I currently reside in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful (and expensive, along with New York) cities in these United States. Right now construction throughout the city is progressing at record levels; they are building an entirely new addition to the city in the waterfront area by AT&T Park (where the SF Giants play). And in the midst of this construction boom, the homeless population is... skyrocketing! Young, old, black, white and everything in between- including many newly homeless families.
As someone who struggles to meet rent each and every month, it seems an overwhelmingly impossible problem to even ponder, let alone solve. Of course, a small portion of all that new housing would be a nice start, along with the necessary mental health, social and employment services, etc. But we are no longer concerned with caring for those that Jesus dedicated his life to- despite the consistent claims of being a majority Christian nation. In fact, everything we do as a country, a government, a society seems hell bent on increasing the schism between the haves and have-nots, and in so doing keep everyone in place for fear of joining the ever expanding ranks of the latter.
Meanwhile, NYC has finally (finally!) rid itself of would be King Bloomberg who departs the island in a hail of self congratulatory praise and adulation, reciting his own faked accomplishments in the name of legacy.
Yet a report issued by one of his own agencies, the Center for Economic Opportunity, revealed that by the end of 2011 more than a fifth of New Yorkers were living below the poverty line and another quarter just above it. These figures will rise, the report added, especially if federal spending declines, as expected.
This spring, the Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive nonprofit research organization, issued an even grimmer report, concluding that there has been “no meaningful reduction in poverty” in the city in thirty years. --Ken Auletta
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| San Francisco, Photo: S. Banos |
Meanwhile, NYC has finally (finally!) rid itself of would be King Bloomberg who departs the island in a hail of self congratulatory praise and adulation, reciting his own faked accomplishments in the name of legacy.
Yet a report issued by one of his own agencies, the Center for Economic Opportunity, revealed that by the end of 2011 more than a fifth of New Yorkers were living below the poverty line and another quarter just above it. These figures will rise, the report added, especially if federal spending declines, as expected.
This spring, the Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive nonprofit research organization, issued an even grimmer report, concluding that there has been “no meaningful reduction in poverty” in the city in thirty years. --Ken Auletta
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