Originally posted by GScholz
Could you elaborate a bit on this, I may have been mistaken earlier. What is the definition of "poor" in the US? If this person you know has 3 tv's and a car, how is he poor? I don't know any poor people ... we have none here. If "poor" is based just on income (is that what you mean?) then I guess I'm poor. I got laid off 6 months ago, but I do have a car, a tv, three computers and an apartment + about $22,000 a year. We have "bums" too, and drug addicts, but they don't live on the street. This is a vital service in my country, we simply cannot accept people being homeless ... unless we are prepared to collect their frozen bodies come winter. Unfortunately we now have a growing problem of illegal immigrants who (for obvious reasons) are afraid to get help from the state, but I have yet to hear about anyone freezing to death in our streets. In my town no one is homeless, everyone has housing guaranteed by the state, and de-tox programs ... if you want it.
We have the same stuff here, only most of it isn't run by the government, though alot of it is subsidised by the gov. A lot of people here simply don't know about it or are too lazy to go get the help, because then they may have to stop doing the drugs, booze that got them where they're at.
I should say also, just so you don't think I'm a nazi too, If a person CAN"T work because of physical or mental problems I have no problem helping them, and that does encompass a large part of our homeless. I've just known too many (met a few in rehab last year too) homeless or "poor" to know diferent. They get tired of being homeless and they will do ANYTHING to not be homeless. That usually entails work. Anybody here can always go get a bed at the YMCA or the Salvation Army or AA. There are hundreds upon hundreds of privately run shelters.
Where do you get the 22k a year? The gov? Who pays them the money? If that's the way your system is set up good on you. If everybody there likes that system, then even better on you. Here, 50% hate it. I wouldn't actually mind it if it weren't for all the fraud. But how can I be free or have liberty if they take 30% of my money every 2 weeks? I mean if I say no, they say "too bad, anti up or go to jail"
WTF is that? Where is that in our constitution?
My point of the post your quoted was that if there's a will, there is a way to get ahead in life. I know, i've been there. More than once too. It probably wouldn't take much to put me back there either. BUT, I don't want to be there so I bust arse.
