Few if any countries in the world have the homeless problems the US has.
The US is the worst country in the developed world by far to be poor in, with the possible exception of Mexico.
Few if any countries in the world have the homeless problems the US has.
The US is the worst country in the developed world by far to be poor in, with the possible exception of Mexico.
The thing is, just outside the city limits of Philadelphia would save a ton in taxes - they city is higher than the surrounding areas plus they have an additional sales tax above the state one, AND heaven help you if you are stuck within the city and like to have an occasional soda or other sweet drink, as there is a special extra tax on those things. Property is many of those just outside the city places would likely be less expensive as well.
But I get it, some people are just city people. I know at least two other people who live well within the city of Philadelphia. They moan and complain about things all the time, but if you suggest there are other alternatives they immediately get defensive and complain that it's so much easier for them to get to things without a car (yet they pay a fortune to keep a car parked in the city so they can go to other places on occasion - go figure. Where I live, no, I can't walk ot the mall (easily) or many of the restaurants around me, but those things also aren;t far. The traffic is not like driving in the city - it takes me 5 minutes to drive from my house to my office. Were I younger and in better shape, I could possibly bike it in nice weather, but I do live at the top of a fairly steep hill. Getting To work would be a breeze, it's getting home that would be less fun. I did live in Philly at one point, just started my first job out of college, and I was by myself, so a small place was affordable. Still had to drive to work, but I did have several close things I could walk to, which was nice. Thing is, when I later switched jobs and move outside of the city, the same rent money got me a larger 2 bedroom place that was as nice as the place I had in the city. It's all tradeoffs - for me I'd rather live where I have space (I have a decent size yard) rather than pay extra to live inside city limits, yet I am not in such a fancy area that housing costs are unaffordable - my house was relatively inexpensive compared to some places around me, but the neighborhood is good and fairly quiet.
If the US is all as bad as @cdev and others paint it, why thousands of people try to break in every day? Including a well-publicized army of >10K people working their way up from Central America as this is written. Are they all fools?
Dunno how much traveling you have done around the planet, especially the "3rd world"?
Non-working transients with drug (including alcohol) addictions to support have it infinitely better in the US than hard-working, honest, sincere clean-living people in most of the "3rd world". Visiting many parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania lowered my sympathy for many of the homeless in the US. If they want to stay high on mind-altering substances all day, that is their choice.
No, they are the smart ones. We the people are the fools that keep electing government officials that encourage this to happen so they get extra, often illegal votes so they can stay in power.
Few if any countries in the world have the homeless problems the US has.
The US is the worst country in the developed world by far to be poor in, with the possible exception of Mexico.Dunno how much traveling you have done around the planet, especially the "3rd world"?
Non-working transients with drug (including alcohol) addictions to support have it infinitely better in the US than hard-working, honest, sincere clean-living people in most of the "3rd world". Visiting many parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania lowered my sympathy for many of the homeless in the US. If they want to stay high on mind-altering substances all day, that is their choice.
If the US is all as bad as @cdev and others paint it, why thousands of people try to break in every day? Including a well-publicized army of >10K people working their way up from Central America as this is written. Are they all fools?
I think you need to add some gradients here. I'd guess that a lot of the homeless people became homeless due to an inability to work and no social security or family to fall back on. The rest of the misery probably followed later.
I think you need to add some gradients here. I'd guess that a lot of the homeless people became homeless due to an inability to work and no social security or family to fall back on. The rest of the misery probably followed later.Absolutely. Most Americans are less than one paycheck away from being broke. 40% of Americans cannot afford an unexpected $400 expense!
And with American austerity-based safety nets in a political climate that assumes poverty to be a personal moral failing, meaningful safety nets do not exist.
Depending on who you believe and how it’s counted, 4% to 62% of personal bankruptcies in USA are due to illness/disease (medical bills, loss of income, etc.). IMHO, it’s scandalous that even one person should go bankrupt due to illness or disease. Never mind hundreds of thousands per year. Not in a country that, as a whole (per-capita), is as wealthy as USA.
So one unexpected $500 medical bill, and almost half of Americans are at financial risk.
P.S. Look into how expensive it is to be poor. Everything you use costs you more than if you have money. From grocery stores in poor neighborhoods charging more (often a lot more), to not having the cash up-front to buy things in bulk (never mind afford a Costco membership), to how you pay more for insurance, etc.
(And “poor” is relative: many Americans work 2–3 jobs just to stay afloat, never mind have the time or money to pay for school, or childcare to make the time, etc. There’s no way to save in those situations.)
Few if any countries in the world have the homeless problems the US has.
The US is the worst country in the developed world by far to be poor in, with the possible exception of Mexico.Dunno how much traveling you have done around the planet, especially the "3rd world"?
Non-working transients with drug (including alcohol) addictions to support have it infinitely better in the US than hard-working, honest, sincere clean-living people in most of the "3rd world". Visiting many parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania lowered my sympathy for many of the homeless in the US. If they want to stay high on mind-altering substances all day, that is their choice.
If the US is all as bad as @cdev and others paint it, why thousands of people try to break in every day? Including a well-publicized army of >10K people working their way up from Central America as this is written. Are they all fools?
It depends a lot on where you are. Some places have cheap stores like that. Many poor urban neighborhoods do not, leaving people reliant on expensive corner stores.
Here’s a pertinent recent event from my adopted hometown, Baltimore: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/27/597304848/salvation-army-opens-first-grocery-store-ever-in-baltimore
Now how many of those people have new phones and cars? Health insurance with high premiums and deductibles? There are other things you can't measure reliably too, steps taken to improve the situation, earnest efforts to keep some money around. Actual skills vs what is required near them. There is never a single reason which is why the individuals are generally considered to be at fault. I read an article today on cnn where Seattle raised the min wage to 15 but people actually only make 1-2% more due to cut hours. This is in a busy urban area. Nothing said about cost of living changes though.
I have never in my entire life seen a poor person who had an expensive new phone. Nor an expensive new car.
Actually I used to be poor. We had stores where things were SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than the normal chain stores. They had limited selection but everything you'd need. Bread, eggs, milk, cheese, canned goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, cream, some other "luxury" food stuffs but mostly essentials. As for Seattle the article is likely based on the same research which I haven't read so I'm not going to try to say much more than what I read. actually it looks like mostly the same article but on cnn business rather than just cnn.
It depends a lot on where you are. Some places have cheap stores like that. Many poor urban neighborhoods do not, leaving people reliant on expensive corner stores.
Here’s a pertinent recent event from my adopted hometown, Baltimore: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/27/597304848/salvation-army-opens-first-grocery-store-ever-in-baltimore
Yea, I was in kansas. There are some places where it's not great to be broke and poor but at some point you should consider moving then. It's what I did. Multiple times actually. If you don't give up you can improve your situation. If you do give up or wait for someone else to change things for you though you probably have a low chance of improving things. This isn't for people with legitimate disabilities but I'm fairly certain that's not the majority of poor people in america.
I have never in my entire life seen a poor person who had an expensive new phone. Nor an expensive new car.I sure have, lots of them. That's not to say it's a leading cause of poverty or anything but I'm shocked you haven't known or even met at least a couple people who can barely pay the rent at the end of the month but always seem to have a top of the line smartphone and/or a nice ride.
I have never in my entire life seen a poor person who had an expensive new phone. Nor an expensive new car.I sure have, lots of them. That's not to say it's a leading cause of poverty or anything but I'm shocked you haven't known or even met at least a couple people who can barely pay the rent at the end of the month but always seem to have a top of the line smartphone and/or a nice ride.Those people aren't poor, they are just poor at money management.
I have never in my entire life seen a poor person who had an expensive new phone. Nor an expensive new car.I sure have, lots of them. That's not to say it's a leading cause of poverty or anything but I'm shocked you haven't known or even met at least a couple people who can barely pay the rent at the end of the month but always seem to have a top of the line smartphone and/or a nice ride.Those people aren't poor, they are just poor at money management.If you have a total net worth below $0 (or hell, below $2K), you're poor in my book. If we use that definition, I see a lot of poor people with new phones, new cars, drinking $5 cups of hot water poured over beans, and regularly eating meals prepared for them.
Those people aren't poor if they have a $1000 iPhone
I sure have, lots of them. That's not to say it's a leading cause of poverty or anything but I'm shocked you haven't known or even met at least a couple people who can barely pay the rent at the end of the month but always seem to have a top of the line smartphone and/or a nice ride.
Then there is a whole other group of people who would not normally be considered poor, they make a decent wage but if you look at their finances their house is mortgaged to the hilt and they are living far beyond their means and deep in debt.