We Got Rich People and the homeless.

[mnaz]

So I guess not a lot has changed
in the milieu of Holy Capitalism.
Dickens wrote about it too.

[mtmynd]

So I guess not a lot has changed
in the milieu of Holy Capitalism.
Dickens wrote about it too.

three line poem
that begs for more

[mnaz]

Two hundred years and counting..

[mnaz]

They're camping a few blocks down the street. Trash is piling up. God bless and all, but in a land of Trickle-Down Economic Wisdom you have to wonder why they're there, shut out like that from even a thinnest slice of the pie.. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is MONEY. If you don't have enough, you're out. This is the culture that we made for ourselves, the one we worship. MONEY is your God! Your Reason to Exist!... This is the soul of AMERICA, 2018. Something like a stock symbol... Okay, so maybe that's not quite the same as Scrooge in 1843-- "let them do it (die) and decrease the surplus population", as he put it. No, the Money Mythos and Image has been built up nicely, quite a bit since then, but the idea really ain't too far off.

[mtmynd]

Capitalism is not so much an economic theory as much as it is a game... a game of dreams. "Monopoly" is an encapsulation of than dream - throw the dice and hope (pray) you land on something you can afford to purchase either that or on your own property ... anywhere else and you pay. If you buy and hold on to your property, whippee! you've caused all your competition into poverty and homelessness. If you cannot afford any payments... out to the streets you go! Another unwanted and displaced simply taking up space.

Would it be fair to say Karl Marx ideal of "socialism" is the flip side of the economic theory that favors the people, ("We the People"??). It is these two theories that have been at each others throats in the 20thC and very well may come to a head in our 21stC. Afterall, with a world population of some 7.3 BILLION people all who have a need for food, clothing and shelter... toss in an always desperate need for health care, a social concern of education and the needs of our humanity are far, far greater than any other life we share with (unwillingly??).

What system do we use to have any of these human needs much less our desires? We can certainly surmise if we are unable to find answers to mankind's many problems the 21st may very well be the "21 Last" of our humanity.

[mnaz]

Good questions. Critical ones. I have tremendous respect for what free enterprise can accomplish; it's actually quite awe-inspiring. But it's like we've talked about before-- where is the right BALANCE point between public and private welfare for the overall welfare of society? Even the Mormons-- about as "conservative" as you can get-- had community welfare systems set up, back in the day. It just seems like we're losing our way on these issues, and our squabbling political toadies in charge of public policy are too busy pointing fingers, spewing talking points, hurling partisan insults and making themselves and their megabuck lobbyists rich with our confiscated tax monies.

I really think our basic mentality re: money is warped as well. When surfing around, have you seen all those "So and So's Net Worth will Surprise You!" things that pop up? Last Wed. I read an article on the SW Airlines engine that blew up. Apparently, one of these engines sent shrapnel flying back in 2016, but nothing was done about it. Why? And why, at the end of this article, did its author feel compelled to tell me how SW Airlines STOCK prices were doing? Good lord...

[mnaz]

Well they're gone now, swept out by the City, though the City says it has no more funds to do more sweeping, so maybe they'll keep camping in the margins, dumping waste until they outlast the City, and God Bless America and everything, if we can still rescue it (and I think we will!)

[creativesoul]

I think until the equalizer ( Mother Earth) is done we will have learned to share and care for each other
Hawaii is making new land and getting rid of some old stuff-
I guess we are too
I don’t have any money but I got some good cofee and some friends that kind of love me in spite of myself
They know I think hugging is dangerous and sleepovers are out of the question
Until your house is the only one with a roof
I wish I could offer you another idea-
What if we fired the banks
And let people build on the sand if they want to?
You build on peles belly button you might get reborn-
The water God took that road to the north shore and said” no more”.. no one know the passing song anyway
I asked Sherman how he get 13 brothers and sisters he said” no get tv”

[the mingo]

I would rather
be comfortable than rich
well fed than homeless

no need for extremes

[mnaz]

Exactly. Where can we start finding more balance between extremes? (I hope that's not a hopelessly complex and convoluted question.)

And TV was a magnificent Tool the whole time..
I agree. No get TV. Get your mind.

[mtmynd]

I can't put blame on t.v. because we are a creature that will always "watch"... watch nature around us, watch birds, etc... we watch art in the frame, and when movies came about, we had to watch moving pictures and here in the 21stC we are committed to watching a little screen (our smart phones). Without screens, where would we be..?

Our first shelters, caves when inside there is a "screen" we look through to the outside... then windows came on scene, and we had a new screen to look out of... the screen is our everything... t.v. or not... the screen is the thing.

[mnaz]

Doreen wrote about this, I think. Yes, plenty of screens,
but TV was a mesmerizer. (Electronically at least), the Internet Screen was the first one you could talk back to and have a slight chance of being heard. (No, I mean seen..)