Forsaken And Forgotten

America is becoming a very cold place. If you don't have money, you don't really matter much in our society. The ads on television aren't for you - they are directed at people that actually have good jobs and that can afford to buy the nice little "extras" in life. The politicians aren't really interested in you either - they figure that they can buy your vote with all of the money that they are getting from the wealthy people. When you don't have money, even friends and relatives start to distance themselves from you. Perhaps they are afraid that you will ask them for money or perhaps they are afraid that your "failure" will start to rub off on them. When people know that you are struggling for money, the barriers immediately go up. In the United States today, there are tens of millions of people that have been forsaken and forgotten.
They mostly stay at home (if they still have a home), and for most of them quiet desperation has become a way of life. You won't ever read much about them or see them appear much on television because nobody really cares too much about them. As far as society is concerned, there are just way too many of them and they are a problem that "the government" should be able to handle anyway. Sadly, the truth is that many communities all across America want absolutely nothing to do with those that can't take care of themselves. All over the country cities are passing laws making it illegal to feed the homeless, and in other instances cities are actually making it illegal to be homeless. Unfortunately, this problem is not going away. In fact, the number of Americans living in poverty increases with each passing day. So where do we go from here?

These days, a lot of formerly middle class Americans are down on their luck and can't even afford to buy enough food. The following is from a recent Yahoo article....

As grocery prices creep higher and her income sags, rationing her family's food is a daily task. The 54-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three in Roanoke, Va., says there are days she skips meals so her husband and son can eat. If they notice, she says, she'll let them think she's fasting. She waters down the milk and juice to make it last longer. She visits food pantries, but it's not enough. Have you ever had to skip meals because you simply could not afford to buy enough food?

When you look into the eyes of your hungry children and you realize that your best efforts have not been good enough to provide what they need it can be absolutely soul crushing.

And when you have lost everything it quickly becomes apparent that most people in society simply do not care about you.

About a third of the country is already on some form of welfare. Another family falling out of the middle class and into poverty is not going to cause anyone to sit up and take notice.

The middle class in America is being absolutely shredded. In a recent article I wrote entitled "84 Statistics That Prove That The Decline Of The Middle Class Is Real And That It Is Getting Worse" I detailed this very clearly. But most Americans don't think about this very much because they are just focused on what is going on in their own little worlds. If they still have their jobs and if their family and friends are still doing okay then they are likely to believe that everything is just fine.

According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all Americans were "middle income" back in 1971.

There aren't enough good jobs in this country and there never will be enough good jobs ever again.

Those that are just entering the job market understand very clearly that there are not enough good jobs.

Of the recent college graduates that have been fortunate enough to actually get a job, about half of them have taken jobs that do not even require a college degree.

But at least if you have a job, even if it is really crappy, you still matter in this economy.

Many of those that are not working at all have been completely forsaken and forgotten.

Over the past year, approximately 1.3 million Americans have seen their extended unemployment benefits end. Most of them are considered to have "dropped out of the labor force" even though they aren't working, they don't have any income coming in and they are very desperate. They are told to go "get a job" in an economy that does not produce enough jobs for everyone. The music stopped playing and they were left without a seat and nobody really cares too much.

But if you live in the good areas of New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle this article might seem like complete nonsense to you. After all, corporate profits are at an all-time high and the stores and malls where you live are packed with people. Everyone around you is driving new cars, wearing designer clothes and using the latest tech gadgets.

There are two Americas today. One is swimming in money and is seemingly more prosperous than ever.

Just check out the percentage of blighted properties in some of America's most run down cities....

But those that are paying millions of dollars for dinky little apartments in New York City may be wondering what all the fuss is about.

Well, in the forgotten areas of America "despair" is what people experience on a good day. Unemployment and government dependence are a way of life, and alcohol and drugs are used to dull the pain. The following is from a recent article by Chris Hedges. It describes what life is like in the little town of Gary, West Virginia....

Joe and I are sitting in the Tug River Health Clinic in Gary with a registered nurse who does not want her name used. The clinic handles federal and state black lung applications. It runs a program for those addicted to prescription pills. It also handles what in the local vernacular is known as “the crazy check” -- payments obtained for mental illness from Medicaid or SSI -- a vital source of income for those whose five years of welfare payments have run out. Doctors willing to diagnose a patient as mentally ill are important to economic survival.

“They come in and want to be diagnosed as soon as they can for the crazy check,” the nurse says. “They will insist to us they are crazy. They will tell us, ‘I know I’m not right.’ People here are very resigned. They will avoid working by being diagnosed as crazy.”

The reliance on government checks, and a vast array of painkillers and opiates, has turned towns like Gary into modern opium dens. The painkillers OxyContin, fentanyl -- 80 times stronger than morphine -- Lortab, as well as a wide variety of anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax, are widely abused. Many top off their daily cocktail of painkillers at night with sleeping pills and muscle relaxants. And for fun, addicts, especially the young, hold “pharm parties,” in which they combine their pills in a bowl, scoop out handfuls of medication, swallow them, and wait to feel the result. There are hundreds of small towns all over America today just like Gary that have been forsaken by society. Most people in those towns are just "existing" and gave up all hope of a better life long ago.

Some of these stories are being told in a new documentary film called "American Winter". You can view the trailer for the film right here. It is a very powerful 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

Sadly, the truth is that there really does not need to be so much suffering in America.

And the overwhelming greed that we see in society today is absolutely astounding.

For example, Yahoo recently profiled a hoarder who packed her home with $500,000 worth of "stuff" that she could not resist buying....

There are shoe closets, and then there are shoe rooms. Monte, a retired teacher in her fifties, had scattered $20,000 worth of footwear throughout six rooms in her home. Some were organized by color, but most lay in mountainous piles of clutter in her 4,000 square foot home outside Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Over a period of 10 years, she'd spent over $500,000 on clothing, accessories and home furnishings, all of which lay strewn across her kitchen, entryway and bedrooms, tags intact. But far worse are the "Rich Kids of Instagram". It has apparently become trendy for wealthy kids to take pictures of themselves enjoying their outrageous wealth. It truly is disgusting.

Meanwhile, most American families are really struggling to get by. In fact, 77 percent of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck at least some of the time.

And jobless claims are rising again. We are on the verge of another major economic crisis and that means that millions more Americans are going to lose their jobs and their homes.

If you think that things are bad now, just wait, because things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Don't be afraid to reach out and help those that are hurting. When things are the darkest, that is when heroes are needed the most.

I understand voluntary compassion, but all these sob stories are meant to change public policy. Help those in need, if you want to, but don’t force others to give their hard earned wealth.

From the article: “...and the overwhelming greed that we see in society today is absolutely astounding.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Come, take my property, because you “need” it and I don’t. If poor cannot afford goodies, then better work to become rich. If their current work isn’t making them rich, work harder and smarter. Don’t lambast the rich for their “overwhelming greed”.

Any civilized society operates on the back of its rich(industrious), not on the back of its poor — most of whom are complete drain on society. Only communist countries operate on the back of its poor... since everybody is poor.

“Government Elites and their Cronies are Hell bent on making us all poor.”

No, only you can make yourself poor. Your lifetime of bad decisions are reflected on your bank balance and investment portfolio. Blaming others for your failure is not the hallmark of a free society.

“All over the country cities are passing laws making it illegal to feed the homeless, and in other instances cities are actually making it illegal to be homeless.”

The author sticks this worm in to a nice apple-y article about the poor WORKING people. (For THEM, I ache)

The homeless here...eat very well, with many meals freely given to them by well- meaning, but sadly misguided liberals.
Many homeless are obese dt the # of freebies they get, and believe me, they do know how to game the system.

Never mind the blight they bring to the rest of us.
Crime, public intoxication, drugs, crazy unnecessary drama, feces, vomit, used condoms... noooo!
I gots to feel good about myself and feeds em.

I don’t know about making it illegal to feed them...but you know, it’s illegal in National Parks.
Decreases the animal’s skills to survive = they become dependent.
What’s the diff?

We need to somehow “target” the WORKING poor.
“If you don’t work, you don’t eat” THAT is moral.
Feeding non-working scam artists is immoral.

First of all, Who is Michael Snyder?..should I know who he is? and if I do not, am I an uneducated dolt?

Is the picture, him?

If you think that things are bad now, just wait, because things are about to get a whole lot worse....

....Is this a warning, no matter who wins the election in 70 days?

I can't keep up anymore....and I sure as hell can't force people to make better choices in life, like making 'A's in school, do not smoke, do not drink in excess, do not take drugs, do not get pregnant at 14 and stay out of jail....& on & on

PS
I just figured out the “Target Program”:

Reduce ALL taxes to flat 9%
Abolish stoopid alphabet agencies
Do everything else to slash spending that we’ve kvetched about on here for YEARS (UN, ETHANOL, PBS, etc. buh bye!)

In the resulting economy (through the roof Alice!) - anyone who is not working is either certifiably disabled of slothful.

spank for prez!

“I understand voluntary compassion, but all these sob stories are meant to change public policy.”

The fact is that an increasing number of people have no stake at all in this country. I’m not endorsing giving them something for nothing, but a lot more people are looking at a future as bleak as that of a 15 year-old “cash-for-kids” teenager from the projects. A lot of people are looking for work and can’t find any, and the falling wages would have many people working long hours for practically nothing. I don’t think CCC-type work is the answer because of the corresponding government costs, but a better business atmosphere would surely help. The current business model, in which many Americans can no longer purchase anything because they no longer earn any real wages isn’t working (though it is for Asia, since they now have many former American jobs).

The Dems would love to have 51% of Americans on the gov’t. teat to win elections and let the other 49% fund it; the Repubs can’t give the impression that they offer a future to only 51% of Americans to get through elections. Communism and socialism arose for reasons that shouldn’t be ignored.

“If you don’t work, you don’t eat” THAT is moral.

That’s a great concept that worked for many years here, when jobs were plentiful and Americans weren’t competing with Red Chinese peasants (who weren’t afforded a fraction of the rights or protections we would require for our own workers).

I knew when welfare reform passed they weren’t going to cut off the multi-generational welfare recipients; they would just change the name of what they were receiving. The “white” alternative I’ve seen a few times is to get a fake “autism spectrum” diagnosis for your child to receive Social Security for them.

“The following is from a recent article by Chris Hedges.”

That’s this “Chris Hedges”: “http://www.democracynow.org/2007/2/19/chris_hedges_on_american_fascists_the

At least “Chris Hedges” conducted the interview where Cornel West basically called Obama an oreo
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/the_obama_deception_why_cornel_west_went_ballistic_20110516/

But I hope the Freepers taken in by your post are few and far between, because it is radical Marxism you’re pushing

“No, only you can make yourself poor. Your lifetime of bad decisions are reflected on your bank balance and investment portfolio. Blaming others for your failure is not the hallmark of a free society.”

That attitude (right or wrong) is why Americans have taken the European route, and many have basically stopped breeding. They don’t want anyone telling them they made themselves poor (though they still b!tch about the foreign replacements that have to be imported for work, to fill school seats, prop up empty housing, etc.).

(The Clinic) also handles what in the local vernacular is known as “the crazy check” -- payments obtained for mental illness from Medicaid or SSI -- a vital source of income for those whose five years of welfare payments have run out. Doctors willing to diagnose a patient as mentally ill are important to economic survival. “They come in and want to be diagnosed as soon as they can for the crazy check,” the nurse says. “They will insist to us they are crazy. They will tell us, ‘I know I’m not right.’ People here are very resigned. They will avoid working by being diagnosed as crazy.”

I wonder why Social Security is going bankrupt.

The “rich folk” anecdotes (which prove nothing) are all “so-and-so has money (note we are not told how that money was earned): how DARE they spend it on themselves!

The lefts attack on prosperity continues unabated. The only way to make sure someone doesn’t spend money on shoes is to take that money away and give it to the poor.

*** and in other instances cities are actually making it illegal to be homeless.”****

I remember when cities and towns had vagrancy laws to keep the bums out. Then the courts threw the laws out an the bums took over the local public facilities.

Has something changed?

A good take on modern poverty is for the poor, with some assistance, to do the unthinkable: leave the cities and return to rural American small towns.

For many decades now, the demographic flow in America has been from small town to the big cities, and in truth this has been taking place since just after World War I.

One of the reasons for this is that small towns are boring.

However, boring is a lot more tolerable when the light dawns that it is also economical. People can live much better, or at least much less expensive, lives trading the high tech for the low tech, cooking their own food, sewing their own clothes, and accepting a lower level of health care than that provided by a government willing to ruin our collective future.

The way to bring this about is by states and counties deciding to rebuild towns that are more self sustaining, that is, they have some water and farmland. Think of it as low income housing for people willing to work.

A lifestyle more along the lines of the 1940s. It really isn’t that bad living in such a place as long as you are willing to work. And with some state and county support, a few thousand people could live there, which takes a big bite out of poverty.

First of all, Who is Michael Snyder?..should I know who he is? and if I do not, am I an uneducated dolt?

Beats me. All I could think of is Mitch Snyder, who has something to do with the homeless and Rush's homeless theme update. "I ain't got a home..."

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