Why is Portland so infested with homeless? (Burns: restaurants, price)

[KJoe11]

Originally Posted by pabock71

Don't know why there seem to be so many but compared to cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco there are that many.

Are your sure they are homeless? People here really let themselves go.

[NickyBilly]

There is a major falsehood perception that Portland is a place for all, the well-healed and the needy, to congregate to for the 'gold at the end of the rainbow.' Many have the illusion that PDX is a kind of utopia that is all-encompassing for all. Much of it has to do with the self-indulging self-righteous attitude of locals that PDX is this type of place. "All that is done here is all that is right in the world" would be a slogan that most would embrace. In reality, the problems that exist here are clouded by the illusionary hallucinations of those that pound their on chests on the 'greatness.' There are many problems that are avoided, overlooked, ignored, swept under the carpet and snubbed by those who 'are too busy' to acknowledge them. It's time for a reality check and for all to realize that things need to be reprioritized. For example, "The Pearl" is to Portland what "Fantasyland at Disneyland" is to LA. It is not the norm and it is not what things are really like. Can anyone grab me another cup of coffee and a doughnut?

[Ms_Christina]

On a side note, why would anyone equate Disneyland to LA? It is not in LA. It is a half an hour away in Anaheim.

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by Ms_Christina

On a side note, why would anyone equate Disneyland to LA? It is not in LA. It is a half an hour away in Anaheim.

Seriously? from here, anything in the vicinity is "LA". this is Portland, and I for one couldn't care less about how close Anaheim is to LA. From a strictly local Portland perspective, relating lala land to disneyland makes sense, especially if we don't know anyone from there nor have we ever been there. His point about the attitudes here is what matters, not your map nitpicking.

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by KJoe11

Are your sure they are homeless? People here really let themselves go.

wait, i realize it's true what you said but, when you drive downtown at night and see people sleeping on the sidewalks in droves, well, that kind of takes care of that question. And those are only the VISIBLE ones that aren't hiding or just somewhere out of sight.

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by Vaedrem

Homelessness In A Welfare State: Perspectives From Copenhagen by Rasmus Christensen, Nicole Kirkwood | Humanity in Action

If you don't like homeless young people, then perhaps direct your hate to the adults--likely living in homes--who severely abused and abandoned them throughout their childhood. If you don't like the attitudes of abused homeless youth who have probably been raped and beaten up countless times, then actually do something to stop that. House everyone, but crack down on abusive parents so people won't enter the adult world too mentally ill to participate.

excellent. awesome defense. and true. it is about marginalization and lack of social ability to function, etc. So could we please stop the stupid policies that are utterly unnecessary portland? and just get people housed? and how about some real outreach to these who find it so hard to fit in or get their needs taken care of?

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

It would be naive to think foodstamps are NOT treated as a form of cash.
Hell you can buy them from the folks that they are awarded to for $.50 or less on the dollar.
This is why most government programs are just corrupt use of taxpayer dollars.

Also - why is it called the Oregon Trail card? What an insult to people who actually took large risk and endured hardship to better themselves and their families. Giving this name to a welfare program is just bad form.

well, i don't know, it seems rather poetically appropriate, though i am sure they didn't intend that. after all, isn't oregon still a destination? end of the trail? for thousands of out of staters and illegal aliens? some of whom are taking precious and limited benefits away from those born here, who are sleeping in the streets literally. and have no where else to go, since they never lived anywhere else nor did their family.

As for the food stamp / ebt trading problem, it's happening everywhere, but less than before: and all they would have to do, is to print out the name of the rightful holder of the account along with the account number, on the card. that would make it much harder to trade them or to be used by any old random criminal..

[Sondeera]

Originally Posted by 2bpurrfect

Seriously? from here, anything in the vicinity is "LA". this is Portland, and I for one couldn't care less about how close Anaheim is to LA. From a strictly local Portland perspective, relating lala land to disneyland makes sense, especially if we don't know anyone from there nor have we ever been there. His point about the attitudes here is what matters, not your map nitpicking.

Hahahahahaha, NO. You're just being geographically ignorant. Disneyland is in Anaheim, which is in Orange County and culturally speaking, is VERY Orange County.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

For example, "The Pearl" is to Portland what "Fantasyland at
Disneyland" is to LA. It is not the norm and it is not what things are really
like.

You have this false belief that everyone one in Portland adores "The Pearl", and talks about it constantly.

That's not true.

Most people in Portland could not care less about it, and nobody really thinks it's "that" special.

What is up with your Pearl district fixation?
Some Pearl District hottie hurt your ego or something?

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Sondeera

Hahahahahaha, NO. You're just being geographically ignorant. Disneyland is in Anaheim, which is in Orange County and culturally speaking, is VERY Orange County.

You're illustrating exactly what he's talking about. Look at the number of posts in this forum with people saying they want to live in Salem but have their job in Hillsboro and then are puzzled when we say "That's not a good commute," and their reply is "But... Google says it's only an hour drive! I'll just ride the MAX." This is the same as someone saying "I'll just ride my bike from Long Beach to Santa Monica to commute every day." People outside of the immediate area just don't know.

To most people, Disney Land, and Hollywood, ARE LA. Bronx, Manhattan, and Central Park are all New York City. Disney World is Orlando. South Beach and Fort Lauderdale are Miami. Berkely and San Jose are San Francisco. Yaller Dog is Raw Dog.