busyThis poem came from the March 5, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Shirley Barrette. Yes, it's true that empty houses greatly outnumber homeless people.Homeless, Tenantless
All homes are houses
but not all houses are homes.
There are over five empty houses
for each person who lacks a place to live.
America is becoming a nation
of homeless people and tenantless houses.
They look through the windows at each other,
yearning for what they are told they cannot have.
It is considered more important to protect
the wealth of the few than the well-being of the many.
Every man for himself, chant the headlines,
while the Devil takes the hindmost one by one by one.
Re: Well...
March 11 2013, 01:13:15 UTC 8 years ago
1) Single-payer health care plan covering everyone, modeled after the best parts of ... say, the top ten rated countries in terms of current health care systems.
2) Short term: Cap interest rates on student loans. Make all of them subject to the same rules as other loans, so they can be dispensed in case of bankruptcy or handicapped status. Payments are only owed when the graduate has a job, and are held to a percentage that allows the person enough of their paycheck left to actually live on.
Long term: Society is obligated to provide free however much of a setup it demands for its newly adult citizens. Therefore, if college is expected, it must be available free to students and funded by taxes, just as lower school is. Ideally, I'd put the tax squarely on big business, since they're the ones wanting higher-trained workers; let them pay for it. Or they can shut the fuck up about college degrees and pay for their own worker training via trade schools.
Re: Well...
March 11 2013, 01:31:14 UTC 8 years ago