"Poop Patrol" to clean human feces from SF streets, homelessness ignored, Little India

a reply to: chr0naut

If the US re worked our social nets to be more like everyone else's, you'd have to find a way to jam defense spending into your budgets or you'd get eaten alive by other countries like Russia and China who care even less about what you think of them then we do.

Our defense spending maintains the umbrella that allows your national budget to carry on those programs you then thumb your nose at us because we don't have. It allows you to feel superior at our expense because we're paying for an important function on your behalf.

originally posted by: gr8skott

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Meanwhile in California... rampant tent cities and homelessness. It's turning into Little India here folks. Can we stop worrying so much about whether or not people are using politically correct language or are culturally appropriating and do something about the lack of quality mental health care for the people who need it most in this country?

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Wait - Is THIS what Americans think? That homeless people are just mentally sick people who have not been medicated?

All this time I thought the real problem was a ruthless society where you either kiss enough ass to get a cozy $200,000 job, or you lose everything step by step, as you fall through a thinning middle class and crash through the bottom of poverty, right out on the street.

I guess all those minimum wage jobs are filled with teenagers just needing a little extra cash to blow on entertainment.

What else could be the case in a country where people not able to make the American dream come true, are just stupid and lazy.

Whatever one may think of USA, "warm and caring society" is rarely appropriate.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: chr0naut

If the US re worked our social nets to be more like everyone else's, you'd have to find a way to jam defense spending into your budgets or you'd get eaten alive by other countries like Russia and China who care even less about what you think of them then we do.

Our defense spending maintains the umbrella that allows your national budget to carry on those programs you then thumb your nose at us because we don't have. It allows you to feel superior at our expense because we're paying for an important function on your behalf.

Have you considered that America is unreasonably fearful and therefore spends far too much money on defense?

List of countries by military expenditures From Wikipedi. If you look at the figures on the Wikipedia page, the US spends more on defense than all of the other listed countries combined.

Add to that, the spending for the Intelligence budget (CIA and NSA, etc) of about $71 billion a year and Department of Homeland Security of about $47.5 billion, the US probably spends more to defend itself than most of the rest of the world combined. Is that balanced or is it paranoid crazy?

If the goal of American defense is to protect the lives of American citizens, then if some of that military budget went towards medicine and dealing with the poor, then it would actually save lives, instead of potentially protecting lives.

Also, considering United States military casualties of war From Wikipedia, how effective has all that military spending been on actually protecting the lives of Americans?

Face it, war = profit for the military industrial complex. Doesn't matter which flag they wave, these guys are the true enemy of humanity (which includes the average American). In a wise and braver world, we should stop paying them 'protection money'.

I also don't kid myself that the US defends my country. We have free trade with China but the US is trying to squeeze us out of free trade deals. Some friendly ally!

Not to mention that I am an Australian citizen and am aware of the CIA being behind the 1975 Australian Constitutional crisis and dismissal of our duly elected government there (as revealed by the ex-CIA whistle blower Christopher Boyce). You guys are the actual enemy of democracy and freedom!

originally posted by: Uberdoubter

originally posted by: gr8skott

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Meanwhile in California... rampant tent cities and homelessness. It's turning into Little India here folks. Can we stop worrying so much about whether or not people are using politically correct language or are culturally appropriating and do something about the lack of quality mental health care for the people who need it most in this country?

...

Wait - Is THIS what Americans think? That homeless people are just mentally sick people who have not been medicated?

All this time I thought the real problem was a ruthless society where you either kiss enough ass to get a cozy $200,000 job, or you lose everything step by step, as you fall through a thinning middle class and crash through the bottom of poverty, right out on the street.

I guess all those minimum wage jobs are filled with teenagers just needing a little extra cash to blow on entertainment.

What else could be the case in a country where people not able to make the American dream come true, are just stupid and lazy.

Whatever one may think of USA, "warm and caring society" is rarely appropriate.

Thanks Uberdoubter. You're a voice of sanity.

In 2016 more than half the US population (54.54%), roughly 177 million people, earned less than $32,500 a year. If you take out the costs of food, heating/cooling, transport, groceries, clothing, medical & etc, it doesn't leave a lot to cover housing (rent or mortgage). All that needs to happen is one big cost and you no longer have enough money for housing - you become homeless.

It does happen, very often, and not through mental illness.

See the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" (Wikipedia article), which is based upon a true story to see a real world example of how someone who has no mental illness, is a hard worker, has high intelligence, is well educated and has the tenacity struggle through hardship, ends up homeless.

Not everyone has the ability to fight back against such crushing defeat, again and again. They become disillusioned and loose the will to keep struggling.

Defeat isn't mental illness. Homelessness isn't mental illness. Sure there are some people who have mental illnesses and who are homeless, but the majority of the homeless are just poor and defeated.

The inability to empathize with others, though, is a genuine mental illness. The people who are suggesting that the homeless are all mentally ill, sound like they are either anxious and overcompensating or mildly psychopathic.

I hope that reasonable voices such as yours will get the message across.

Youre a genius op why dont we get houses for all these homeless people. Wow. No brainer. Just get a house dude.

a reply to: gr8skott

Those people want to live that way though.

I've seen plenty of people given a free apartment but they never go there, they want to be out on the streets and will lose their apartment for never showing up.

Most just want drugs and street drama.

If they didn't like that "lifestyle" they wouldn't be there setting up tents.

I think most people view this through thier own limited perspectives, and don't actually experience it first hand.

I was on the streets and met the vagabonds first hand, and avoided them like the plague they are.

Sure a few of them are alright people and want to improve themselves - and they get out of there asap.

But you need to just go be around them awhile. After you see how violent and petty and ruthless many of them are, after they rob you and attack you, then maybe you'll realize how deluded your perfect world fantasy really was.

Look, some people actually want to be garbage and they prefer it that way. If you gave them 30,000 they'd just party till it was all gone. Not all of them of couse, but definitely a large portion of them.

I am one of the least heartless persons out there, but I met these people and learned what they were about. I'm willing to face the facts of reality.

Our society created this because most people are selfish and heartless yes - that's true - but the people in those tents are by a vast majority some of the most heartless and selfish scumbags there are in our heartless society. They will use and abuse any good will.

originally posted by: chr0naut

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In 2016 more than half the US population (54.54%), roughly 177 million people, earned less than $32,500 a year. If you take out the costs of food, heating/cooling, transport, groceries, clothing, medical & etc, it doesn't leave a lot to cover housing (rent or mortgage). All that needs to happen is one big cost and you no longer have enough money for housing - you become homeless.

It does happen, very often, and not through mental illness.

See the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" (Wikipedia article), which is based upon a true story to see a real world example of how someone who has no mental illness, is a hard worker, has high intelligence, is well educated and has the tenacity struggle through hardship, ends up homeless.

Not everyone has the ability to fight back against such crushing defeat, again and again. They become disillusioned and loose the will to keep struggling.

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This must be one of the more down-to-earth posts I've seen in here in quite some time.

Whenever I watch an episode of "Storage Wars", I can't help to notice there are ZERO thoughts given to WHY there are so many lockers up for auction.

People Lose their job.
They can't afford to pay for their home.
They put their belongings in storage.
They can't afford to pay for storage.
They lose their belongings - bought by someone making millions on being a TV celebrity.

Yet we never talk about that, do we. It's all fun and games, and untold riches that just appeared out of nowhere in that locker.

(Not taking into consideration that many items are "planted" in the lockers to make them more interesting, but that's another story.)

The best example that illustrates how cold and egotistical the American society is, is comparing with what happens in Japan when there is a natural disaster. People help each other. In US of A, whenever there's a disaster, hunting season begins. People shoot each other.

No wonder USA is the home of the preppers - because it really is every man for himself.