As forclosures rise, so do tent cities filled with Americans. Across the country, tent cities are rising everywhere. From
California, where foreclosures are taking over 60,000 homes per month, to
Vegas, where hungry children sleep in the glittered dust of the wealthy, to St. Petersburg, Florida where
the cops are destroying the tents of the homeless to make them leave the city, to the
suburbs,
homelessness, hunger, and
poverty are on the rise. The government's response?
Change how "homeless" is defined, so that the numbers appear to be decreasing at the same time that tents are springing up all over the country.
[more inside]
posted by dejah420
on Nov 7, 2008 -
135 comments
It was a
mass protest held outside the halls of Washington. Led, or at least it was supposed to be, by
Martin Luther King Jr. (before he was assassinated) it was going to show the world the
glaring divide that existed between the
Rich and the Poor of America.
Black, White, Red, Yellow--they all gathered from all over the US, to stay together for six weeks, outside the Capitol, and
inform the public about what life in America could sometimes mean, if you were not considered economically, socially or racially acceptable. Unfortunately, the problem still
persists, even today.
posted by hadjiboy
on Aug 10, 2008 -
8 comments
37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty Americans have always believed that hard work will bring rewards, but vast numbers now cannot meet their bills even with two or three jobs. More than one in 10 citizens live below the poverty line, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening. Are you proud to be an American? (newsfilter - no apologies).
posted by adamvasco
on Feb 19, 2006 -
255 comments
Being Poor ... what it actually entails. More from
Body and Soul, and from
Making Light, and from
here's a whosit.
And
this article, in which
...they were trying to rescue people with a helicopter and the people were so poor they were afraid it would cost too much to get a ride and they had no money for a "ticket." Dupree was shaken telling us the story. He just couldn't believe these people were afraid they'd be charged for a rescue. ...
posted by amberglow
on Sep 11, 2005 -
35 comments
America the Polarized NYT's Paul Krugman says that Congress is polarized because Republicans have moved to the right, while Democrats have remained fairly constant. He (and a political scientist) attribute the change to economic polarization, the sharply widening inequality of income and wealth.
posted by pmurray63
on Jan 6, 2002 -
24 comments