Why yes - I talked about not being able to use a non public school library. Newsflash - libraries have their OWN special buildings! The EXCEPTIONS are like ones in Conifer - which is closing anyway. Evergreen - oh look, library, in it's own special building! Lakewood - several in their own special buildings - need I go on?
LH, though I have never lived in Englewood I have a library card for theirs. I used the computers while waiting for RTD bus from the large station nearby. Its a frickin library card, not a passport. I also have a Jeffco card and didn't have to turn in my other one. ITS A FRICKIN LIBRARY CARD. I hope you don't work too close with the poor or it would explain their stupidity.
Wow - you surely cannot read for comprehension at all - since when is a school libary a public library as a standard thing? YOU advocated closing libraries - not me. I stated clearly that the ONLY time I had to pay a fee to get a library card was when I went to a UNIVERSITY library - also NOT public. I stated I have a FREE Jeffco card and a free Denver card - and I can use both. I'm also NOT the one that said in some places, unless you live in that library district, you cannot use the library computers - Archer did. And in some places, that IS a fact. Denver is not the whole world.
What in the deepest hells are YOU reading? Not what I wrote. Not even close.
If you cannot comprehend what I'm saying, then quote it, so that when you decide to interpret it differently, people can maybe have some kind of clue how you got there. The neat little quote thing even gives you the person's name.
And wow - what an asshole assumption you just made that homeless people are stupid. What a human being you are. What a humanitarian. The epitome of who we should have working with the public, in any job.
You brought up libraries apparently to avoid discussing an actual solution to help get the poor off welfare, you're stuck on this side topic, try more meds. And it was chickaree not archer that made the statement, where is your comprehension?
Oh right - so my one mistake makes up for all of yours. Ever considered politics?
And point of fact, I'm not the one who brought up libaries in the first place, though I did respond to it. Someone else suggested that was a solution. It's not, but hey, people are going to believe what they want, like I'm going to believe you are the "perfect" humanitarian. And you're going to believe all homeless are stupid, because that's the kind of good guy you are.
Stop changing the terminology, many homeless are not getting one dime from Uncle Sam and are actually somewhat self sufficient. Have you ever helped out at a soup kitchen? I have and many homeless live off throw aways of others and the occassional church meal with beds when too cold. Now do you want to discuss welfare recipients or keep avoiding the issue?
I have worked in a soup kitchen, and at a commodities bank(the applesauce is good, the cheese is like eating plastic)- and other circumstances, so yep, I know about it.
Who changed the topic?
Back to welfare recipients - basically, if you have not lived - or been taught about it, witnessed it firsthand - in section 8 housing, been on welfare, you cannot get a full picture of how hard it can be to get off of it. Can it be done? Yes. Is it easy? No.
Now, we also need to have people stop equating disability and social security with welfare and food stamps, even thought they may, for some, be intertwined. All of us have paid into the social security network, and supposedly that's supposed to be there for us when we are old. It is, ideally, suppose to be own own money coming back to us. However, since the government has appropriated some of that money, and since people live a lot longer than hoped for, we are now paying for our parents and grandparents. Our children will pay for us - maybe. Supposedly, we have already paid for possible disability as well, even though many people are on disability who have not visible disabilities, making people assume they are working the system. I remember quite clearly the time a woman started yelling at me for parking in a handicap spot (had the handicap tag up) because she assumed. Yes, I'm fairly hale, but my mother, who could not drive, was not. The woman shut up - but could not be bothered to apologize - when I went around and helped mom out of the car.
THIS kind of behavior - a much more entitled position than those on these so called "entitlement" programs have - needs to stop before anything productive can come about. It's going to take educating the people who do NOT qualify for the system. It's going to take reporting the assholes - repeatedly if needed - who we see blatantly abusing the system. And it's going to take (here's the evil word) EFFECTIVE government reform - cause it's not effective now.
Education programs, ways to actually help people up and out - and if that means throwing more money at them to help them get out of the section 8 and off the foodstamps, then it should be done. Being able to sustain a bad living situation is NOT helping to succeed.
How to do it? Not sure. But I'd happily sit on any committee to help brainstorm ideas.
We now have more evidence of the effectiveness of healthy food subsidies, thanks to a pilot program in Philadelphia.
Philly Food Bucks
offers food stamps recipients a 40 percent subsidy at farmers markets. In other words, shoppers get a $2 subsidy for every $5 they spend in food stamps at participating farmers markets. In season,
farmers markets can be a better deal than supermarkets for produce
; I can also report from experience that Philly has many fairly priced farmers markets.
Philly has become quite the laboratory for innovative anti-obesity programs. Another Food Trust project, the
Healthy Corner Store Initiative
, whereby healthy food "kiosks" are being installed in around 6,000 Philly corner stores, has also shown promising results.
If there's a downside to Philadelphia's Food Bucks project, it's that the city now needs to find a source of ongoing support -- its funding will soon run out. But with results like these, there's every reason to expect that the Food Trust will find the money from public and private sources.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
