I have relatives in Missouri and Pennsylvania. I hear this explanation from them all the time. I had a coworker dismiss the 99% protesters a few years ago by saying the just needed to try harder to find jobs. Others agreed with her.

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Its true. A:: pf those "poor people" are in tents that cost well over $100. WELL over.

I suggest you google Prosperity Gospel/ theology which is an outgrowth of Calvinism.

They are opposite. I have been both

But than how is it that most US people think it's fair billionaires don't pay much taxes but think it's unfair if billionaires should pay higher wage? It's still go easy on rich and punish the poor. :-/

The wealthy don't pay taxes because they invest all of their money into different assets that can't be taxed... They don't pay taxes because they completely circumvent them when and where possible.

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Do you understand math and economics? The rich pay more in taxes because they make more. They do pay more than what idiot democrats call the fair share.

You are absolutely incorrect on this. Taxes are for the middle and lower classes. The rich use every available loophole to lower their tax bill. Why do you think Donald Trump paid almost no taxes for years. However I believe there is a reckoning coming.

Nor did Jeff Bezos, I heard.

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A loophole that Obama and Biden created!

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Donald Trump paid more taxes than everyone in this picture plus the population of your entire town. 90 percent of the taxes are paid by the top 20 percent of our population. Wealthy people get to take exemptions, but it's the uniparty (both dems and republicans) who make those laws allowing it. Wake up, things have changed.

Since when is $750 more than the taxes of an entire town? Wake up, Trump hasn't taken responsibility for anything he's done. And @ Nubis: I've never heard *anyone* say that they think it's fair that the wealthiest of our US citizens don't pay a lot in taxes. EVER. And @ Joe: not all of Pennsylvania is like that, but there are way too many here like that.

@Kathat, truth. Funny how many Billonires "pledged" to give away most of their fourtunes when they die. But all that money will go to charities they have established and their children work at. It's literally a tax move when they die. We need a revolt, a literal revolt. Eat the rich

They aren’t that tasty. I say we tax the rich.

If someone was able to literally scoop 3/4's off the money pile of the top 10 richest, they would gain it right back in the blink of an eye.

I agree that some of the tax situations need to change but expecting somebody to just give away their money to help people is just naive. You could throw money at this situation all day long and it's not going to get fixed. So many of these people chose their situation. Yes there are some that have issues and need help and I agree with that and I'm happy to help them but there's plenty of people out there that chose that life. Then there's also the people who don't want help. So you build a nice place and you let all these people live there free. And then they don't take care of it because they're not responsible for it.

If you actually looked at homeless people as people, you would see this as a humanitarian issue and try to understand the story behind what you see here. But you don't, you blame one of the worst situations you can be in on people "choosing" this. People from vets to younger people like me and older people and everyone in between get into this situation, and many people are one paycheck away from this being the only place they can go. And once you're there, it's almost impossible to climb out of. Your kind of thinking actively harms HUMANS who are suffering and you can't even see past your own privilege to learn our stories and realize you're so very wrong about people "choosing" homelessness. It's horrific to hear someone say that, honestly, as someone who's not only lived this hell for years but has learned the life story of so many in tents and shelters. Your incorrect assumption of the worst in people harms us. You are literally telling me I chose to be disowned for my sexuality.

I've been on and off homeless since I was disowned at 18 for being bisexual, I've been homeless in multiple states and use a power wheelchair as I'm permanently severely disabled and have lived in shelters in multiple cities and states, including Seattle. I've talked to the actual people you're referring to, and one of two out of dozens and dozens have actually chosen to live outside. It does happen, but the vast majority of people had bad circumstances like medical debt, loss of job or loved one, disability, getting disowned for being LGBT, and many other reasons and would give anything to get off the streets. It's absolute hell being homeless, and you clearly have never experienced this hell. What you're saying is a myth that people say to make themselves feel better about how bad the homelessness problem is in America specifically. It's absolutely not true, and I would give anything for stability but as I can barely walk and have no family from being disowned, I won't ever have that

And so many people are in the same position. The reason you see trash is because trash cans are hard to find, as are public restrooms. And police come with no warning and take people's only belongings away, including their only shelter, their tents, and personal important items that can't ever be replaced. The people's area is literally torn apart and they have no place to go - as someone who has also volunteered and worked with homeless people, I've seen all sides of this, and trust me, if they had somewhere to go they would. You can't leave your items when you're homeless as they'll likely be rifled through and stolen, or torn down. You need an address for every job application, and you can't get a job if you "look homeless" so even if you can leave the only shelter you have there are still many barriers to getting a job, like money for public transportation, a way to bathe and wash clothes, which costs money, not to mention "criminals" small or not can't get housing even decades lat

Exactly

GENERAL STRIKE!

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Eat car poop instead it suits you better and it'll make your breath smell better.

Relatively few people know what Calvinism actually is, but many willingly participate in the Ponzi scheme called "capitalism". Until that changes, wealth inequality will be accepted.

Capitalism and freedom. But not crony capitalism (Apple, Microsoft, Twitter). Unchain small business and reject socialism, which has never worked anywhere, ever.

https://www.leftvoice.org/no-venezuela-was-never-socialist/ HMM

F**k yeah Luther!

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Yes because communism is the savior of the world. If we just ignore every case where it was tried.

Listen to USA news and religious programming enough and you know Samantha's right. I've heard it myself; it is The Way in evangelical congregations.

Yep,,,but I think Samantha Lomb may also have a point. The mentality she describes hasn't quite gone out of the American psyche..especially in those on right..

The working and middle classes are now fighting together against creeping communism, brought in by the enemies of our country. The people living on the streets here are completely marginalized, many of whom should be in mental hospitals.

So Holland matured. USA clings hard to its past.

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Look up how much YOU spend on defense and how much the US spends on YOUR defense. THEN we can talk.

The mental illness and addiction often happen BECAUSE of the homelessness, and that brother of your friend is the exception, not the rule. I've been on and off homeless since I was disowned for being bisexual by very conservative christians the moment they legally could when I turned 18 and besides three exceptions, everyone I've ever talked to at shelters and on the streets would give anything for actual shelter. This is in multiple states and cities. The vast majority of homeless people don't have any family or person to take them in or they would be there. One person does not speak for the wants and experiences of thousands of people in the US alone. I've also found that addiction and mental health are issues, yes, but the vast majority fell on hard times and couldn't get back on their feet again. So no, most people are not addicted and mentally ill. I've volunteered with homeless people and lived on the streets. you should actually talk to people to gain more than one example.

People with addiction issues and mental health issues are just the most visible ones, as the rest try to be as out of the way as possible to avoid tents being torn down by police and items destroyed in that process.

Should we just hand out money to anyone that wants it then? We already have subsidized housing and food.

how do you know these are functional? do you live in them? do you rely on any of these accommodations? probably not.

Although when he was younger he oversaw using the military to attack homeless veterans camped outside of DC in a huge tent city. (Bonus Army Riots)

That was MacArthur - The ignorance on this board amazes me

It was Eisenhower (Ike) as well. Google "Eisenhower bonus army."

The VA is its own department, yes. However, the DoD is the entity responsible for military personnel. They could absolutely step in and help, or create better civilian transition programs, or give their current personnel better life skills, pay, training, etc.

Sure, it's all Liberals' fault. It's Liberals who own all the companies that moved their manufacturing to China. Liberals like Don the Con and his daughter Ivanka.

sorry. i grew up there. and went to a large handful of those weekly fire drills. jet fuel spilled all over the broken hulk of...there at wurtsmith, a b52. in bermuda, it was one of those awacs hulks on the runway way out and gone....but a big old fire every week, to keep the firefighter's hands in...and all that chemical s**t...rolling off the tarmac/concrete/whatever...

....thought it was...a luxury...to go to the air force base beach on Van Etten...a lot warmer than Lake Huron downtown...and no big waves...you could actually swim. float. in a stew of chemicals, it turns out now...fifty years later, we find out..

is it a party that's lied? no...it's the Dod, and both parties, thanks to ike's militaryindustrialcomplex come to full fruition...never ending wars, bought conscience's on either side of both parties, private armies!!...good. very f*****g patriotic, really..

I’m siding with this guy.

It is almost impossible to get adequate mental health help in the US. (I speak from experience.) And the reason we do not get mental health care? Republicans. One of the best provisions of Obamacare was enforcing mental health coverage. And guess who wanted to strike down Obamacare?

It's been difficult for decades. DECADES. Through several presidencies and both sides of political fence. No one party can be blamed. They both fail.

Not making further births illegal for 5 or 10 years was never even considered despite a fix to current problems.

They hate facts. Pesky annoying things that get in the way of their narrative.

Thank you, J! That's exactly what I was thinking of, when the government implemented the court ruling. Wasn't this spurred on in part by JFK/his administration? I am to recall learning that.