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or are homeless because they can't afford housing, or end up eating what they find in someone's trash because they can't afford to buy food There's a bit of a

or are homeless because they can't afford housing, or end up eating what they find in someone's trash because they can't afford to buy food There's a bit of a straw man or, at least, mischaracterization hidden in here. It's true that the U.S. does a pretty poor job of dealing with the mentally ill and those at the very bottom who simply cannot take care of themselves. And I think if you push people, even those on the far right, they'll acknowledge that we probably need to do something to help those people. But, outside of this group, nobody is digging through trash for food. We live in a society where clothes and food are as cheap as they've ever been. And there are government programs to fill the gaps. Arguments like yours only further distance you from the people you're trying to convince, because it's obvious to just about anyone, including (especially?) those who have actually been poor, that they're just not true. I've been poor. And it sucks. It sucks for lots of reasons, all related to access to resources, lack of successful friends and coworkers, its drain on your motivation, and so on and so on. But I never feared missing a meal. That's not the experience of most poor folks in the U.S.

randomsearch 12y ago
> But I never feared missing a meal. That's not the experience of most poor folks in the U.S. I'm not an expert on the U.S. However, I have seen people digging through trash for food in Atlanta. I have also seen the extreme state of homelessness in Philadelphia, and the problems in San Francisco. It is certainly true that many people in the UK struggle to afford food [1], and given that the US has a much greater disparity of wealth, I assume that the US has this problem on a great scale. So, no, I don't agree that it is an exaggeration. [1] http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects
- dionidium 12y ago
  Yes, I've seen them, too. And there's a risk here that it will sound like I'm moving the goal posts around so that I'm right by definition. But that's not what I'm trying to do. There are of course those at the bottom who are chronically homeless. Those are the folks I was referring to in my first paragraph. Yes, you will see them digging in dumpsters. But this is not the typical experience. Most poor people never end up homeless. And those who do are typically homeless for a short period of time (and do get help).
  - randomsearch 12y ago
    ok, I see. It might be surprising to hear, then, that those people using food banks in the UK by no means consist entirely of the chronically or mentally ill. I'd say that would be a small minority. Most of them simply use food banks because they can't afford to buy food - the number one reason being their welfare payments being ended or delayed. See, in the UK in the process of dismantling our welfare state and I look across the Atlantic to see our fate. :-s
  - stefantalpalaru 12y ago
    > Most poor people never end up homeless The times they are a-changin': http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-sharp-sudden-decline-of-americas-middle-class-20120622 http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-sharp-sudden-de...
angersock 12y ago
A lot of that cheap food will cause major health problems if it is your main foodsource.

randomsearch 12y ago

> But I never feared missing a meal. That's not the experience of most poor folks in the U.S. I'm not an expert on the U.S. However, I have seen people digging through trash for food in Atlanta. I have also seen the extreme state of homelessness in Philadelphia, and the problems in San Francisco. It is certainly true that many people in the UK struggle to afford food [1], and given that the US has a much greater disparity of wealth, I assume that the US has this problem on a great scale. So, no, I don't agree that it is an exaggeration. [1] http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects

dionidium 12y ago
Yes, I've seen them, too. And there's a risk here that it will sound like I'm moving the goal posts around so that I'm right by definition. But that's not what I'm trying to do. There are of course those at the bottom who are chronically homeless. Those are the folks I was referring to in my first paragraph. Yes, you will see them digging in dumpsters. But this is not the typical experience. Most poor people never end up homeless. And those who do are typically homeless for a short period of time (and do get help).
- randomsearch 12y ago
  ok, I see. It might be surprising to hear, then, that those people using food banks in the UK by no means consist entirely of the chronically or mentally ill. I'd say that would be a small minority. Most of them simply use food banks because they can't afford to buy food - the number one reason being their welfare payments being ended or delayed. See, in the UK in the process of dismantling our welfare state and I look across the Atlantic to see our fate. :-s
- stefantalpalaru 12y ago
  > Most poor people never end up homeless The times they are a-changin': http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-sharp-sudden-decline-of-americas-middle-class-20120622 http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-sharp-sudden-de...

angersock 12y ago

A lot of that cheap food will cause major health problems if it is your main foodsource.