Homeless people

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by tld221

if a fast food salary "definitely" paysfor the rent in OKC, then parents should start kicking out their teenagers now. and if that's the case, why dont you go pick up a McDonalds application? i HIGHLY doubt minimum wage food industry pays enough to pay rent... then again it is OKC. sooooooo, maybe you have a point.

McDonald's is not a minimum wage job. Minimum wage jobs make up around 2% of all jobs -- most of those jobs belonging to teenagers. I do know of a few teenagers who have been kicked out of their parents' homes at early ages and have been able to survive while going to high school. My wife teaches at an inner-city college prep charter school, so I do get to hear quite a few success stories along those lines.

well, you were priveledged enough to be able to go to college, which barely 25% of Americans get the chance to. you're priveledged enough to have a job that allows you to bust your ass to pay back student loans. hell, youre priveledged enough to even qualify for loans. AND, dont give me that BS of "what do you mean im priveledged?" out of one side of your mouth and then say some ish like

Well actually, I'm racking up those loans while working a job to pay for living expenses. Privilege in this society is something that is earned, not given. Sure, some of us start out ahead, but that's not always enough. I'm sure we all know of kids of millionaires who end up getting written out of any inheritance and kicked to the curb because they're irresponsible... or at least I know some.

now i dont know many who come from 6-bedroom homes. but i cant imagine the loose change out the bottom of your pocket is any skin off your (or your family's) back. but your 6-bedroom house could be a total shack and your folks could be on welfare. tell me im wrong so you can prove me right that maybe there IS a twinge of priveledge in your blood.

I never intimated that I had humble beginnings. The six bedroom house is about 1 year old, in a gated community on a lake. It's admittedly a pretty damn nice place. That said, while I have a great safety net both of my own and my parents' creation, I actually paid for my own undergrad schooling with a scholarship and am currently paying for law school with student loans. I haven't had to touch that trust fund yet

The point is that I haven't pissed away my opportunities as so many do. That's just the way our society functions. I don't owe anything more than the exorbitant taxes I pay (and will pay) to health and human services. Considering the vast sum of money going to that part of the federal budget, you should stop every wealthy person you see on the street and thank them for paying your salary (you said you're a social worker, right?). Without that top 5% or so being punished for being successful, our welfare system wouldn't be half as well funded as it is today.

we'll ive seen an equal # of homeless with their day's worth of change in Mcdonalds scraping for the dollar menu as i have in a liquor store buying cheap vodka. so... take what you want from that.

Terrific.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Well actually, I'm racking up those loans while working a job to pay for living expenses. Privilege in this society is something that is earned, not given.

And the job you're working, last I remember, is for your daddy's law firm.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by kddani

And the job you're working, last I remember, is for your daddy's law firm.

Your point? Regardless of where I work and what I do, the homeless still annoy me. I know they're lazy compared to me, I know they are an unfair burden on society, and I resent aggressive panhandling tactics. What that has to do with what I do for a living (so long as I do something for a living) seems pretty irrelevant.

[mu_agd]

This thread just reminded me that I haven't seen a particular Spare Change Newspaper guy in awhile. I hope he's ok.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by mu_agd

This thread just reminded me that I haven't seen a particular Spare Change Newspaper guy in awhile. I hope he's ok.

Ah, Spare Change guy. He used to be right out in front of my office every morning (I worked across from the State House). There were some days when he looked worse than others, so hopefully he's doing ok now.

That, and hopefully the Fox station stopped making fun of him - did you ever see the segments they used to do?

As far as this thread goes and the topic, I have way too many feelings about it for a message board, so I'll just save the space.

[mu_agd]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Ah, Spare Change guy. He used to be right out in front of my office every morning (I worked across from the State House). There were some days when he looked worse than others, so hopefully he's doing ok now.

That, and hopefully the Fox station stopped making fun of him - did you ever see the segments they used to do?

The one I always saw was near the Hynes T stop. Luckily I've never seen the Fox station making fun of any of them. That's really uncalled for.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by kddani

And the job you're working, last I remember, is for your daddy's law firm.

Sweet as usual!