RE: 6 conundrums (Full Version)

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vincentML -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/29/2014 11:47:33 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

So I had this show up in my email today. It seems to be making the rounds, and I thought it was an interesting way to look at our sociopolitical times.


Here are six conundrums of life in the United States of America:

1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the corporations are subsidized.

2. More than half the rich are subsidized - yet they think they are victims.

3. Corporations think they are victims - yet they own the representatives run the government.

4. Their representatives run the government - to insure the poor keep getting poorer.

5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about except decent healthcare, housing, and education

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they
want America to be more like those other countries. Double bullshit


Thoughts?





Musicmystery -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/29/2014 12:02:12 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: subrob1967


quote:

ORIGINAL: thompsonx


Some are terminally ignorant and proud of it.




I know, and they use bold text to emphasis they're ignorance.


It's too easy. Someone else can take the shot.




mnottertail -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/29/2014 12:09:19 PM)

The conundrum is that it, as is the OP, too easy.




thompsonx -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/29/2014 5:03:19 PM)


ORIGINAL: subrob1967


quote:

ORIGINAL: thompsonx


Some are terminally ignorant and proud of it.




I know, and they use bold text to emphasis they're ignorance.

A mall cops ignorant unsubstantiated opinion is worth somewhat less than we paid for it.




tj444 -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/29/2014 7:20:12 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they
want America to be more like those other countries.[/size]

Thoughts?

the US is becoming more and more like those other countries.. when people (who actually do have jobs) have to choose between paying rent or buying food at the end of the month.. then there is very much wrong.. in those other countries people are starving, and people in the US also are starving.. people in other countries sleep on a dirt floor, and people in the US sleep on the dirt ground.. I am talking about American homeless (or about to be homeless), in particular, and don't forget, in those other countries there are rich and well to do people also, just like here..

Affordable housing is a serious problem in this country... here are stats for Texas (cuz I happened to be looking into this today)... other states/cities are much worse of course.. to find the numbers in your state go here and pick your state from the little box- http://nlihc.org/oor/2014

In Texas, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $872. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities – without paying more than 30% of income on housing – a household must earn $2,906 monthly or $34,876 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a Housing Wage of $16.77.
In Texas, a minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.25. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 93 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or a household must include 2.3 minimum wage earners working 40 hours per week year-round in order to make the two-bedroom FMR affordable.


and then there is this-
“A recent Harvard Joint Center for Housing study spells out a critical national shortage — more than half of low-income tenants today spend more than half of their income on rent. And 21 million people can’t find rental homes within their means. The struggle for decent, affordable rental housing is increasingly out of reach not only for the poorest of the poor, but for the middle class as well.”

http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/jchs.harvard.edu/files/jchs_americas_rental_housing_2013_1_0.pdf




vincentML -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/30/2014 8:24:04 AM)

quote:

the US is becoming more and more like those other countries.. when people (who actually do have jobs) have to choose between paying rent or buying food at the end of the month.. then there is very much wrong.. in those other countries people are starving, and people in the US also are starving.. people in other countries sleep on a dirt floor, and people in the US sleep on the dirt ground.. I am talking about American homeless (or about to be homeless), in particular, and don't forget, in those other countries there are rich and well to do people also, just like here..

tj, this is nothing new. The social safety net dates back only to the 1930s. Now, the Right is doing their best to erode even those meager accomplishments.




tj444 -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/30/2014 8:50:55 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: vincentML

quote:

the US is becoming more and more like those other countries.. when people (who actually do have jobs) have to choose between paying rent or buying food at the end of the month.. then there is very much wrong.. in those other countries people are starving, and people in the US also are starving.. people in other countries sleep on a dirt floor, and people in the US sleep on the dirt ground.. I am talking about American homeless (or about to be homeless), in particular, and don't forget, in those other countries there are rich and well to do people also, just like here..

tj, this is nothing new. The social safety net dates back only to the 1930s. Now, the Right is doing their best to erode even those meager accomplishments.

no, you are right.. it is nothing new.. but it is getting much worse & will be worse in the future.. even tho this last "recession" was the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, rents did not decrease by much and have since increased back up again.. and with Obamacare, some companies cut the hours of their workers to less than 30/week.. for a minimum wage earner, how do they afford to pay rent? or for food? they cant.. these people pay as much as 55% of their wages just for rent.. and for some, their rental is likely one step from being condemned.. but they live there, pay their rent before they buy food and don't bitch cuz if they do then they are literally on the street & homeless..




vincentML -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/30/2014 10:55:31 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

quote:

ORIGINAL: vincentML

quote:

the US is becoming more and more like those other countries.. when people (who actually do have jobs) have to choose between paying rent or buying food at the end of the month.. then there is very much wrong.. in those other countries people are starving, and people in the US also are starving.. people in other countries sleep on a dirt floor, and people in the US sleep on the dirt ground.. I am talking about American homeless (or about to be homeless), in particular, and don't forget, in those other countries there are rich and well to do people also, just like here..

tj, this is nothing new. The social safety net dates back only to the 1930s. Now, the Right is doing their best to erode even those meager accomplishments.

no, you are right.. it is nothing new.. but it is getting much worse & will be worse in the future.. even tho this last "recession" was the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, rents did not decrease by much and have since increased back up again.. and with Obamacare, some companies cut the hours of their workers to less than 30/week.. for a minimum wage earner, how do they afford to pay rent? or for food? they cant.. these people pay as much as 55% of their wages just for rent.. and for some, their rental is likely one step from being condemned.. but they live there, pay their rent before they buy food and don't bitch cuz if they do then they are literally on the street & homeless..

Rents have increased due to the massive foreclosure of housing that resulted from subprime mortgages sold to those who could not afford them. Wells Fargo and Coutrywide settled lawsuits for targeting the poor, especially blacks with ballooning mortgages. Obviously, the fraudulent "ownership society" con game had much to do with the crash of housing values and destruction of credit this time. History repeats itself sort of. The poor and near poor get snookered one way or another and wealth accumulates upwards.




kdsub -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/30/2014 12:04:01 PM)

I agree a good portion are subsidized… by themselves. The rich under pay service jobs...reap the profits… The underpaid apply for aid from the government to just feed themselves and their families. The tax money, on the whole, comes from the middle and lower class…So the rich let the government pay the supplement to a living wage while…well… they reap the profits… good system for them.

Butch




tj444 -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/30/2014 1:59:12 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: vincentML

Rents have increased due to the massive foreclosure of housing that resulted from subprime mortgages sold to those who could not afford them. Wells Fargo and Coutrywide settled lawsuits for targeting the poor, especially blacks with ballooning mortgages. Obviously, the fraudulent "ownership society" con game had much to do with the crash of housing values and destruction of credit this time. History repeats itself sort of. The poor and near poor get snookered one way or another and wealth accumulates upwards.

certainly that was part of it.. but there were many people that were middle class, had good jobs but then lost them due to the economic tsunami and so lost their homes in the process.. some people had owned their homes for quite a long time but when values dropped like a lead balloon, no way could they refinance or sell, especially before banks started doing the short sale thing.. And when people lost their homes, that put more people into the rental market (even tho some people doubled up, moved in with family, etc) so there was no reason for landlords to drop their rents much or for long.. But yah, the poor and near poor always get screwed.. just depends how bad..




MrRodgers -> RE: 6 conundrums (5/31/2014 8:18:30 PM)

But this has been going on for 40 years...it's just getting worse now.




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