Homeless crisis in Britain versus US

[Jim Strong]

"He was only a tramp ... he was some mother's son ..."
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Maybe Ken Lay and friends will use their newly-made
millions to house the NY poor?? 
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Billy Jim
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--- Wayne Johnson <cadaobh2@brgnet.com> wrote:
> Well it seems to me that a few hundred thousand
> so-called "homeless" people
> are a small price to pay for the economic benefits
> of building $400,000
> houses as a part of the recent economic spurt. 
> Think of all the happy Lexus
> and BMW dealers sending their kids to Harvard and
> Stanford from real estate
> agents spending their newly engorged incomes.  Think
> of all those builders
> and developers vacationing in Burmuda.  Is it so bad
> that there are almost
> 30,000 people sleeping in the streets of NY?  This
> is one of the mildest
> winters in memory.  President Bush has asked for
> sacrifices and they are it.
> Besides, think of the "hidden" benefits of having
> these economically useless
> people die off.  Fewer Welfare Moms!  Lower Taxes! 
> This is what Modern
> America is all about!
> 
> So, this Christmas, send a card to a homeless person
> and thank them for
> their contribution to our continued good life and
> well being.
> 
> Scrooge McBubba
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: austin-ghetto-list-admin@pairlist.net
> [mailto:austin-ghetto-list-admin@pairlist.net]On
> Behalf Of Roger Baker
> Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2001 4:44 AM
> To: austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net
> Subject: Homeless crisis in Britain versus US
> 
> The British crisis revolves around the fact that
> there are now less homeless
> in Britain
> so charities have to compete harder to get their
> fair share of them -- and
> may
> now have to merge in the face of declining demand.
> 
> <?color><?param
>
1A1A,1A1A,FFFF>http://society.guardian.co.uk/charityfinance/story/0,8150,623
> 962,00.html
> <?/color>
> 
> *******************************************
> 
> But meanwhile in the USA -- (and as the war against
> evildoers gets all the
> top headlines):
> 
> 
> 
> <?fontfamily><?param Geneva><?color><?param
>
1A1A,1A1A,FFFF>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17779-2001Dec2
> 2.html<?/color><?/fontfamily>
> <?fontfamily><?param Geneva>
> 
> Homeless Surge In N.Y. Symbol Of New Crisis
> 
> By Michael Powell
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Sunday, December 23, 2001; Page A01
> 
> 
> NEW YORK -- Curled up on sidewalks and jammed into
> crowded shelters, the
> masses of
> homeless men, women and children in this city have
> reached record numbers,
> surpassing
> the worst levels of the last recession.
> 
> About 29,400 homeless live in city shelters and
> hot-plate hotel rooms each
> night,
> including 12,500 children. They are the face of a
> poor New York that
> supposedly
> vanished after the early 1990s.
> 
> Now they are everywhere. A decaying economy and,
> even more important, a
> severe
> lack of affordable housing have driven the current
> crisis. In the past few
> years, housing
> costs in New York's poor neighborhoods have spiked
> sharply, rising far
> faster than in
> wealthy districts.
> 
> Homelessness has jumped 13 percent nationwide this
> year. In Chicago,
> homelessness
> jumped 22 percent, in San Francisco, 20 percent. In
> Washington, the number
> of homeless
> families has risen by 32 percent -- after four years
> of decline. D.C.
> Village, the city's intake
> shelter for families, is at capacity, and about 600
> men and women bed down
> each night on
> city streets.
> 
> The problem is most pronounced in the Northeast,
> where rental housing costs
> are among
> the nation's highest. In Massachusetts, there has
> been a 40 percent rise in
> homeless
> families since August 1999. "It's exploded on us,"
> said Dick Powers of the
> state's homeless
> agency. "The reason is very simple: There's no
> affordable housing."...
> 
> 
> <?/fontfamily>
> 


=====
The peace of the cosmos is infinite motion

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