Why is occupy Portland so crazy (Drain: apartment, renters, health insurance)

[kip60]

Because when Portland decided to be weird, all the weird people from all over the country moved there to act out their weirdness and now you're stuck with them.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by kip60

Because when Portland decided to be weird, all the weird people from all over the country moved there to act out their weirdness and now you're stuck with them.

Its ok to be weird, but just don't try too hard to be.. I think if people naturally have it in them like I do, its better because they can be different without going out nude in the streets and squatting on flags.. I know Portland is looking for more transplants who have something different to offer than these typical weirdos that come who want to panhandle and smoke pot all the time. If your wondering if its possible for someone to be weird in Portland without smoking a lot of pot and banging on drums and yelling in the streets, well meet one who intends to be who actually has something to offer with his sanity in tact.

[TechmanOR]

Originally Posted by 2bpurrfect

spend all the funding within the hierarchies of those "helpful" nonprofits and other assorted government "partners" who get the funding. And render incredibly infinitesimally tiny amount of benefits to the ones they are supposed to be funded for.
And don't forget to make all your office staff eligible for them by raising the ceiling on income eligibility etc. Now half the lower middle class is on benefits meant for the poor, or at least they are now eligible.

I fully support raising the income limit. I don't know about Portland's section 8, but look at the one in NYC. Once you receive your voucher, the minimum payment is 30% of income or $50, whichever is greater and they even offer waiver for those that can't come up with the $50 and a single person can get a $1,100/mo studio in Manhattan on minimum wage. If someone makes $800/mo, he can still live there. He pays $240/mo, state pays rest and he'd have $560 left over.

Suppose someone makes $1,500/mo and is over the income limit and does not qualify. If he rents the place on his own, he'd have $400 left making the poor more affluent than low end middle class.

So, you'll actually have more money left when you stay WITHIN the income limit. I support raising the income limit. Why would ANYONE want to make more money, so that they can become poorer than where they started? The low income limit simply provides an incentive to stay within the limits.

I know this guy who gets SSI for autism. He works like 10 hrs a week turns down additional job opportunity, because if he goes over the income limit, he'd lose SSI and end up with less take home money

I can't blame him though. The outrageously low liquid resource limit and income limit only encourages people to hang out at the eligibility limit line.

What you're suggesting is that we continue to run a system that discourages mutual support which is the spirit of welfare system but encourage parasitic loss instead.

The bottom feeders don't pay taxes. They get all the benefits funded by sweat and tear of the working class.

I think that public assistance recipients are given too much freedom. We often give up our rights in exchange for privilege, for example, consenting to having ourselves searched to board a plane.

I don't think that public assistance residents should get to live the lifestyle they want or precisely choose where they live.

State subsidized housing should have to only accommodate necessities and state should have the right to enact curfew, room inspections and restrictions(i.e. no alcohol). This isn't marginalizing anyone. They can accept the assistance in exchange for abiding by house rules or they can choose not to get assistance and make a living on their own. If they want a discretionary lifestyle outside of the limits, then its up to them to set a goal to become self sufficient.

Our current system allows transients, whores, addicts, fugitive immigrants, etc to place unreasonable burden on rest of the working population while working population can't get the assistance they need.

[warriorfan63]

I had somebody send this to me. Not sure why, but thought it would be relevant here:


True Face of Occupy Portland 2011 - YouTube

[Fiddlehead]

Looks like the typical gathering of transient kids from Pennsylvania/NY that panhandle on street corner and get food stamps in between Phish concerts and Burning Man. They would not motivate me to do anything except go home and take a shower after cruising through.

Bummer. The anti-greed thing is long overdue. The Tea Party has proven to be full of self-indulgent idiots, and it looks like this movement is too. My kingdom for a decent populist movement against the greed and sleaziness that is undermining our country. I kind of doubt this one is it.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

Bummer. The anti-greed thing is long overdue. The Tea Party has proven to be full of self-indulgent idiots, and it looks like this movement is too. My kingdom for a decent populist movement against the greed and sleaziness that is undermining our country. I kind of doubt this one is it.

I do to unfortunately. Come closer to election time a new movement is going to appear. What differences they can make remains to be seen, but I'm willing to bet that they'll be as influential a force as the Tea Party has been.

[Leisesturm]

Look. Its a start. I know nothing about the grass roots of any of the major Revolutions that have engendered regime change in any of the significant world theaters but I can't imagine they just hit the ground running and were successful from the word Go! America and Americans have been very resistant to significant civil unrest. The robust middle class really helped keep things intact. Plus, unlike most places America has always had an insourced scapegoat class on which the middle class could dump. Even right now, unemployment among white college educated males is only 4%. Among black college educated males its 25% and has been so for decades. All you had to say to disenfranchised white people was "its your own fault, you should have finished school, shut up and suck it up. No longer. Unemployment of white college educated males has started to climb with the class of 2010. People are scared. America has no social safety net like the rest of the civilized world. Do you imagine that OWS 1.0 would be the societal game changer of the millenium? I don't and didn't. But its a start. The shot fired over the bow, if you will. If anyone has a better idea, then lets hear them!

H

[hamellr]

I found some interesting unemployment stats for September 2011. A-13. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by age, sex, and race

Broken down by race, gender and age group. It's a bit hard to read, but when you start looking the picture becomes pretty dismal.

[karlsch]

"....$20,000 donated to the group through a PayPal account has disappeared"
Occupy Portland fears it has lost up to $20,000 in donations | OregonLive.com

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I hear they want to move their camp into the Pearl District.
Ha.

"I think a lot of Pearl District people might be up-in-arms about that because it's a little hoity-toity around here,"...........

Mayor Adams: 'Occupy Portland' cannot occupy Pearl park | kgw.com Portland