First, I will say that I am NOT a republican, nor a neocon nor conservative of any kind. I'm not totally sure if you were joking, obamanation (I think not), but this problem is not solely the neocons fault. Yes, they don't help the problem, but in a healthy economy, there will be fewer bums. For better or for worse, the neocons believe that they will make a better economy.
Imagine yourself a bum and resorting to asking people for food or money and imagine how humbling that would be to you, and then maybe you wont be so quick to judge them. You dont know if they are bums because they are lazy or because they went through certain things in their life that would have destroyed most people. We used to have this homeless guy come into our restaurant at night everyday when I was the nightshift cook and ask for free food and I used to cook him a chicken fried steaks with the works. As we got to know him we found out he was an assassin for the army during the vietnam war. He had a mental record of every person he had to take out(not a pleasant memory when trying to sleep every night) and he was suffering from the effects of agent orange. Now if you saw him on the streets you would never know that he was a vietnam war vet and this is my exact point. Get to know them before you pass judgement. Jumpboy I 100% agree with you that its the neocons fault and when I say neocons im talking about neocons on both sides of the fence (republican and democrat)
Actually, I NEVER said the bum problem was the neocons fault, and I never will. It is a problem inherent to civilization. I said they did little to alleviate, but then again, is Obama going to do anything about the people for which almost nothing can be done? I don't have much personal experience with bums.
It's a judgement call. There's certainly cases of professional panhandlers abusing charity. Even the soup kitchens get abused by day labrorers that make $100-$150 a day. They are broke all week because they live it up in the bars over the weekend. People confuse bums with homeless, derilects, drifters, wineos, and drug addicts. A lot of people are out on the street because they simply can't afford to pay rent. High taxes cause the bum problem. I've spent time in countries like Spain and Italy where wine is cheap -- $1 a liter -- and you rarely see a bum. In Germany which has a larger safety net than the US, the streets are full of bums.
What an absurd statement! You're not very old, are you? And probably not American. Will Mr. Obama cure the problem by taking my hard-earned money and giving it to the bums? In Nashville where my brother lives, the bums have basically taken over downtown and their state-of-the-art library is full of drug-addicted bums who sleep and look at internet porn all day. About a year ago one of them threw a handful of change at my Dad - big mistake! My Dad put him in a headlock and held him until the cops got there and arrested him for simple assault. The problem there is so bad that the police have basically told citizens to use "street justice" and protect themselves however they see fit. The last time I was there, the bums would verbally abuse you for responding to them or ignoring them. Either way, you're going to get an earful.
You need to take the 'bum' out of the equation. Sounds like the people that you are describing are panhandlers, drug addicts and mental cases.
Whether you are willing to blame Bush for bums or not, Obama has it covered, as usual. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/obama.taxes/?iref=mpstoryview Now those rich Americans can't just walk by and ignore the bums. They are going to put some money in those cups whether they want to or not!
I usually just ask them for money. Hey buddy got a quarter or give me a dollar now!!! I am a beach bum so easy on the bums they hold a part in society although a funny one. Who else would we have to stare at when walking on the street? Who else could make our day by talking to a light pole? Bums can make life funny sometimes.
Obama has what covered as usual? Printing money isn't a solution. In tthe long run, it will have the average joe living in a cardboard box.