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I know we are getting WAY off topic here, but I want to say to heavymind that I think we are kindred spirits in some ways! I could truly relate to all the above posts -- and add one little anecdote of my own.
Long story, but I had to spend at least a week with my VERY extroverted grandmother every summer when I was young, and she constantly was reprimanding for reading too much! But after one hour with her, I needed to retreat to "my" room for an hour just to recuperate and prepare for another hour with her.
[quote=elnrgby;66138967]Finding roommates requires a degree of personal effort, which people must save for finding meth or fentanyl. First things first.[/QUOT
Hard to find roommates or do much if you are mentally ill
I have my own small place, my wife passed and I'll never remarry. I'm about 5 years from retirement but if I have a good friend or cousin that needs help they can live with me for however long.
People forget sometimes that your "assets" aren't just monetary.
The topic is : ‘Unconscionable’: American baby boomers are now becoming homeless at a rate ‘not seen since the Great Depression’
Your comments are incorrect. Many unhoused seniors are unable of the work involved in finding roommates because they suffer from cognitive impairment. I'm reluctant to believe that they are all on the streets trying to score illicit drugs.
Exactly.
Most homeless seniors..or anyone for that matter... Are NOT doing/seeking/looking for/dealing/buying illegal drugs.
That's an old tired movie/TV show thing, of an old hippie "free love" or "psychedelic drug hippie" thing.
Anyone who THINKS so, should watch Bob Wells YouTube videos on van living.
Right here on the sub forum on "camping" here should look up Meo's posts in her adventures, she did live in a Nissan cube, but now lives in a Dodge Caravan. I believe her SS income is about $500-600/month.
YOU try living ANYWHERE in this country on that income.
I suppose some will say "get a job", but I believe she has medical issues, plus I believe she was a SAHM, so little to no experience working.
There ARE many senior women in that same boat, but so are men.
These are NOT people who make/deal/use illegal drugs, these are people who squeeze every penny until Ol' Abe is BEGGING to be released.
Older "boomers" and their predecessors had a totally different life/college/job experience than the younger boomers (I'm a younger boomer). I graduated high school at 17 in 1981. By 1990 ALL manufacturing in my area (and there were many) were all gone. Nine were even hiring when I graduated... because they knew of the pending outsourcing (as we now know...to China) and so limited fields.
Also, I graduated just before the big Personal Computer boom..so I got zero education on computers. Engineering schools/colleges/training centers all closed due. That's what my father did, so NO "following in his footsteps".
Thise whose fathers actually worked in the computer centers (back when a single computer took up a cafeteria sized room) had an idea to suggest to their kids to go to a far away college to learn computer programming. My father did not work in that sector, and was a white collar engineer. I had no clue what a computer was.
Guidance counselors did little to encourage students..there were way too many of us for just two counselors. Mins asked which class I was best in (high school accounting), and shoved me into local community college. Even then, I was putting numbers in little green boxes...by hand..in Jr college accounting class...computers would COMPLETELY change how accounting was done..so even that college education was NOT up to coming immediate future of that career.
Retail and restaurants were built everywhere the former manufacturers plants were razed. Minimum wage jobs. Even management was lucky to mAybe make $1/hr more than the working schmucks.
Yes, older boomers may have had to adapt, re-educate, but at least had job experience before the transition..I had none.
Even our esteemed Mathjak has mentioned working in the plumbing/heating industry, where he saw the transition to electronic controls, and moved to find the education to move up to designing those systems (sorry if that's not totally correct MJ..I'm paraphrasing). Point here is he had actual working experience in a field and caught wind of the coming future and was able to adapt... something I didn't have.
Not ALL people can rake in big bucks with what was a low enough college education to be paid for completly with just a summer job.
As soon as the federal government announced the College Student Loan program, I knew college costs would rise..why not? The colleges saw it as Free government money. It didn't register that the STUDENTS would be paying...NOT the government.
But, hey, if you have a cushy retirement, don't judge homeless..many have worked hard or are still working hard just to keep that tent/vehicle/van/RV roof over their head. Maybe try lending a hand instead of judging.
Oh, here's an example..the university where I used to live every year has a weekend where students who sign up to raise money for homeless people programs actually go out in winter and sleep in boxes, sleeping bags or less..for a weekend to fully understand the homeless issues faced by homeless. THAT gives them a REAL or BETTER understanding of the issues...even though they have staff looking out for them.. something many homeless don't have.
I know we are getting WAY off topic here, but I want to say to heavymind that I think we are kindred spirits in some ways! I could truly relate to all the above posts -- and add one little anecdote of my own.
Long story, but I had to spend at least a week with my VERY extroverted grandmother every summer when I was young, and she constantly was reprimanding for reading too much! But after one hour with her, I needed to retreat to "my" room for an hour just to recuperate and prepare for another hour with her.
Almost every person I deal with feels like dealing with your grandmother, except it's on a daily basis. On the days where I have more interaction than usual, or get trapped on time-sucking phone calls like tech support, sometimes I go home and go straight to bed. My body and brain just shut down.
I was chatting with another woman around my age recently (we're both 50ish) and talking about how women a generation ahead of us hoard yarn and craft supplies like you wouldn't believe. Her mom just died and they cleared out a literal truckload of yarn & sewing stuff from her house. I see the same thing at estate sales. I remarked "I wonder what we'll be hoarding when we're old ladies?" and before I could even finish my friend said "Books." LOL
Most homeless seniors..or anyone for that matter... Are NOT doing/seeking/looking for/dealing/buying illegal drugs.
That's an old tired movie/TV show thing, of an old hippie "free love" or "psychedelic drug hippie" thing.
Anyone who THINKS so, should watch Bob Wells YouTube videos on van living.
Right here on the sub forum on "camping" here should look up Meo's posts in her adventures, she did live in a Nissan cube, but now lives in a Dodge Caravan. I believe her SS income is about $500-600/month.
YOU try living ANYWHERE in this country on that income.
I suppose some will say "get a job", but I believe she has medical issues, plus I believe she was a SAHM, so little to no experience working.
There ARE many senior women in that same boat, but so are men.
These are NOT people who make/deal/use illegal drugs, these are people who squeeze every penny until Ol' Abe is BEGGING to be released.
Older "boomers" and their predecessors had a totally different life/college/job experience than the younger boomers (I'm a younger boomer). I graduated high school at 17 in 1981. By 1990 ALL manufacturing in my area (and there were many) were all gone. Nine were even hiring when I graduated... because they knew of the pending outsourcing (as we now know...to China) and so limited fields.
Also, I graduated just before the big Personal Computer boom..so I got zero education on computers. Engineering schools/colleges/training centers all closed due. That's what my father did, so NO "following in his footsteps".
Thise whose fathers actually worked in the computer centers (back when a single computer took up a cafeteria sized room) had an idea to suggest to their kids to go to a far away college to learn computer programming. My father did not work in that sector, and was a white collar engineer. I had no clue what a computer was.
Guidance counselors did little to encourage students..there were way too many of us for just two counselors. Mins asked which class I was best in (high school accounting), and shoved me into local community college. Even then, I was putting numbers in little green boxes...by hand..in Jr college accounting class...computers would COMPLETELY change how accounting was done..so even that college education was NOT up to coming immediate future of that career.
Retail and restaurants were built everywhere the former manufacturers plants were razed. Minimum wage jobs. Even management was lucky to mAybe make $1/hr more than the working schmucks.
Yes, older boomers may have had to adapt, re-educate, but at least had job experience before the transition..I had none.
Even our esteemed Mathjak has mentioned working in the plumbing/heating industry, where he saw the transition to electronic controls, and moved to find the education to move up to designing those systems (sorry if that's not totally correct MJ..I'm paraphrasing). Point here is he had actual working experience in a field and caught wind of the coming future and was able to adapt... something I didn't have.
...
You are describing to a "t" what happens as the Industrial Age transitions to the Information Age. People train for jobs that no longer exist. The career tools that vocational counselors still use to assist students in choosing a career were developed decades ago. They don't even have careers such as website developer, etc.
Outsourcing along with the union busting has resulted in a lot of people struggling to keep their financial heads above water.
There's a scene in West Wing series where union members confront Josh about what are they supposed to do now that the WH has made a deal that will eliminate their jobs. He promises retraining support. They point out that they've retrained for new career paths several times now. What's to prevent these new jobs from disappearing as well?
There are people still waiting for those good paying, union coal mining jobs to reappear.
Owning your home free and clear by retirement is just impossible for many. It's not that they are spending money on pennywhistles and parties. It's that either they could get enough money together for a down payment, couldn't keep up the payments, or keep borrowing against their equity to stay afloat.
We had several neighbors who were laid off by IBM when they were in their fifties. They were never employed in their career field again. They worked retail jobs, sent out handwritten birthday and holiday cards for realtors, refinanced their homes, and anything else they could scramble together to pay the bills.
At retirement time, they had no pensions, no savings, and for several, only a small amount of equity in their repeatedly refinanced homes.
They all sold or are selling their homes as they can't afford the payments or the upkeep when they are no longer working. Thanks to a lot of deferred maintenance issues and outdated finishes, they were not able to sell their home for top dollar.
Imagine retiring on SS with less than $100,000 or so in the bank.
Imagine how long it will be before some of them will be living in their vans, or depending on government subsidizes to exist.
All of these people had college educations, decent jobs, and every expectation that their lives would not end up like this.
I think the predominant tone of this thread is hopeless :-). The agreement is that there are too many homeless people in the US, including many baby boomers - no disagreement there. But the moment someone (like me) points out to effective solutions (for taxpayers: build trailer villages on inexpensive land, minimize administrative costs of managing poverty; for the poor themselves: be mindful of other people's money that supports you, so organize your life within your means, without overreaching), then oooh no, you are hating on the poor, put yourself in their shoes, etc!
For people with positions opposite from mine in this thread, helping the homeless seems to consist of (a) verbal "empathy", (b) progressively draining taxpayers to fund a bloated administration which should theoretically help the poor but (as we have clearly seen so far) is not helping them because it is largely using the taxpayer funds to fund itself, and (c) insisting that the homeless must have "dignified" housing in the most expensive areas (because they allegedly have a family there - but when I ask why the family doesn't help them out, then it turns out they are a burden to the family, and the family in fact doesn't want them nearby). Your methods (gushing with verbal empathy, massively wasting the taxpayer money, insisting upon "only the best" rather than only the adequate for the homeless) HAVE NOT WORKED. Maybe it's time to try something that actually works? Or you need other people to always be homeless, so that you can patronizingly "emphatize" with them, which elevates your own self-esteem?
....Maybe it's time to try something that actually works?
I'd like to remind you of what was one of your brilliant solutions :
Quote:
Originally Posted by elnrgby
Finding roommates requires a degree of personal effort, which people must save for finding meth or fentanyl. First things first.
Falsely accusing homeless seniors of seeking meth and fentanyl...Yes, you actually said that. Has it occurred to you that there may be obstacles for homeless seniors (physical and mental limitations) in their effort to find roommates?
Most homeless seniors..or anyone for that matter... Are NOT doing/seeking/looking for/dealing/buying illegal drugs.
That's an old tired movie/TV show thing, of an old hippie "free love" or "psychedelic drug hippie" thing.
Anyone who THINKS so, should watch Bob Wells YouTube videos on van living.
Right here on the sub forum on "camping" here should look up Meo's posts in her adventures, she did live in a Nissan cube, but now lives in a Dodge Caravan. I believe her SS income is about $500-600/month.
YOU try living ANYWHERE in this country on that income.
I suppose some will say "get a job", but I believe she has medical issues, plus I believe she was a SAHM, so little to no experience working.
There ARE many senior women in that same boat, but so are men.
These are NOT people who make/deal/use illegal drugs, these are people who squeeze every penny until Ol' Abe is BEGGING to be released.
Older "boomers" and their predecessors had a totally different life/college/job experience than the younger boomers (I'm a younger boomer). I graduated high school at 17 in 1981. By 1990 ALL manufacturing in my area (and there were many) were all gone. Nine were even hiring when I graduated... because they knew of the pending outsourcing (as we now know...to China) and so limited fields.
Also, I graduated just before the big Personal Computer boom..so I got zero education on computers. Engineering schools/colleges/training centers all closed due. That's what my father did, so NO "following in his footsteps".
Thise whose fathers actually worked in the computer centers (back when a single computer took up a cafeteria sized room) had an idea to suggest to their kids to go to a far away college to learn computer programming. My father did not work in that sector, and was a white collar engineer. I had no clue what a computer was.
Guidance counselors did little to encourage students..there were way too many of us for just two counselors. Mins asked which class I was best in (high school accounting), and shoved me into local community college. Even then, I was putting numbers in little green boxes...by hand..in Jr college accounting class...computers would COMPLETELY change how accounting was done..so even that college education was NOT up to coming immediate future of that career.
Retail and restaurants were built everywhere the former manufacturers plants were razed. Minimum wage jobs. Even management was lucky to mAybe make $1/hr more than the working schmucks.
Yes, older boomers may have had to adapt, re-educate, but at least had job experience before the transition..I had none.
Even our esteemed Mathjak has mentioned working in the plumbing/heating industry, where he saw the transition to electronic controls, and moved to find the education to move up to designing those systems (sorry if that's not totally correct MJ..I'm paraphrasing). Point here is he had actual working experience in a field and caught wind of the coming future and was able to adapt... something I didn't have.
Not ALL people can rake in big bucks with what was a low enough college education to be paid for completly with just a summer job.
As soon as the federal government announced the College Student Loan program, I knew college costs would rise..why not? The colleges saw it as Free government money. It didn't register that the STUDENTS would be paying...NOT the government.
But, hey, if you have a cushy retirement, don't judge homeless..many have worked hard or are still working hard just to keep that tent/vehicle/van/RV roof over their head. Maybe try lending a hand instead of judging.
Oh, here's an example..the university where I used to live every year has a weekend where students who sign up to raise money for homeless people programs actually go out in winter and sleep in boxes, sleeping bags or less..for a weekend to fully understand the homeless issues faced by homeless. THAT gives them a REAL or BETTER understanding of the issues...even though they have staff looking out for them.. something many homeless don't have.
Best to all
I graduated HS in ‘82 and experienced much the same scenario. I went to college, graduated, worked, went back to college, graduated, worked, and went back one more time, graduated, and finally found a career that would last until retirement. I will say if I didn’t have the support of my family I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
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