(no subject)

[shadowkat]

From Orlando, Florida:

Watch on YouTube

I was feeling sorry for myself about my shower situation. The pipe froze in my bathroom. It's been below 0 the last few days and froze the pipe. 1920's building, no insulation in the wall to protect the pipe. So only the tube works, but not the shower. The Super has given me the key to the newly renovated but empty apt across the hall - I can take a shower in that apt, tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm frustrated about the inability to take one tonight in my own apt. I like mine better. See? Feeling sorry for myself.

Then I happen upon the above posted video on Face Book. Life, regardless of how bad you may think you have it at the moment, could always be far worse.

Right now, I'm grateful for a kind and resourceful live-in Super, and an available shower next door. Apparently I'm reaping the benefits of listening to bang that apartment into shape? I'm also grateful to have a warm apartment. Shelter. Food.
A well-paying job. A community. A family. And friends...even if I don't see them very often or they feel at times very far away. I'm grateful that I'm not alone, homeless, and living on the streets like so many people around the world.

And here's the wonderful crazy thing about life? Everything in it is temporary. Nothing, well except maybe death and taxes last forever.

Comments

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

Doesn't America have schemes to help the homeless back into homes, providing money for housing for those who cannot afford rented accommodation? In the UK the main reason to be homeless is mental disability or drug addiction, because people with those conditions tend to be less likely to seek help as a result. But in the UK help is available for those who need it and it strikes me as bizarre that the US, the most developed and richest country in the world, should have lower standards.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Sorry, been a long time since I looked at social programs. So, my knowledge is way out of date. Last time I looked at it was back in the early 1990s, almost 20 years ago.

I know when my folks lived in Australia back in 1990 - they had the "dole", where unemployed people could get government subsidies, and housing? But they also pay a lot more taxes, and have a smaller population. So not sure you can compare the two countries?

It's really hard, I think, to compare social programs in smaller countries to much larger ones? Example? Sweden apparently has the best but it is also a much smaller country in geography and population than the US, and it's not a country with multiple states. The UK may be more similar to the US in that respect - ie, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and Ireland are all part of the UK (or I think so). But we're still governed very differently, with completely different populations etc.

The US does have a welfare system - food stamps, etc. I don't know enough about it to provide factual information - but I'm certain if you google it - you may find something. We do have shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, and community programs. But it's not a great system, lots of bureaucracy. And there are rules and procedures and forms. Some people play the system and make it difficult for others. And there's a lot of shame associated with homelessness - mainly because people assume that the only people who are homeless are losers. Which is wrong of course, but people are terribly judgmental of each other, aren't they? The video I posted helps with that I think. Or hope.

I don't know if the UK has the same issues or not. Or if everyone there that is homeless is just due to drugs or mental illness. So, can't really comment.

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

For the record (just to get it out of the way), Australia and Canada are not part of the UK. Rather they are part of the Commonwealth and have full independence from the UK since breaking away from the British Empire. Only Northern Ireland is part of the UK. The rest of Ireland (the 'Republic of Ireland' or 'Eire' as it is also known) is entirely independent from the UK and is not even part of the Commonwealth.

Anyway, back to the US and homelessness. I'm not sure that the size of the US is a good enough excuse. Certainly in terms of economic provision through taxes, it would seem to me that the US is an extremely rich and prosperous country and has a low enough unemployment rate that the money contributed to the government by those in stable work could easily provide shelter for those who need it.

But I think the problem of how the homeless are perceived is undoubtedly relevant here.

Whenever taxes on the rich are suggested, they seem to be oddly unpopular with the ordinary voting public. There seems to be an oddly pervasive view that ordinary American people might be shooting themselves in the foot if they allow a higher tax rate for the super-rich. It's very strange, but seems to be part of a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" culture which presumes anyone who is rich must have built up their fortune from nothing and that anyone who is in poverty must have ended up there through laziness or bad life choices. The idea that some people might have been born into wealth and could afford to give something back to those without their advantages and the idea that some people might not be in a position to succeed without some support from the government seems to be an abhorrent notion to many voters.

I remember when Occupy Wall Street was going on there was a "we are the 70%" movement whereby some claimed to be against Occupy because they were hardworking people who didn't expect a handout. There was a story from one of these people about how their dad worked ridiculous hours and had no medical treatment for his cancer - and that this was somehow a good thing. The story finished with "the cancer still grows. That is the American dream." - with no sense of irony.

I think Americans need to get over their strange phobia of taxing the rich.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Well, more or less preaching to the choir here. (If it were up to me the billionaires would be paying 50% of their income in taxes.)

So, the UK is even smaller than I thought. And again you are comparing an Octagon to a circle. The US has 308 million people. 50 states with their own governments and tax systems, plus a federal tax system, and each state has their own welfare laws. So, the welfare laws in NYC might be different than they are in Arizona. Then you have different tax and laws per local district and township. Plus elected officials for each area.

It's not an excuse or a defense. Just an explanation. And why are you attacking me? I was just posting a video about homelessness?

Jeeze.

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

I can't be preaching to the choir AND attacking you, can I?

I might just not understand the problems caused by a larger population. Tax is the means whereby the government retrieves money from the people in order to run the country. The more people, the more money, right?

I guess I just found the video annoying because I don't understand why people need to be reminded that the homeless are people to - and I don't really think that is what will help them. They need to actually be given assistance from the government.

As you might imagine, in a country with a national health system which provides full healthcare to all, I get similarly annoyed by the politics in the US surrounding that too. Y'know?