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Working it Out
My own suspicions about what causes long term poverty just got a boost:
Alone on a dark gritty street, Adam Shepard searched for a homeless shelter. He had a gym bag, $25, and little else. A former college athlete with a bachelor's degree, Mr. Shepard had left a comfortable life with supportive parents in Raleigh, N.C. Now he was an outsider on the wrong side of the tracks in Charleston, S.C.
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During his first 70 days in Charleston, Shepard lived in a shelter and received food stamps. He also made new friends, finding work as a day laborer, which led to a steady job with a moving company.Ten months into the experiment, he decided to quit after learning of an illness in his family. But by then he had moved into an apartment, bought a pickup truck, and had saved close to $5,000.
A few on the left side of the peanut gallery may sneer about sex and skin color, which to me is a demonstration of just how fast goalposts can be moved when a score would threaten to upset someone's most deeply held misconceptions.
Via Instapundit.
That is a story to celebrate! Scows what you can really do if you have the determination.
Posted by: Pat on February 14, 2008 06:20 PMPat: Actually, it's a bit saddening, because it's yet another piece of evidence that the filthy bum on the street corner begging for change is there because he wants to be there. He could make a decent life for himself any time he wants, but it's easier to just slide along. People give you food and shelter for free, as much as you want and for as long as you like. The only problem is that they won't let you crack down in the shelter, but if you're all lit up then you don't care that you're lying in a ditch.
Posted by: DensityDuck on February 15, 2008 12:55 PMActually, it's a *bit* more nuanced than that. While there are certainly bums on the street because they want to be there, there are also bums on the street because they think they're Napoleon. Or a Chrysler Imperial. Or Tinkerbell.
Of course, this changes the focus of the problem. I wonder just what our mental health services would look like if the people whining about how it's "impossible to get ahead in America" spent their energy instead on trying to improve said services.
Unfortunately his does nothing to advance the sociali-- rrmm... communi-- rrrr... progressive agenda of the more clever ones. It won't even make sense to the MSM reporters and book authors making a buck from telling us how awful it all is.
Posted by: Scott on February 15, 2008 01:44 PMThe comments on Fark took almost 1.2 seconds to start in on the try that if you're not a white well-off type.
That aside, Scott hits a good point. At the root of it, there are probably three type of people who stay homeless: Someone who wants to, the addicted, or someone who's got mental problems. #1 and #2 I have no issue with - they've managed to make it there via their own free will. If they want help, it exists. The third is more problematic. Institutionalize them? It has it's merits and is actually one of the social programs I'm willing to pay for. Hell - maybe they could even have some sort of an arrangement whereby they live in the institution but actually hold useful jobs (assuming they can...).
Posted by: ron on February 15, 2008 02:01 PMron and scott: I think that we're coming at the same idea. To wit: Homelessness is a problem that you choose to have, and it's possible to choose to NOT have it. It's not as though there's some mysterious Poverty Force that just MAKES people be poor even if they work hard.
Posted by: DensityDuck on February 15, 2008 03:19 PM