How Poor People Survive In The USA

But what about their white privilege?

R1, please fuck off and die in a grease fire. The concept of white privilege has nothing whatsoever to do with this topic, but people like you never miss an opportunity to weaponize it. Crawl back into your hole and jack off over a photo of Trump, mkay?

R2 - You poor thing.

Take your pills, dearie.

I did a cross country camping trip over the summer and was surprised to see so many elderly people sleeping in their cars in Walmart parking lots.

The US is basically a 3rd world country if you don't have money.

We love you R1.

Watch The Maid on Netflix, it’s a brutal life living below the poverty line.

America hates poors

Well now that we're not spending trillions on military misadventure maybe we can reconsider the budgeting process. Maybe a little of that cash could be used to help people eat, get medical care etc. It's past time that we nationalize all healthcare in this country. Here is a perfect example. I've had MRI's in the U.S. that cost $1,500 luckily I had insurance at that time. You know what it is in parts of Europe - $40.

This is runaway capitalism at play here. That means it is time for the government to step in and make life better for all of us.

Thanks for sharing that, OP. It helps me as I have been losing compassion lately due to all the tents, garbage and crime that the tweakers are causing. It's good to be reminded that the homeless population is diverse.

We should just provide free shelter to homeless people. Many of them are just too poor to afford housing and things are only going to get worse.

Yes, housing is needed and especially for the elderly. I was horrified to see so many living in their cars.

How about they get a fucking job ????

I know someone will cry "socialism" but this country is too large and has too many resources to let its elderly and weak live in cars or on the streets. Isn't it time to make healthcare and housing for all?

How about we convert all these inactive military bases into public housing, put housing on BLM land, and make a one-payer system (federal) for healthcare?

When we create public housing, black and brown gangs take them over. It's terrifying for the elderly residents.

[quote] How about they get a fucking job ????

Did you not even watch the first 5 minutes? The lady works 7 days a week yet still has to live in her minivan.

What the US needs is more socialism. Not a joke. It requires residential areas and buildings where senior citizens are cared for, no matter how much money they have saved for retirement. From assisted living to 24/7 care. Everything financed and supervised through government programs. Volunteers and still active senior citizens helping out wherever they can. Creating a community where people care for each other and support each other. The US and the world in general needs more compassion for your fellow men.

There should be PSAs about being nice and kind to each other in public to decrease this epidemic that we know as Karens, Anti-Vaxxers, and Deplorables. Programming about resolving anger management issues.

Is this the documentary that shows homeless living in their cars in a parking lot that locks at night giving them some safety with a food type tent set up?

The scary statistic is that most Americans are only two checks away from being homeless.

This thread will bring out the best in Dataloungers.

We're the richist and greddist and freedist cuntry in the world U can go to RUSSIA you pinko fag commies if u LUV soccilisism so much BYE BYE commie!

R13 Housing prices are insane. No one working minimum wage can afford the median home AND a car/gas to drive to said job. People without homes can't get jobs. On top of that vampiric recruiters and outsource HR won't hire anyone with a gap in their resume. Even applying to shitty retail jobs is like applying to college now. Then you have elderly people who saved but an expensive medical issue or inflation wiped out their wealth.

Apartments here require a renter to make 3x in salary what the monthly rent is. It's ridiculous.

R19 Americans refuse to admit that we are FAR more likely to end up homeless than millionaires.

R23 you also can't get housing if your credit stinks or if you have no credit and a lot of people are in that position. Many employers complain about how they can't find workers and many landlords complain about how they can't find tenants but what they really mean is that they can't find the top 5% of worker or renters who will accept their draconian wages/rents along with increasingly intrusive background checks.

Get a job! It's not like there aren't plenty available. Flip burgers, sweep floors, do something! A percentage of homeless have no choice because of mental and other issues, but many are just overweight lazy bums.

[quote]Americans refuse to admit that we are FAR more likely to end up homeless than millionaires.

And that delusion allows Republicans to get away with polices that benefit the rich at the expense of everybody else.

R26 a lot of people work and are still homeless. You don't get it, at all.

R26 Older people, mentally ill people, people with felons often cannot get jobs. It's not as simple to say "just flip burgers". McDonalds doesn't want to hire 70 year olds or felons.

So fucking sad. My god.

R26 is a libertarian. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, send those kids to work, no safety nets. You know the type. They voted for the 🍊 shitbag.

R13: Did you even watch the video? Many of them had jobs. Just because the price of housing has grown exponentially but compensation for a job hasn't kept up.

Housing is now seen a solid investment rather than simple an abode. Wealth people have a vested interest in keeping the real estate bubble afloat. This has nothing to do with free markets. Markets are manipulated all the time. It's why the wealthy are so invested in keeping levels of immigration high and the stock of housing low. More people & fewer buildings = more competition for housing = their existing assets appreciate in value. It's a fucking scam.

R13 / R26 is a perfect example of why this country has gone to shit. No fucking compassion and always more worried if someone else might get something, even if that something is related basic survival. No wonder we don't have healthcare. No matter the social issue, half the ignorant people will scream "get a job".

Even if, let's say, that's at the heart of their problems (it's not... lady has a fucking job), no answer about what kind of job. Let me guess, "learn to code", right? No acknowledgement that half the replacement jobs after 08 were low waged service jobs, nor that if hypothetically every could do it, there's more people than jobs. No acknowledgement that a portion are elderly, or disabled, making most jobs out of the question anyway.

But again, putting those aside, how then do these people live where the jobs are? It's like my area, where homes average 330k, with the lowest rent 1500k, where we have plently of job openings (averaging $15 hr) for sure, but the jobs don't pay enough to live anywhere near them. We also have a large older population, with 4 out of10 over 50. Highest ever and expected to go up. They have the most wealth (what left over from the 10% that is), but are creating demands for cheap, abundant services, that don't pay employees enough.

I just read that a community college is opening its parking garage to students, providing showers/bathrooms and security. For a price, of course.

R33 spot on. I could tell something was off when I read that housing from 2010 rose quadruple. No tangible reason, other than "demand", but that's even fishy. I don't see mansions that were 20 mil going for 300 mil as a normal demand thing. The pool of buyers isn't very large. House flippers helped this phenomenon too, by snatching up affordable homes, remodeling cheap, raising prices around the block. It's actually crazy how many homeowners buy me own multiple homes, are 80+ but won't downsize, have greedy relatives, etc.

Housing should be affordable. If average wage earners can't afford housing that's a clue to build more housing.

R17 Yes. Yes yes, yes. More of this. Im so bored of hatred. Time for the tide to turn.

R36 Urban areas have indeed seen huge population increases due to immigration and more people moving to cities. Flippers are a problem but the root issue is that people view houses as safe investments for historical reasons and this makes them vote in their interest to keep real estate prices as high as possible. Just look at California. It's a solid blue state but affordable housing is a pipe dream.

R35 I highly doubt that the insurer of this community college will allow this.

[quote]the man in Virginia who's 38 years old looks about 47 years old.

He must not be a DataLounger, otherwise he'd look 25.

R16, ok she has a job ,doesnt pay rent or utilities , where is her $ going huh ???? Crack meth or somewhere else. If its calif well then we know why. The stae has made it impossible tolive qith all their naxi rules and regulations. The homeless story has a stink to it . Truths are not being revealed. They were "selling" you a political line and you took the bait.

Damn, those naxi rules by the stae!

God must love poor people because he made so many of them.

We need more tax cuts for the rich and for major corporations. Biden with his enslaving communist agenda wants to tax more and give FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TUITION. And FAMILY LEAVE! He is ruining this country.

Being homeless in a city like Los Angeles or San Diego is not nearly as bad as being homeless in NYC because in those cities it never gets cold ( I'm talking about winter night time temps in NYC of 16 degrees fahrenheit) and it doesn't rain for seven months. In NYC it rains all year round and being outside in the winter is BRUTAL.

R41- In spite of what I said about him, I still think he's good looking.

Free community college is a pointless waste of money. Trade schools need to come back.

They're both valid options R48.

Do most people understand "divide and conquer?" I presume so. I presume there's nothing there that the average person would find too complicated to grasp. But do we get in reality, all around us, as we're shitting on people who are 99% like us and caping for those who could buy and sell our entire bloodline before breakfast? Apparently not.

If y'alls with the "just get a job!" crap in this thread are billionaires then hey, have at it. I don't respect it, but I'll understand that your position comes from self-interest, and the rich are no worse for that than anyone. But if you're *not* billionaires and this is still your line? That's the most beaten shit ever. You think it's the tough guy stance, too, but it's actually the bitch stance. You choose to kneel to people who don't even see you.

Deadbeat scumbag billionaires, like our last President, who pay nothing in income taxes, are the scourge of this country.

The utter bullshit of them getting a pass because they're "job creators" is just that: utter bullshit, a scam that only dirtball scumbags like the Koch Brothers and Donald Trump could come up with in their wildest wet dreams.

"You choose to kneel to people who don't even see you" is an awesome line.

[quote] the man in Virginia who's 38 years old looks about 47 years old.

That is rather exact OP

'Deadbeat scumbag rich' describes 99% of politicians. Your girl Hillary was getting paid brides in the form of doing half assed speeches at Goldman Sachs. But you fools will never admit that Bernie was 100% right about her.

R54 will soon be receiving Death Hisses from the Not Over Hill Gang

No one will admit that those pantsuits looked absolutely horrendous either.

[quote] I'm three paychecks away. Jealous, bitches?

R54- Did you notice in the video when they show the Appalachian people they do a close up of a bumper sticker that says- Trump For President , Hillary For Prison

How about staying in school? Getting a college degree. Don’t get married or have children. Be prepared to move where the jobs are. Get additional training. Don’t do drugs. Don’t fi anything to excess. Exercise. Respect authority, you’ll get farther ahead.

Do you think the little monsters who stabbed to death Tessa Majors, at Barnard, to death, were capable of planning to stay in school, go to college, not impregnate women, yada yada.

People need to team up and rent houses together. It's probably not what everyone wants but it eases the burden.

[quote]Your girl Hillary was getting paid brides

Hillary was a lesbian bigamist???!?!?!?

40 years of right wing propaganda have convinced you that her pantsuits are ugly R56

Clearly that is the only reason one could find them "horrendous"

R59 Ok Bootlicker

So in other words R59, don't have a life. I mean, if you have no family to speak of and can up and leave at a moment's notice because no one will miss you, then everyone should. Nevermind that people can't afford to move to new places because rent and mortgages are astronomical, nevermind that school tuition is astronomical....just do it!

Brilliantly put, R50. We ALWAYS should remember that the rejection of the working poor and the destitute by those who are only marginally better off, is part of an ideological construct the purpose of which is to create a fragmented working class that will never develop a common identity - and that is why cultural, racial, religious and ethnic divisions are constantly highlighted, because it divides the working class into groupuscules that are hostile to each other, and cannot unite against oligarchs to demand their rights.

The reason why Marxism has been misrepresented as old-fashioned, simplistic (PLEASE!) and dangerous, is because it gave working class people everywhere a common nomenclature that allowed them to both identify and analyze economic systems based on exploitation. Moreover, it gave them a means to identify their place within these systems, and ALTERNATIVES that are more efficient and sustainable for EVERYONE. We have been deliberately turned against each other in a quest to impose a technological neo-feudal order in which our very existences are monetized, so we can generate wealth for the elites under all circumstances. We're being driven into indentured servitude, and convinced of how positive this is by making us think that we're above those whose very lives have already been discarded, and that we need to step on them in order to rise to the next social stratum.

It is an example of perverse sophistry that isn't even clever, but we have fallen for it because, after the collapse of the USSR and the destruction of its economy with neoliberal shock tactics, we were lied to and told that this was the result of ma marxist model, instead of the natural consequence of extreme capitalism.

By the way, R54, that was an excellent contribution as well. The synthetic, pro-corporate left is just as noxious as the exploitative, capitalist right wing - and the Clintons represent its worst aspects better than anybody else.

R66- President Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement which meant that Ford could close their car factory in the USA and open a new car factory in Mexico , pay the Mexican workers $5 an hour instead of the $25 per hour in the USA and ship the cars back to America with no tariffs. The company doesn't charge any less for their cars now made in Mexico they just keep all the money they saved and lavish on themselves.

True, R67. That is why it is so outrageous that he is presented as some sort of working class hero and defender of social justice. He is one of the worst presidents in history and as Chris Hedges once said, a downright sinister character.

R63 - When did Hillary become the Morton Salt Girl?

Every single president from Reagan onwards has espoused Milton Friedman-esque economics whereby companies maximize shareholder value. This policy was originally intended to shield US companies from competition (low stock prices) from markets like Japan, but it ossified and became the normal way of doing business. Long term this ideology has enriched the 1%, led to lagging R&D, and long term investment has been sacrificed for short term gain. There is no economic right or left in America. All of them march to the same corporate tune.

R68- That is why BOTH parties need to GO.

DW has a lot of nerve. Germany is the only place I ever saw a baby carriage under an overpass in the winter (a family had a little camp set up). In the US you would never see something like that.

[quote] That is why BOTH parties need to GO.

Both parties have moved so far from their basic, original platforms that they're unidentifiable at this point. I miss the days of fiscal conservatives and classic liberals. Now it's all just fanatics and cultists on both sides with a lot of more centrist Americans lost in the middle wondering what the fuck happened.

[quote] DW has a lot of nerve. Germany is the only place I ever saw a baby carriage under an overpass in the winter (a family had a little camp set up). In the US you would never see something like that.

True. That baby would have been sold into child pornography here in the U.S.

The 1% has an invested interest to hold on to their power and distract the rest with all kinds of schemes. No army, no weapons could counter the massive force that is the 99% coming after them. That's why the governments and the media (owned by the 1%, duh!) keep us busy bickering at each other. We get exploited by the 1% and we choose to punch down to deal with our frustration. No unity. Lots and lots of divide & conquer. "Oh, we don't want the 1% to suffer, because - one day - well' be part of the 1%!!!!!!". Sure, Jan. Keep living that American Dream.

[quote] True. That baby would have been sold into child pornography here in the U.S.

Child pornography? There's no money in porn anymore. These days, it's all about pizza toppings! Yum!

I was expecting the homeless to be much thinner.

R1 had a good point though. No need to censor them. It's a bunch of poor white people. Where's their white privilege?

The 1% argument is bullshit

The real division in this country is because we have no middle class left.

We have an upper middle class of the top 15% to 20%.... and then everyone else.

I've posted this many times before, but starting with my generation (Millennials) the lives of the upper middle classes have diverged significantly in a way that is tough for many Eldergays to wrap their heads around.

When Boomers were growing up, the gap between the various classes was not all that noticeable. Maybe the lawyer drove a Cadillac, maybe the factory worker stayed at a campground when they went on vacation. But college was attainable for smart kids and it was possible to "work your way through college" and come out with no or limited debt.

Fast forward to the early 00s, and my peers, the children of the upper middle class, have been groomed to get into good colleges--special coaches for sports, special SAT tutors, private college counselors to supplement the school's guidance counselors, campus visits all during junior year to "show interest", etc.

The 80% kids take on massive debt to get through college. Our parents and grandparents have saved enough so that we have no debt.

The 80% struggle to find a job. We have unpaid internships at top companies because (a) our parents have connections there and (b) they have the means to finance us for a summer in DC or NY or LA. --and of course those internships lead to jobs.

The 80% struggle to save for a house. Our parents give us the down payment because their own homes have appreciated so much since the 80s.

Fast-forward to 2021 and the gap is even wider.

Kids in the 20% have almost no interaction with kids from the 80%. It almost feels like Dickens' England with "gentlefolk" and everyone else.

My husband grew up in an affluent suburb in NJ. When he was growing up, there was still a section of town that was mostly blue collar and so there was more of a mix of kids at the high school.

That section has been bought up, houses either expanded or knocked down, and it's mostly all young affluent families. So no class diversity in the schools anymore.

No wonder the 80% feels depressed and hopeless and like Trump is their only answer. There's very little class mobility left for them and the gap between them and the 20% keeps getting wider.

Culturally too- it's not just Trump, it's that we aren't all watching the same shows on TV, getting our news from the same places, etc.

That's the issue.

As for the homeless in the US, that is mostly a problem of drug addiction and untreated mental illness.

Someone upthread posted about being shocked by seeing homeless families with small kids in Europe and I have had that experience too.

In the US the homeless population is largely single males who need treatment more than they need apartments. We seem to have guardrails in place for families.

Thank you, r79.

[Quote]No wonder the 80% feels depressed and hopeless and like Trump is their only answer.

This is where the disconnect comes in. Where did these people get the insane idea that Trump, a 1 percenter who openly expressed contempt for the "losers" aka poors, would help them?

I thought Europe had safety nets in place to prevent homelessness?

It does not make sense R82 but as best as I can make out, they get that Trump is looked down on by the Meritocrat class that makes up the bulk of the 20% for many of the same reasons those people look down on them and feel like he is the only one speaking up for them--that Democrats only care about poor minorities and not about the white working class and that Romney Republicans only care about rich white people.

[quote] Democrats only care about poor minorities and not about the white working class and that Romney Republicans only care about rich white people.

Bingo.

That's also how I feel.

R1 is right. This exposes the Marxist-inspired doctrine of white privilege to be a lie.

Also-- what Patrick Gentry, writing in the Atlantic referred to as "the Gentry" also makes up Trump's base.

These are wealthy people in Flyoverstan who own very basic family businesses--a produce warehouse, six Burger King franchises, a plumbing contractor business--and feel very cut off from the people in the Blue Cities who make the same sorts of income in areas like law, medicine, finance, media and tech.

The Gentry can't move away from their small cities--that's where the family business is--and they feel looked down on and mocked by the Meritocrats.

They see a fellow traveler in Trump.

^^Link to Gentry piece

There’s homelessness in Europe, because there isn’t enough social housing (waiting lists up to 20 years) and buying or private renting is very expensive.

As in major US cities, whenever you see carefree, young people living “independently” in middle/upper class neighbourhoods, they are always from moneyed families. Often daddy pays the mortgage on their apartment.

R89 In The Maid, she goes on a dating app and meets a college student who goes to NYU and says he’s doing it on his own, but then reveals that he’s living in an apartment that his dad bought as an investment.

Isn't it still common in some countries for several generations to live in one house as custom? It's starting to get that way here.

When I lived on Galveston, I had a real estate adjacent job and a lot of the med/nursing students had parents buying the little 2/1 restored bungalows or downtown lofts for their kids to live in while at school ostensibly as a vacation for them and an investment and better than throwing rent away. I wish my parents had had that kind of money.

Americans hate poor people for multiple reasons. First, Americans tend to think of themselves individually as experts on who "deserves" anything and they cannot stand people who they find undeserving getting anything. Obviously this is influenced by their prejudices and biases, whatever they may be. Second, Americans are fearful - trained to never have enough and be paranoid about having enough. Some of that is not unfounded. It's necessary for Americans to think poverty is a character flaw to convince themselves that it will never happen to them and they'll have enough. But deep down they know it could and they're naturally afraid of that - who wouldn't be? They know how brutal it would be and how people would view them. So a level of stereotyping about all poor people and delusion about themselves and ability to keep it together economically is necessary to stay sane. Third, Americans really are worker bees who put take great pride in work and "hard work." Nothing wrong with that. But combine it with general narcissism (especially in today's internet/social media age where anyone can cultivate their own little worlds where they'll meet little resistance to what they believe) and Americans cannot stand poor people getting anything they deem undeserving because it negates their own "hard work." Again, Americans work hard and they want credit for that. Giving to those who they consider not hard workers indirectly diminishes the "hard work" credit they want showered on them.

If people are still struggling with the concept of "white privilege" in 2021, they are willfully ignorant fucktards who would rather have something to bitch about than understand.

R79 and those top tier of comfortable kids are all woke as shit and love to scold everyone about how evil they are from the comfort of their Brooklyn/Manhattan bubbles while never actually sacrificing anything themselves.

Bernie was wildly popular and had a large cross party appeal, but rich white women decided it was their "turn" to be president.

Let the poors eat cake! Good cake of course.

Funny how when a white person camps out in the Walmart parking lot, no one says anything.

We can't have affordable housing.

r79, the problem is us vs. them classism. And no, the 1% isn't bullshit. And you're proving that point, by whining about the poor middle class nobody apparently cares for.

It's all about precious categories, hierarchy structures and labels. Not about humanity, because people are expendable, but the status quo is not. Apparently.

We evolve from generation to generation. What matters most to one generation feels trivial, bad, or to the next. For example, the counterculture movement in the 1960s.

[quote] No wonder the 80% feels depressed and hopeless and like Trump is their only answer. There's very little class mobility left for them and the gap between them and the 20% keeps getting wider.

[quote] Culturally too- it's not just Trump, it's that we aren't all watching the same shows on TV, getting our news from the same places, etc.

Nobody in a powerful position holds anyone, responsible for this, accountable. Because they all work for the greedy 1%, who rather steal and exploit than share for the greater good.

[quote] Culturally too- it's not just Trump, it's that we aren't all watching the same shows on TV, getting our news from the same places, etc.

You know, Deplorables make the same argument where the "lamestream media" is telling lies to their audience.

The problem isn't variety of entertainment. The issue is it doesn't come with an educational manual that demands of people to use common-sense and critical thinking skills to pick entertainment that informs and entertains instead of agenda driven propaganda that manipulates the audience in a negative and destructive way.

[quote]I know someone will cry "socialism" but this country is too large and has too many resources to let its elderly and weak live in cars or on the streets. Isn't it time to make healthcare and housing for all?

But we need lots and lots of immigrants!

As I said at R24, Americans refuse to admit that we are FAR more likely to end up homeless than millionaires.

I have a growing nest egg and a lot of earning years ahead of me, but I admit that my odds of ending in some shitty retirement home (or worse) are much better than my odds of living out my life comfortably.

The idea of being two paychecks away from being broke is terrifying, and thankfully hasn't been my life for a while. But it's the American norm. But only "bad" people end up broke.

It comes down to the good ol' "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link". The Liberals' approach is to strengthen the weakest link to become a stronger community as a whole. The Conservatives' approach is to cut off the weakest link, but the flaw in that thinking is that there'll always be a weakest link in the chain. Who's going to decide when Conservatives stop with the cutting off of weak links? You think they'll stop when all that's left are the 1%, the middle class and the deplorable mouth breathing redneck straight white trash aka their main voter demographic?

R104 both parties are controlled by rent seeking corporations and banks. Liberals don't give a shit about the poor either.

r105, I don't see Liberals fighting hard to cut social programs, because the rich need more handouts. That's all on the conservative Republicans.

And, both sides-ism? Really? You think that convinces anyone?

[quote]The risk of significant job loss is real. Toyota didn’t leave Southern California because of taxes or regulation. It relocated its North American HQ employees to Tokyo and Plano because of housing costs.

R79- The wealth in the United States was much more evenly spread in the 1950's to the 1970's. By the mid 1980's there was a PROFOUND redistribution of wealth that occurred when that SENILE B ACTOR was president.

R107 California really is turning into an expensive version of Florida.

R106 Tough pill to swallow, huh?

R106 I recommend you watch the video at R66. Liberals don't do shit. They are the party of hot air and unfulfilled promised. It's a boomer fantasy to think that Republicans or Democrats help anyone.

Woman of the people, Nancy Pelosi, everybody!

Does R100 even understand what they wrote?

Because I doubt anyone else does.

Why don’t people simply live within their means? Be responsible. Don’t over extended oneself.

If one can’t support kids, don’t have them!

I don’t have much in the way of savings, but I also don’t have debt and if I can’t afford something, I forego the activity. I don’t lead a frugal existence, but I don’t overextend myself either.

R115 I have a comfortable amount of savings and a good job. I'm luckily than many other Americans. But I also recognize that life gets more and more expensive every year and wages have not kept up for a LONG time.

Half of this country is one medical emergency or two missed paychecks away from wiped out.

You yourself say you don't have much savings. I could live for a YEAR if I had to on what I have in the bank, more if I tightened my belt. How long could you?

At least we're not Europe. They have a shortage of natural gas and many people are going to going without heat and some even without electricity this winter. We have abundant natural gas and heating oil but the price has soared for us too.

Sorry, I meant to write going to GO not going to going

R117, most European countries have a quality of life that is way better than here.

R119 - Yes. They basically have free health care and higher education in Western Europe.

Having lived in Europe, I'd point out references to free _____ are bullshit. The difference is, citizens are taxed at a higher rate and immediately get access to services they paid for upfront. Americans have no understanding of how comparatively low their taxes are.

I would (and did) pay higher taxes for a higher quality of life for everyone, but even the biggest proponents of free healthcare or college would probably bitch and moan if +40% of their gross pay went toward taxes (to maintain a generous social safety net).

I love in California, and I'm paying a lot of taxes right now. When I lived in France, I paid fewer taxes, but I did have health care covered.

I'm not sure what r121 is taking about.

I *live* in California

[quote] I would (and did) pay higher taxes for a higher quality of life for everyone, but even the biggest proponents of free healthcare or college would probably bitch and moan if +40% of their gross pay went toward taxes (to maintain a generous social safety net).

R122, is right! In California, between federal taxes, state income taxes, and state and local property taxes, about 40% of our gross ordinary income disappears. All this and no prepaid universal healthcare, crumbling infrastructure and homeless occupying every sidewalk.

That is all true R122, but because taxes are so high and take-home pay much lower, prices in general reflect that.

Where is our tax money going?

R26, get an education. Your ignorance is embarrassing.

R104, I think the conservative approach is for each person to do whatever it takes to make sure they aren't the weak link. It's why all the tax cuts are never enough. It's why they blame immigrants and minorities for whatever. And it's why they will do whatever it takes to stay in office unless someone stops them.

r48 most cc teach trades, dumbfuck.

People generally work toward their individual goals. Rich, middle class or poor, most of us busy ourselves throughout the day sweeping the shop, or trading, or being homecare giver to the elderly...to earn the money to eat and shelter and for future needs. But there really is a class out there who does none of that. Not one motion they make all day is to achieve anything. Some actively work to make their lives more miserable. They exist. It's hard to help these types.

R130 I think you described most children of wealthy parents. The Hilton girls, the Trump's, etc. None of them DO anything. They have money for the best educations and to actually help but they just party and spend their lives jetsetting and getting their pics taken.

[quote] Americans refuse to admit that we are FAR more likely to end up homeless than millionaires.

While I agree with this, I don't agree that most Americans refuse to admit it.

R132, if you're right, why do poor white people vote so heavily for people who refuse to raise taxes on the rich?

The video had a clear left-wing, socialist slant (it was made in Europe) but I guess they didn't realize that most of the states they focused on were, oops, traditionally blue states where homelessness and wealth gap has exploded more than elsewhere. Somehow that didn't get mentioned, but they did have plenty of time to talk about Trump's "failure" to raise the living conditions of the poor like while weirdly stating the historically low unemployment rate of 4% under his Presidency. I guess that what Obama's doing years earlier.

The rich and clever should buy a bunch of DOLLAR STORES and turn them into affordable, supermarkets that serve delicious hot breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hire homeless and paroled non violent folks to run the place. Eventually bring in nurses and dieticians to help the consumer, Doctors, nurses and teaches can join this new market, doing routine medical and ASL all free. Counselors for the hopeless, daycare for the kids.

ESL. However, I would like to learn ASL.

Bump.

R133, poor white people, especially in red states, don’t have the highest levels of education. They are going to vote with their emotions rather than their brains.

Sure a dem might tax the rich and create a social program that aids the poor person’s life, but that dem is also murdering babies, dancing at a gay wedding and is an all around heathen. Taxing the rich doesn’t outweigh the moral atrocities committed by the left.

And to r138’s point, that’s how the Republican Party keeps that demographic.

[quote] Doctors, nurses and teaches can join this new market, doing routine medical and ASL all free.

I’ll be right over

The stupidity is astounding.

Yup it certainly was in 2020, r142. Oh wait…

That's why the mass fraud r143. Trump DID get legitimately elected. That's why they stopped the count in the middle of the night in the important states Biden needed to steal. Significant evidence is available with more being uncovered recently.

R144, I didn’t say landslide. And let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. Btw, Dems WON. Hah! Hurts doesn’t it.

R132 They think they’re one step away from living in Beverly Hills or the Hamptons. They could NEVER end up homeless, even though most of them don’t have a savings account.

R9 here. That MRI machine - it was in the same facility I worked in at the time. I watched them build it.

Damn. Glad I live in a civilized country where even poor people have rights. Everyone here gets a roof over their heads.

I recently learned there will be no crash in southern california housing market even if it happens elsewhere. There's too much marijuana and chinese cash to buy up houses. I guess we cant do anyhting about marijuana billions but why are we letting the chinese buy real estate here?

R150 The west coast, including Vancouver is being kept afloat by dirty Chinese money because US real estate is seen as a safe place to plant $$$. They then rent out the homes they buy to Americans. American baby boomers won't do anything about it because it means they get to sell their homes for a million dollars. They don't give a shit about the next generation because they have a "fuck you, I've got mine attitude". The same is happening in New Zealand. Eventually these places will be Chinese colonies.

The Chinese buying personal property should be the least of our concerns. More worrisome is how they are buy acres and acres of farm land. What's that about, you might wonder...

The US needs to put a stop to selling property to foreigners. Many countries don't allow non-citizens to buy property.

Why anyone would choose to be poor is beyond me!

And yet biden is giving illegals 450, for being separated ? 450,000 would help so many poor AMERICANS but nooooo lets give it to illegals

Biden isn't "giving illegals" anything. He's settling lawsuits caused by Trump's heartless and cruel tearing apart of immigrant families.

R156 your factual point is too nuanced for R155.

As opposed to the heartless and cruel tearing apart of immigrant families that Obama did. Or the cages into which Biden put undocumented children into. You know, the ones that Obama started but only Trump got shit for.

You need to do more research R158 because your story is all wrong. Troll much?

Sorry dear R159, but it isn't. And you'd know that if you got your head out of your ass (aka MSNBC).

ILLEGALS r156. Scumbag ILLEGALS are attempting to steal money from us with their sob stories. In reality these illegal PARENTS should be jailed for putting these children in harms way. Deport every last one.

I don't fucking understand how a subset of criminals are continually coddled and accommodated. If a murderer was sexually abused as a child, they might as well get a pass because they had a difficult childhood. If a millionaire doesn't report taxable income, they deserve leniency if they're going through a divorce or Sephora stopped carrying their favorite brand of moisturizer.

I don't watch MSNBC R160.

I think that's a great arrangement, R61. Elderly and retired people do rent homes, where they all share the costs and upkeep, cleaning and cooking...the chores. They're not living alone and keep busy, if someone needs medical help or a way to get to a doctor, a roomie can take them, or get them help...if needed. They share meals together. This would be great for a "people person". If you're not inclined towards people, it could be a downside...maybe.

R164- Yes. It's called The Golden Girls.

Lol!^^

Just what elderly people want, multiple roommates. Zero roommates is what most people prefer, especially as you age.

Yes R10 diversity is our strength. Yes, yes!