In my post #47, I noted about income inequality and its relationship to the homeless.

Not sure if this thread is simply personal experiences or a serious discussion of this HUGE problem in our country, but for those who wish to understand where our economic systems are taking us as a country.

I offer

"Billionaire Marc Benioff recently put his vast wealth to work on a cause that is plaguing his hometown of San Francisco, donating $30 million to the University of California-San Francisco to study the causes of homelessness.

The city has experienced a boom in wealth thanks to the massive tech companies that are headquartered there yet homelessness has skyrocketed as rents continue to climb, leaving an estimated 7,500 people in the city without a home."


With income inequality rising to the same levels as the Gilded Age of the 1920s, which was of course followed by the Great Depression, even billionaires are sounding the alarm on the possible side effects coming from when so few people control so much wealth. According to a recent paper by University of California-Berkeley professor Gabriel Zucman, the top 1% in the country own 40% of the country's wealth.

Even billionaires agree that our wealth inequality is unsustainable - Business Insider

What Does America's Top 5% Think About Income Inequality?

If you have a serious interest in this critical and looming problem, then these are a start in reading. If the interest is simply to demean those on the streets, your targets are CERTAINLY going to grow in numbers

Do you have some type of proof or citation that disproves that San Francisco (or any city for that matter)… spends $300M on 5,000 people?

"Billionaire Marc Benioff recently put his vast wealth to work on a cause that is plaguing his hometown of San Francisco, donating $30 million to the University of California-San Francisco to study the causes of homelessness.

Sounds like a tax writeoff to me. That money could be put to much better use.

Yep...30mil to "study" the cause of homelessness? in San Fran? I don't get it. That money sure could be better spent to clean up that crap hole first, meaning spending on getting the homeless off the streets first and helping them. To hell with the "studies".
Steve

So you read the links, and hopefully more, and your takeaway is your post.

Income inequality is not good...perhaps we, here in The Villages and older, MAYBE need not worry, but you have children and grandchildren I assume. Maybe read up for them.

Homeless folks are one thing but read what economists nomists, financial folks, investors, etc about the path we are on.

It is not the dreaded "S" word for certain, and that is made clear in one of the links I provided. That seems to be the knee jerk reaction on here, and it is far from that.

Everyone has their own personal value system.

Everyone thinks they have the right and moral answer.

It is pointless to argue about what and when and how to do good and what and who is better and who is right and who is wrong.

Everyone dislikes being lectured to and told they are wrong.

Only God knows our hearts and our motives for any deeds we do...and there are those who don't agree with that either.

Some people could make others mad about almost any subject and they do not like to be disagreed with and if someone makes a point then immediately they appear to be a victim.

My brother was paranoid schizophrenic. Our parents took him out of grade school in the 4th grade because he just wasn't up to the task of learning and had problems with his teachers and fellow students. He was very difficult to deal with. Back then there weren't any options for children like him other than mental institutions. All his life he worked at hard physical labor jobs, but he worked every day and was never without work. He worked until his health failed and he couldn't physically do it any more. Luckily he was at retirement age and could draw social security. Because of his mental condition he had no friends or social life but he didn't resort to drugs or alcohol as an escape from his reality. He could only read at the 3rd grade level and his writing ability was far less than that but he held a job. No I don't give money to panhandlers.

You folks are discussing the value of hard work...I agree.

You are speaking to giving or not giving.

As I said, I was presenting one of the issues involved, the historical results of income inequality. and how those in the know see it.

Sorry, you all can go back to whatever.. sorry to interrupt.

Poverty is such a complex issue. I agree with studying the causes of poverty further in order to see what more can we do about it.

Eg. Economist can look at the advantages of free trade. Possibly, if each country produced where they have their relative advantage and then traded with the other countries each producing in their area of relative advantage. There would be all around more to share. Etc etc.

Poverty isn't the only cause of homelessness. There are people who have money, who could even probably afford to buy a house, but because of mental conditions are unable to cope with "normal" life and end up homeless as a result. My friend Skip/Kenny was one of those. He wasn't wealthy, but his parents were both professionals as I understand it, and could afford to help him. He was mentally incapable of accepting the help longer than a few days every few months.

"Capitalism must be reformed because it’s not producing enough opportunities for most Americans, creating an income gap that threatens to spark conflict, Ray Dalio, the Bridgewater Associates co-chairman, said in an interview "

"“If you look at history, if you have a group of people who have very different economic conditions, and you have an economic downturn, you have conflict.”

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Insert sock in mouth. Yours? Theirs? Both.

Raymond Dalio (born August 8, 1949) is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist.[3] Dalio is the founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds.[4] Bloomberg ranked him as the world's 58th wealthiest person in June 2019.[5]....


I am sure sarcasm will not affect him, nor any of the hundreds of economists, financial experts, etc who warn of coming dire circumstances should this problem not be addressed, or in those who offer sarcasm.....even awareness.

Many are warned about Soc....that is a word that many are being fed, yet, this problem has zero do with such a concept. The roots of our Great Depression had this same look, and it did not involve such movements, but today it seems we must label wat people say despite the lack of facts to support.

This WILL affect your children and grand children. In the future.