Homeless problem on streets of Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

Ah I never advocated for redistribution only to leave homeless people alone. I think creating bull ****e laws and trying to round up homeless into camps on bogus laws that are unconstitutional to create in the first place IS the issue.

It's probably about time. When the top 3 Americans hold more wealth than the bottom 50% or a 115 MILLION people combined, it MIGHT suggest there is a problem with our current system. Read https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkir.../#ff62d863cf86

As I've mentioned before, I've never voted for a democrat. One day I might (no, not Bernie). But like every single controversial topic, there are legitimate points on each side of the argument. The facts are that the laws are rigged for the rich to get richer. You know, the people who make the laws are rich https://www.rollcall.com/news/politi...alth-one-chart . Having a buck in your pocket has huge advantages. Being a small business owner, I have dozens of tax advantages at my disposal. Think write-offs: like combining work and pleasure while out of town, hiring family at lower tax brackets, able to contribute 25% of my income to retirement plans, writing off miles, trailers, computers, tools, a portion of my home, cell phones/bills, part of my home utilities, my healthcare, further education, etc. Hell, my social security is capped PLUS S-Corp has advantages to dodge even more social security. I can even write off synergistic passions that match my work topics, etc etc etc. All legal which will stand up to any audit and done every day. Now let's compare that to the working bee. Psst. The tax laws are more progressive on the working bees even when you only stare at the marginal tax rates; I can fight back and the working bee cannot.

Sure, I've worked hard for my money. But the game is rigged. Only ignorant people are in denial.

Of course p_ss-poor parenting has a massive influence on where you land in life. I'm talking about neglect, sexual abuse, drug addicted parents etc. Sure, we can all point to the outliers: So-and-So was poor and HE/SHE didn't use it as an excuse". We agree. But statistically speaking, well-parented kids are dealt Aces and Kings and lousy parented kids are dealt 3's and 4's. Our kids are where they are because we parented to the best of our abilities and have a buck in our pocket to send them off to the best colleges and expensive degrees.

Next up, mental illness is a real problem for people on the streets. It doesn't take very long before you don't have the skills to contribute and feel hopeless and depressed. I'm not advocating giving away money just because. We see where that got us where the people who are breeding the most are the last people who should have kids. The solution for minimizing the homeless can be observed across other parts of the world like Sweeden. Flattening out the countries wealth will factually help (and it will hurt me and my write-offs). I'm not sure how best to handle that. But when people cannot agree on recirculating wealth upon someone's death (by calling it a "death tax" to manipulate the narrative), then the rich will become richer and the poor poorer. My business caters to the wealthy. So I'm benefiting from the obvious policies that push more wealth to the have's versus the have-nots.

Back to drugs and addiction. Much of it centers around your natural dopamine in your brain. It's a POWERFUL motivator. As in, some of the most motivated people you know have more of it than others and that's the luck of the draw. If they have less, it's ONE (not the only) reason why people call them "lazy". Because some people really are lazy. All things being equal, your God-given amount of dopamine really has a big influence on your life. Read all about it here https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0110094415.htm Just as if you were lucky enough to be born with a brilliant mind. And the reason why some drugs are so powerfully addictive is they mess with the chemistry of your brain increasing dopamine while making you high and strung out. If you try to get off of the most addictive drugs, your motivation plummets below normal. So "pick yourself up by the bootstraps" can be an idiotic statement if you understand how and why it happens for some drug users. PBS did an amazing documentary on Frontline. Download the PBS app and watch it! It's eye-opening why we are where we are. Anybody who wants to actually understand the complexity of this drug addiction problem needs to watch it. Parents. make your kids watch the episode and explain why they should never ever experiment with drugs. It can suck you in and spit you out as as a homeless person.

Option 2. Forget the logic ^^ and assume the homeless just don't want to work. Disclaimer: I'm no Mother Theresa. I live as far away from the problem as I can. But I understand the problem is certainly related to mental health, parenting, and the unequal playing field with the economy.

[mags61]

Originally Posted by jdingle

I can understand why homeless people would hang around Scottsdale. When I lived out of my van, I used to hang around the Scottsdale Mall all day to scavenge half-eaten food. Sometimes people would just hand me money too. I didn't look all THAT homeless, and really I was just being cheap, but I can't think of a better place for a free lunch.

Are you being serious?
I'd be ashamed to admit hanging around a mall, eating garbage and taking spare change. That goes beyond cheap, it's preposterously unsanitary.

[VTsnowbird]

closed, veering off topic and political.