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“I didn’t want to be 80 years old and know that I did nothing during the greatest humanitarian crisis of my time.” As an American citizen who publicly supporte
by louprado 10y ago
“I didn’t want to be 80 years old and know that I did nothing during the greatest humanitarian crisis of my time.”
As an American citizen who publicly supported both gulf wars and contributes disproportionally to climate change, the above is an understatement of how I feel about the Syrian crisis.
Somewhat related, we have cities in the U.S. that are depressed in part because of population decline. An influx of immigrants could be mutually beneficial. The City of Detroit, for example, has no budget or incentive to demolish condemned homes because the cost of demolition exceeds the vacant land value. A refugee could be granted two homes on the promise they demolish one home. Perhaps one livable home can be constructed from reclaimed materials of the two.
Last I checked, it cost $10k to demolish a small home and a barely livable COD home costs around $5k. Receiving $10k in property for delivering a $10k service doesn't seem like a handout.
Granted refugees require support and resources beyond housing but this inspirational article on Jim Estill and his team of volunteers offer much encouragement in this regard.
edit: grammar
- prawn 10y agoEach new home owner could demolish an adjacent home and turn it into a vegetable garden. Not so familiar with the Middle East but I know that migrants from Europe and Asia are often very keen home gardeners.
- mistermann 10y agoI'm not so sure the community in a place as economically depressed as Detroit would be as welcoming as the one in the article.
- panic 10y agoWhy not? Poor people tend to be more generous on average (http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/99/5/771/ http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/99/5/771/).
- provost 10y agoNot sure why this was downvoted -- OP provided a source, which is more than most comments.
- mistermann 10y agoThere's a lot more involved than simply economics. A stroll through various neighborhoods in Detroit would be enlightening.
- ibejoeb 10y agoIf such a program were to exist, why would the United States not make it available to its own homeless or otherwise impoverished citizens? Regardless of the beneficiary, how to these people otherwise live. Where do they work and go to school? What do they eat?
- toyg 10y agoWell, obviously because the home-grown poor "made bad choices" and all that responsibility spiel. /s More realistically, the local poor would just move from A to B with no improvement. People fleeing warzones have different backgrounds and incentives. I agree on the general-welfare issue, but a lot of these refugees have very low expectations.