Compassion on life support in this country (forum)?

[Idog1976]

I found myself utterly shocked by some of the incredibly callous things said in this forum about the people who are suffering under the current recession. Some even said those that don't find work ought to die in the streets. Others said no bank CEO's ought to be blamed for the financial market melt down because they were responsible for all the good times as well. I just want to share with you the fact that there are very real people who are hurting from this crisis caused by the financial meltdown. In addition to the literally MILLIONS of homeless CHILDREN there are far too few jobs for far too many unemployed. So there aren't "always jobs available" that simply isn't true. I feel there are a number of folks on this board that could use some compassion when it comes to their fellow americans being out of work and suffering some of them even homeless.

I sincerely hope no one on this forum ever has to suffer the humiliation and pain of explaining to their child why they are homeless especially if they believe only they are to blame and not those who were in power and could have prevented the crisis if it weren't so darn profitable. Just remember a bad run of luck and it could be you or someone you love. Compassion or at least the capacity for it is one of the best parts of what makes us human.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/job-openings-down-50-from-the-peak-in-2007-2009-09-09

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of open U.S. jobs fell 50% over the past two years to a seasonally adjusted 2.4 million in July, the lowest in the brief history of the data, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The job-opening rate fell to a record-low 1.8% in July.
Job openings track the demand for labor, the flipside of the unemployment rate, which measures the supply of labor. Read the full government report.

In July, there were 6.05 unemployed people for every job opening, according to the most recent data on labor turnover. In December 2007, when the recession began, there were 1.72 unemployed people for every job opening.
The number of workers hired in July was little changed at 4.06 million, while the number of workers separated from their jobs was little changed at 4.29 million. The hires rate rose to 3.1%, while the separations rate remained at a series-low 3.3%.
In the past 12 months, hires have fallen 13.9%, while separations are down 12.8%.
Layoffs were little changed in July at 2.3 million, while 1.7 million people quit their job. Layoffs have increased 15% in the past year, while quits are down 32%.
In the 12 months ending in July, hires totaled 51.3 million, and separations totaled 56.6 million, with a net job loss of 5.3 million.
Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch

 

[bluefrog]

I haven't read those specific comments but I recall one poster saying he had no sympathy for people without health insurance who got sick because they were irresponsible.

I was laid off a few months ago. I live in eastern North Carolina and unemployment has been over 10% for a while here. Illegal immigrants are returning home. That's how bad it is!

I had no luck finding work so now I'm getting my masters. It's tough out there and I've got a little one on the way. In a different set of circumstances I could have been homeless. I hope things turn around soon.

 

[Idog1976]

I haven't read those specific comments but I recall one poster saying he had no sympathy for people without health insurance who got sick because they were irresponsible.

I was laid off a few months ago. I live in eastern North Carolina and unemployment has been over 10% for a while here. Illegal immigrants are returning home. That's how bad it is!

I had no luck finding work so now I'm getting my masters. It's tough out there and I've got a little one on the way. In a different set of circumstances I could have been homeless. I hope things turn around soon.

Yep Dante said it:

The answer is let them die on the streets. These people do not deserve a place to live. They are worthless piles of shit who fail at life.

I'm sorry to hear you are having problems right now. I have a 10 month old son myself. I'm lucky to have employment, health care, a side business and a wife who is able to do some work from home. I feel very fortunate. I've realized that rather then spending so much time trying to convince the hard hearted about some of these things, I just need to do some volunteer work for the homeless. Best of luck to you Bluefrog!

 

[Pontius]

Thanks Idog. I've never met my father and my mother died when I was 11, which is about the worst point. She taught me love because she was a hippie; I learned nothing from a dad except for that she was mainly the reason he was gone...

Stories growing up in a househould with multiple adopted, real children...

Perspective is the antidote. Too bad too few know the battles of true socialism/capitalism...

 

[Idog1976]

You're welcome man. What disturbs me is the direction we have moved in this country to thinking only about ourselves. It's absolutely gotten worse, much worse, in my lifetime. Add to that both parties resorting to nasty rhetoric and character assassination rather then honest debate of the facts and things look pretty grim. I think most people want to help people we just have different ways of wanting to do it: Private Charties vs. Social safety net government programs. The sad thing is politicians on both sides of the aisle have hijacked that debate and turned it into an ugly hate fest to meet their agenda (more corporate profits from public dollars or more populist votes for foolish programs). Partisanship in this country has reached a fever pitch with both sides accusing the other of fascism and how any and all means must be used to stop it. This can only lead to real totalitarianism where ends justifies the means is the only platform.

In this time we really need to come together as Americans and look at the facts honestly and hone our compassion. China isn't going to do us any favors, neither will the middle east or even Europe. We have to start taking care of our own and to do that we need to start debating issues in a civil manner. Without that I fear the country will only descend deeper into madness, demagoguery and eventually an anti-democratic system of governence.