Get away begger!

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Thu Oct 19, 2000 11:16 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

...There was a time I considered getting fast food coupon booklets to hand out the coupons instead of money, to insure that people were getting food, not drugs - but some enterprising soul would just trade/sell them....

In Albuquerque, when I lived there, it was popular common practice for welfare recipients to sell their food stamps in the cash register aisles for 50 cents on the dollar, so you can't win.

I've got my cardboard sign ready for the next recession/depression "Will Write Computer Programs for Food."

crazycat · Post by **crazycat** » Fri Oct 20, 2000 5:47 am

Thanks people, We all have that soft spot from lessons learned in our past on how we treat others.

Looks like VSD turns into visual self defence first then into verbal. Sometimes we are fooled by words and pictures.

just a thought!

Gene DeMambro · Post by **Gene DeMambro** » Fri Oct 27, 2000 7:31 am

How many missed paychecks would it take to put you, and your family, out on the street?

Where would you, and your family go, the first cold night of winter when the shelters turn you all away b/c they are overcrowded as it is?

We have pancake breakfasts, fundraisers and blood-drives for the child who comes from a family of modest means stricken with cancer or heart disease or some other bane of human existance. Where is the same for the child who suffers from severe depression, or schizophrenia? We all talk about him in a hushed voice. What happens when he's 21 and the Department of Mental Health is not required to care for him anymore? Out on the street he goes. Then, he commits a crime, and we lock him in jail.

So, after a few years in a jail that is no place to put the mentally ill, he is released. Back on the street, of course. Maybe, even before he gets to jail in the first place, he gets hooked on dope, crack, heroin or whatever else is available at the local flop-house.

Of course, in the newly gentrified neighborhoods in Boston and other cities, no one wants "those kind of people" going to the detox center or the Mental Health Center in "their" neighborhood.

I live in suburban Boston. Wouldn't live anywhere else in the world. I work in Boston at a major metropolitan teaching hospital, at night no less. Guess where I went to school, Len? MCP. Even lived on Mission Hill.

A lot of cases, you all are right. They are looking for a few bucks for their next fix. We know that sometimes the addicts take their methadone and sell it for the good stuff. But how many of us thank The Man upstairs (of your choice) for the bounty we have now: Wife/Husband, kids who stay out of trouble, good job, money in our pockets, etc. How many don't?

How many who don't wonder why we have it so good would curse and wail, asking "why me" when things turn bad?

Look. I'm not saying we're are all cruel and heartless. But if not for a few chance occurances that just happened to go one way or the other, it very well could be you or me attached to that begger's hand.

Gene

[This message has been edited by Gene DeMambro (edited October 27, 2000).]

Panther · Post by **Panther** » Fri Oct 27, 2000 3:39 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gene DeMambro:
How many missed paychecks would it take to put you, and your family, out on the street?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is always advisable to have enough funds available to cover yourself for at least six months... a full year is better. Generally, easier to figure out than it is to do... Take your mortgage/rent + average monthly utility bills + average monthly secondary expenses + average monthly debt service-if any... multiply by 6 or 12 and there you have it... how much you need put back and accessible. A recession is coming and the only people I know who are actually ready for it are the ones who were labeled "paranoid" for doing a little planning "just in case" Y2K turned out to be more than merely a date. It was only another day in history, but those people who prepared then are prepared now for the coming economic rollercoaster... Hmmmmm...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

Where would you, and your family go, the first cold night of winter when the shelters turn you all away b/c they are overcrowded as it is?

Ever done any cold weather or "extreme" camping? It's good for more than just something to do... I know lots and lots of folks who hate hunting, but gee... that's how our ancestors fed and clothed their families... Hmmmmm...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

Where is the same for the child who suffers from severe depression, or schizophrenia? We all talk about him in a hushed voice. What happens when he's 21 and the Department of Mental Health is not required to care for him anymore?

This is fundamentally because any type of mental anything is percieved to be some "baaaaaaaad" illness and by definition of the very mental health industry itself, a person so afflicted is never considered "cured"! Once labeled with the "mental illness" brush, a person is tarnished forever... (Under current guidelines) And merely seeking councilling is enough to cause people to be denied their Constitutional Rights among other things!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

I live in suburban Boston. Wouldn't live anywhere else in the world.

Someday you'll wake up and realize the error!

<- smiley captioned for the humor-impaired!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

But how many of us thank The Man upstairs (of your choice) for the bounty we have now: Wife/Husband, kids who stay out of trouble, good job, money in our pockets, etc. How many don't?

Quite frankly, I don't care if anyone else does or not... as for me, in the immortal words of George C. Patton: "Every G-d damned day!"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

How many who don't wonder why we have it so good would curse and wail, asking "why me" when things turn bad?

It's only natural to begin with... nothing wrong with that. It's only a problem when you can't "get over it" and move on. One thing I've never understood is why everyone gives credit to their deity of choice when something goes right, but take the blame themselves when something goes wrong... if a deity is responsible for things working out for the better, it only makes sense that the blame can also be placed there when things work out for the worse... just food for thought from the Devil's advocate...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

But if not for a few chance occurances that just happened to go one way or the other, it very well could be you or me attached to that begger's hand.

You call it chance, I call it hard work and making the right decisions... and no one works hard all the time and no one makes all the right decisions. Perhaps it's just what's right for you at that time under those circumstances, but chance? I don't bet on games of chance...

It comes down to the fact that those who've learned to do for themselves do for themselves, while those who expect someone (like the government) to "take care of it/them" end up disappointed in that care...

LenTesta · Post by **LenTesta** » Mon Oct 30, 2000 4:46 pm

Hello Gene:

Go Cardinals. I Played a few games at Jefferson Field also.

Some people have a hard enough time living day to day with their finances and may fall into that unforeseeable predicament. Even those that can save money, usually put it into a 401k and can still leave themselves with no way to pay the bills.

I have to agree with most of what Panther wrote. We can control our fate by working hard and avoiding the mistakes that will cost us our livelyhood. Never put at risk, what you can't afford to lose.When it comes down to family and livelyhood, you must get up and go to work everyday, whether you are sick or just plain tired of your job.

OTOH, it may be a female of male that just might be without proper faculties. They have been thrown out by their own families. If they are unfortunate enough to end up in jail (criminal college), they will more than likely end up worse.

Why Me??? I ask this question all the time when things go bad for me. I am not asking the diety upstairs, I am asking why is it me that has an unfortunate incident. I am a handyman around the house, I constantly remodel myself, and fix anything that may need repair if I have the tools. Sometimes I break a part that would not have to be repaired while trying to fix the part that did. S*** happens. I wouldn't be saying, "why me?" if I had just hired a proffesional. But if I ever lose my lifestyle,(may main job) it would be "why did I jeprodize my family for something stupid". That is the only way I could unforseeably lose my job. If my company was to fold up and lay me off, I can always get another job in my field. Sure it may take a while, but collecting for a while will help.

We all fail to see that the people who need the handouts the most are just ordinary people like us. Some have had better times, and some have not.

Some of the most generous people I know have been down before. They know what it is like and they maintain the hard work they do, so they will never have to be down again.

Give to the United Way. This gift can be directed to the organization of your choice. Your gift will be used wisely and will reach some of the people that Gene has described.

------------------
Len Testa

Panther · Post by **Panther** » Mon Oct 30, 2000 8:53 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by LenTesta:

I have to agree with most of what Panther wrote. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks... and I agree with most of what you wrote as well... (what was that about geat minds?

)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote

Give to the United Way. This gift can be directed to the organization of your choice.

Bzzzt! Sorry, gotta chime in against this one! First the contributions through the United Way do not necessarily go to a qualifying, listed organization. I've gone through this year after year... In fact, many of the United Way brochures don't even list all of the qualifying organizations because the United Way is controlling where they want the money to go! Additionally, the overhead of the United Way is enourmous! If you want the money to truly get used for the cause you intend, simply find the 501(c)3 entity of your choice and write them a check directly. The United Way doesn't take 55-70% "cut" off the top, the money goes to those you want it to, and you still get the very same tax deduction (that non-profit tax status is required for any United Way affiliate anyways)... You aren't "donating" to the extremely high United Way overhead (read salaries) and you don't hurt - in fact, you help the organization you chose more because they get all of the funds, not just a portion. I make my donations directly... and I don't even bother putting them on my taxes. It's nobody's business, certainly not the government's, what I do with my money or who I give it to.

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Tue Oct 31, 2000 3:37 am

No, Gene, it won't be my hand attached to a beggar. I'll buy a 30-30 and live in the mountains first; I'd rather live out my remaining days with some self-esteem and pride.

Save for six months downtime? How many people today are not up to their ears in mortgages, car payments and credit cards?

A few, damn few.

NOW, here's the hard part to digest... We are on the verge of a great recession, and it has been in the making for a long time. The old cliche "The taller you are, the harder you fall" is the way it is going to be for the stock market and the buisnesses that fold because of it.

I give it a year max before things go wrong fast, and it won't matter who is in office because it is already in the cards.

So we might ALL become beggars, or at least a great many people will be standing in food lines.

This time of year, LARGE food boxes are welcomed by places who cook meals for the homeless. Want to feel what it is like? Dont take a bath or shower for a few weeks, dress in some rags and stand in the soup line striking up conversation with the regulars. Live it for a day to generate empathy. But make sure you leave off something so the food you ate you have not taken out of someone else's mouth.

Rick Wilson · Post by **Rick Wilson** » Tue Oct 31, 2000 7:02 am

To skip some of the morale dilemmas being well handled on this thread and jump back to the original post, here is a little technique that has worked very well for me:

When they approach you turn towards them as you are still walking away, raise your hands palm out (good defensive position), put a BIG smile on your face and say "No thank you, no thank you."

It has been my experience that you are a good half a block away before they go "but ... I was asking YOU for money?"

Rick

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Tue Oct 31, 2000 8:42 am

I deleted this early morning's post to replace it with this one, much better:
http://www.ci.boston.ma.us:8765/query.html?qt=food+drive

Their most needed items are: tuna, beef stew, meals in a can, macaroni & cheese, canned fruits and veggies, powdered milk, peanut butter, and soup.

For small $$$, one can go to Costco, the Price Club, or one of those food wharehouses and pick up a case. The gift of food. What a gift, eh? Drop it off at selected post offices (not going to Africa or Bosnia, rather to the food kitchens in Boston.

How many other cities have such a program and a URL?

[This message has been edited by Allen M. (edited October 31, 2000).]

crazycat · Post by **crazycat** » Wed Nov 01, 2000 2:57 am

I hope your prediction is wrong up there Allen! I was just getting over that Y2K business, but its no longer Y2K it any day we could be in the bread line...

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Wed Nov 01, 2000 9:50 am

When the Market Blows Up

I hope I am wrong, crazycat, but whatever goes up must come down; it is only a mater of time -- and timing.

Because I have been consulting since the seventies I learned to keep my ear to the pavement and try to feel-out trends. The man who originally taught me the ropes of this was an old-timer at it and when I asked him when he was going to retire he used to say "One more wave."

And that's it. Economically we are on one helluva big wave right now and it will come down. Wall street has had the jitters for several years, and probably only by fear of "history repeating itself" has prevented a downturn from happening – for now.

The U.S. seems to be economically healthy right now. The rest of the world is not, not unlike a car that keeps stalling out in traffic. But sooner or later the car will not be able to be restarted -- just like the market – and cause one big traffic jam, a gridlock.

So what, you say, "I have no investments in the market, so why do I have to worry?"

It's your job, man, controlled by supply and demand.

This year, in a continuing effort to sell-out this country [who said NAFTA], they have doubled or tripled the amount of immigrants, who are technically trained, who can live work in this country on green card and visas and such. The scary thing is that when the market goes they will be still working because they work for pennies on the dollar, sometimes as little as an unskilled American worker makes. Now was the wrong time to open the floodgates to these people. Give foreigners jobs while the American school system does not train their own people. What a screwed-up situation that will result in dire consequences.

So when the market goes down, I give it a year max [and I hope more than you that I am wrong] before we start to see something, it will be foreigners living on American soil who have the jobs and the Americans will be standing in the soup lines.

In bad economic times, and with plenty of young males around, time is ripe for war. Countries get their people working again by building more war machinery, and then there is war.

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Tue Nov 28, 2000 11:44 am

The Grinch who Stole Christmas

Good newspaper article about public charities, the scammers, exposed. We all know this but it is good to recharge the mental batteries once in a while.
http://www.msnbc.com/local/RTMA/M1474.asp