?


A modern society needs resources to maintain a modern and technologically forward society.


As our children go without computers and get led poisoned


We buy their products, work for them, WE make them rich—the society they leach off of makes them rich…

They owe the society that gives them the privelage of being wealthy off of the society.

And yet sooooo many people want to come here. They know there's a better chance here.

a reply to: Willtell

And yet the government has plenty to maintain a healthy infrastructure.

I spoke about it in an earlier post. The city I live in has the money to do it, but the politicians here prefer flashy vanity projects like arenas, street cars, nightlife districts and brand new airports over maintaining or upgrading the old one. Those are all much, much nicer to have your name on than the new sewer system.

So they campaign and force those other projects through and the infrastructure you claim they have no money for crumbles.

It isn't because they don't have the money for it, it's because it will always be someone else's problem later on and they don't have to address it right then. It's the same problem we saw with NOLA's levee system. They had the money. It was even allocated, but everyone mismanaged those funds and used them for other things because ... that disaster isn't happening on my watch, amirite?

a reply to: Willtell

So if they are not you they are not able to enjoy our american system even if they are americans too eh? just cause they were wise and did well does not make them resposible for anyone. the Gov is resposible for ifrastructure. times change and Gov does not deserve to get 50-90 percent of a hard worker who made it big just to make you feel morally superior.

Alabama - republican run but let's blame the Liberals.

The right never seems to take credit for anything, well only the successes which are few and far between or they deflect to "what about this and that".

originally posted by: liejunkie01
a reply to: Willtell

I agree,

All people have to do is take any highway out of the city and drive for an hour or two. Small town America is dieing a slow death. Drugs and crime is a problem. People are working two and three jobs, some just give up. Welfare and the poor give in and accept that this is the way it is and will be.

Our education system is pushing kids through with no hope of a future.

I dont know where you live but in my state small towns do quite well. In fact i moved to one and commute just to enjoy the peace and quiet. If this is happening in your state then you might want to ask yourself what policies are causing it. I used to live in NJ and ill tell you there it was state taxes and state regulators that cause the problems.

originally posted by: Willtell

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: Willtell

Judge not remember. the rich have their cash already. they can leave and stop investing and collapse the system if pushed too far. they already pay their legal share. you want them to un constituionally be forced to pay for things the government is to do. youre mad at the wrong ones. we need budget control. stop sending money to people everywhere else. cant save the world when you are in danger yourself.

BS--we don't need rich people. Their wealth can be taken. Dont you realize that they get wealthy IN OUR SYSTEM not in another world. Not on Mars. They benefit from roads, police, firemen, their employees educated in our schools, and public safety just like us. They went to schools the system provides just like we all did.

The problem is your just programmed to defend them. So you, without even thinking, defend a system that allows people to benefit from it and get rich to not pay their fair share. Because they extort cheap politicians who are voted in office by people like yourself

All right robin hood you go. Businesses arent required to do anything for the people though most do. Top 1 percent pay 45 percent of taxes collected . Top 20 percent pays 84 percent of all taxes. And The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 27.1 percent individual income tax rate, which is more than seven times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (3.5 percent). So the system is all ready set up to take away from the rich so how much is fair?

a reply to: dragonridr

Whether or not a small town does well depends on a lot of factors.

There are quite a few that are drying up, but there are others who find a way to survive. It mainly depends on what the town can bring in to make itself attractive as a place to live. Does it have a local industry or two? Is it close enough to another population center to serve as a commuter hub?

A lot of small towns used to have small local industries but taxes and regulation killed a lot of them off.

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: Willtell

Sometimes I forget that bill clinton helped balance our budget and create a surplus.

Nope, that was Newt and the gang. Bill signed the budget, tho.

Contract with America?

originally posted by: pavil
a reply to: Willtell

The rate of wage growth in the U.S. started stagnating well before Reagan.

Since 73' they say.

Handing out money to poor people does not equal them using it properly.

Here's $10k, hire a company to drill you a new well and install a water filtration system.

Six weeks later.

So you spent it on a large screen tv and booze?

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
This is just another attempt by the UN to mess with internal US affairs. They want to impose gun control, speech control, economic controls, immigration quotas - you name it they think they have the right to meddle. Guess it's our fault for joining in the first place but it certainly went well beyond it's original scope and due to composition of it's membership has a decidedly socialist agenda.

Too bad they didn't disappear, ala Deliverance.

originally posted by: Willtell
How much money do these people need? How many yachts can they buy?


How many planes and houses and race horses do they need?


A modern society needs resources to maintain a modern and technologically forward society.


As our children go without computers and get led poisoned


We buy their products, work for them, WE make them rich—the society they leach off of makes them rich…

They owe the society that gives them the privelage of being wealthy off of the society.

They gave ya the job to buy stuff, that's enough, I'd say.

Aren't rich people needed? Their money is anyway.

If no rich people, there will be no money.

Tell Beyonce she only gets $150 a concert and roadie her own. Or Depp $1000 a film and buy his own pirate hat.

Then again, I really don't hear them bitching about rich people. Must be coz they be rich.

Take Miriah Carey's money, I liked her 1st lp, then she went hip pop.

Oh, Kapernakik, let him empty his bank account for the common good.

Maybe Melania can hire 20 more servants to equal the number Michelle had, people need jobs.

When was the last time some broke ass mofo gave you a decent paying job?

Don't they teach basic hygiene in school anymore?