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What will happen when the Sunbelt is not fashionable anymore? What will be done with the surplus infrastructure? It's going to be a bigger job (and geographically larger due to sprawl) than cleaning up the Rust Belt.
I know a number of people living out of RVs and even converted vans. They travel from city to city for jobs. When they do land a job they can bank the vast majority of their income because they have no rent or mortgage. There also these fringe groups out there, basically modern day caravans of people living out of vechiles that travel from place to place for work. I expect to see more of this as the elites simply pillage and rape to make things to unaffordable for the average person. I think America is slowly becoming a country like China, or Brazil, where you have elites living the high life in the big cities, a tiny or zero middle class, and a massive amount of people living in dire poverty.
The only job opportunity for the poor will be the army, which is used to rape the resources off poorer countries.
I know a number of people living out of RVs and even converted vans. They travel from city to city for jobs. When they do land a job they can bank the vast majority of their income because they have no rent or mortgage. There also these fringe groups out there, basically modern day caravans of people living out of vechiles that travel from place to place for work. I expect to see more of this as the elites simply pillage and rape to make things to unaffordable for the average person. I think America is slowly becoming a country like China, or Brazil, where you have elites living the high life in the big cities, a tiny or zero middle class, and a massive amount of people living in dire poverty.
The only job opportunity for the poor will be the army, which is used to rape the resources off poorer countries.
There are a lot of people in Portland living in RVs - mostly hidden on private property. e.g. previously I had neighbors who hid their occupied RV behind very tall hedges). I've lived in a house with an 'extra' person in an RV on the property. There are dozens on city streets - mostly occupied - with TOW stickers, but the city tow lot is full so there is currently no towing going on.
There are a lot of people in Portland living in RVs - mostly hidden on private property. e.g. previously I had neighbors who hid their occupied RV behind very tall hedges). I've lived in a house with an 'extra' person in an RV on the property. There are dozens on city streets - mostly occupied - with TOW stickers, but the city tow lot is full so there is currently no towing going on.
Portland is a great place for Gorving!
So the private property owners basically are charging a "lot fee" for someone to park their RV on?
In big cities where the COL is skyrocketing, it's no surprise to see people coming up with creative living situations. Especially those who do not have very high incomes that will afford them market rent.
I know a number of people living out of RVs and even converted vans. They travel from city to city for jobs. When they do land a job they can bank the vast majority of their income because they have no rent or mortgage. There also these fringe groups out there, basically modern day caravans of people living out of vechiles that travel from place to place for work. I expect to see more of this as the elites simply pillage and rape to make things to unaffordable for the average person. I think America is slowly becoming a country like China, or Brazil, where you have elites living the high life in the big cities, a tiny or zero middle class, and a massive amount of people living in dire poverty.
The only job opportunity for the poor will be the army, which is used to rape the resources off poorer countries.
Your observations are, of course, the stuff of hyper consternation among the winners in this economic system, which simultaneously creates winners, and losers.. The winners claim the high ground, with notions of their superior course of action serving as the reason for their wealth. Any lacking on the part of the less fortunate can then be blamed on their "lifestyle choices."
But, many of the poor have worked just as hard if not harder, many have been law abiding, frugal with expenses, seeking better opportunity, only to realize that the value of their labor is tied to a system which compensates a persons labor value on a stratified scale, regardless of the actual energy expended, or the difficulty of the task at hand. This is the inconvenient truth with regard to the Horatio Alger notions and the resulting ideas of "anybody can.."
Yes, America is moving in the same social direction as some of the world's poorest nations, Bangalore India comes to mind, an island of glamorous prosperity, surrounded by a sea of poverty. The Bangalore yuppies party hardy, have nice automobiles, plenty to eat, and live in nice homes. Surrounded by the economic losers, they carry on with total disregard for the plight of those who serve them. So, this isn't an American thing, it's a human failing that no theoretical economic measures will ever solve, mans inhumanity to man.
Housing issues can't be dissected away from the core economic system, to be studied in a vacuum. The problems of housing, medical care, transportation, education, etc, are all attributable to those economic principles which limit some, while also creating opportunity for others. In our present state, some will see the lack of housing as a travesty, while others will defend that lacking as an unfortunate byproduct of a system which greatly rewarded them. To some it is simply an economic question, straight from the head, no heart needed..
Labor has never been priced based on just effort. It's about paying what's necessary to get a job done at a certain level. It's possible to pay $15 and get someone who's good with customers and fast on the cash register. But you won't get a very good doctor at that price. High wages are for unusual skills and traits, whether earned in school, personality, or whatever.
Traits don't come into these discussions enough. Lots of people can get degrees or become managers. But the really high wages go to people who bring something else (or convince the right people that they bring this). For example someone who can inspire a team, help people rally around a single vision, move instantly from identifying problems to getting into solutions, get things done efficiently, etc....this is gold.
(I'm not describing myself...actually it's more some great leaders I've worked with. Though I do made a decent income in part for "easy" stuff like reading the papers, watching trends, and nerding around with urban and real estate issues.)
It might be that these "gold people" do not actually exist. It might be that the best people have maybe four or five good ideas over the course of their careers, but if these can be recognized and capitalized on, some decent money can be made from them. Less than the best people meanwhile might still have a couple of good ideas to offer over 40 years, so you want to try to listen to them some as well.
A relative lives in an RV park (not a mobile home park) in the Valley. A huge percentage of the people who stay there work as tech people or in minor acting roles in the movie industry. They stay for +/- 6 months or so for the duration of filming. They are not poor, are well-paid, and save a fortune by paying minimal space rent. They own their own RV's (although a few do a long-term lease from companies that do this, I've seen the logos on the sides of the RV's) and go across the country to wherever they get work on set. I have also seen this type of RV living in the streets around some of the studios, like Paramount.
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