Poor America
7.26
Ratings: 7.26/10 from 77 users.
It's an election year in the richest country in the world, but tent cities for the homeless are springing up around the nation. Panorama finds out what it means to be poor in America.
With one and a half million American children now homeless, reporter Hilary Andersson meets the school pupils who go hungry in the richest country on Earth.
From those living in the storm drains under Las Vegas to the tent cities now springing up around the United States, Panorama finds out how the poor are surviving in America and asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.
Capitalism is a system designed to fail...where the wealthy CAPITALIZE on the poor and the working class and with this current disaster of a government we have...it is worse than ever and about to get far worse than most of you realize!
Wanta bet. Even a person with a half a brain knows what the future holds for the elderly, the disabled, the sick, the underpaid and overworked. NOTHING GOOD! The government rules change but not in any way that helps real people struggling to survive! Shame on the USA!
This was so sad how these people were treated
How could the USA be the richest country in the world when it owes money? How could the citizens be the richest when they too owe money? When you're poor it means you have very little to no money. When you actually owe money you are beyond poor you are a financial slave. Therefore the USA is by far the poorest country in the world hands down and it's citizens are living in nothing more than modern day slavery. The average farmer anywhere in the world is filthy rich compared to most Americans, they own their own land and they don't owe any money. The Jews who own and run the USA will make virtually all Americans slaves just give them a little more time to do it.....David
FYI the united states is not the richest country in the world, we are #9.
I am sorry I read the comment section. For those of you from other countries Australia and Canada, they are not perfect as well. Not all Americans are lazy, fat, or do not understand our political system. When there are 5 lobbyist for each congressman there is not much the average citizen can do about things. The rich control the government. And also check your facts, America is not the biggest consumer, China is. I am sorry to read all the hate spewed in the comment section. For those of you who had nasty things to say, grow up.
THey still didn't say whos the director and actors are, how are I soppose to cite this thing
The negative income tax - which provides money directly to the poor -- and cuts out the middleman (those dozens of anti-poverty programs which are so laden with rules and fraught with financial abuse and mismanagement) answers the question. It would cost taxpayers so much less and it would help the poor so much more.
A shame for USA to help far away countries,foreigners , sometime enemies too ( jihadists,Talibans...) and not it's own citizens !!!!!!!!!!! Shame ,only a shame
The wheel of fortune continues to turn - just slowly. These sad pictures are like the first darkening clouds before a storm. This is the future. Like the tent-dwellers who lost their jobs and had no savings aside, the USA, has partied to the last minute and after all parties, there is a big cleanup to be done. Worse, the bill needs to be paid.
But, by who?
Lady Liberty works like a trojan horse that diverted the promise of America from self-contained pioneer communities to a land where selfishness and thirst for profit and fame distorted Truth.
Google Lady Liberty and realize what it really stands for. Instead of Trust in God and the resolve to fulfill his Will on Earth, liberty has made people embrace willful desires of the flesh instead. Thus sickness due to gluttony such as diabetes and heart ailments are common. Sex and violence abound, which are symptoms of a spoiled generation blindly removing the issue of mortality and short sighted momentary satisfaction.
Just where do people really think Lady Liberty would lead them?
Using the French Revolution as example, she made selfish desires prevail and completely removed God from the picture. Then the people who demanded equality by the power of guillotine, found unity in the military pursuit of Napoleon who mistake material enrichment by war and pillage for change and progress. Instead of celebrating Life, democracy was overruled by death and destruction.
When you're poor it doesn't matter your education, trade skills, job skills, or any other type of skill one may have acquired during ones stay in this state of existence, the color of your skin, or what you had for breakfast the other day. No one cares, and nobody helps the poor with their plight.
It's all about exploiting the poor, even the ones who've worked hard their whole lives, who have never been on any type of welfare, whom continue shoulder their burdens on their own. I've lived my whole life in this state, I would know.
If you can't come up with and alternative lifestyle you won't fall into the camp that have the flat screen TVs, computers, or any other type of luxury items, you will be out on the street, or under them. Oh, but they will throw it out there that some of the poor have such items, as if they handed them away for free!
Quite a lot of these people had babies BEFORE they got poor
Reliable, effective contraception has existed since 1964. The 1% agreed to
support the culture wars of the religious right in exchange for their vote into power. Thus we have experienced the decline of effective reproduction education in public schools and increasing pressure on Planned Parenthood clinics. Contraception should be free and freely available for all human beings, especially in poor communities. Overpopulation of the human species now threatens all life on planet Earth.
Yeah, almost as much as contrived wars, 700 military bases in 130 nations, the blood-sucking FED RES and it's "stooges" at the IRS, Our very own "gubmint" using our tax dollars to help corporations move an estimated 10,500,000 jobs out of the country. But, take heart......word's going 'round that the blow-flies in D.C. are allowing such poison into our "food" that we'll soon be losing ground as far as population is concerned. Agenda 21 anyone?
"obama promised change, where is it?" jesus. i blame americans
themselves for developing a culture where they don't even understand
their own government or simple physical realities of life. they want
politicians and corporations to take care of the people like
children (so they can remain in a childlike state and not take any
responsibility themselves) and not simply be administrators representing
the will of the
people, as they are supposed to be in a democracy. and they have no clue
as to the relationship of resources to quality of life. at election
time you always hear about job creation as the babies keep getting made
and people from other countries come in to do jobs americans are to
stuck up to do. how can such backwards math be so widely excepted as
reasonable? we should be making babies to fill jobs not the other way
around. but that's no surprise since americans think all they have comes
from hardwork and not the fact that they stole ALL the resources that
made the country powerful. as if sweat could be traded at the bank for
currency. ridiculous. those looted resources are running out and
increasingly shared with new power in countries like china and india.
and of course those people learned everything they know about being
clueless from america. and the people are all flabbergasted.
While there is more than enough blame to go around. The sad truth is that it will get worse when the economy comes to a total crash.
detroit stand up !!! i'll going to america 2015
This is the workings of corporatism threw the demopublic party.
USA pop. is 311 million. The homeless pop. is around 750 thousand, total. The claim that 1.5 million children are homeless in the USA is absurd.
Still according to CIA`s website the US have 15% under the poverty line.
The homeless population is between 3 and 4.5 million people. 750 thousand is only the estimated number actively seeking services tonight. Please do not confuse the two. If you would like to discuss this more, please contact me. I have been working in this issue for only 2 years but I can definitely vouch for the situations these families are in, in my area. It is sad and unfair.
This IS Obama's vision for our country!!!!!
Dont be an i*iot its no like obama flicked a magic switch and turned on poverty, US has been in decline for a long time.
It's not Obama or any other politician-marionette. It's who stands behind them, pulling the strings.
I agree with you the real power is not with the politicians.
it seems that someone is trying to hide this video why??
Because they want 4 more years of the same thing
Growing up in the US I have seen people turn blue at the mere mention of the S- word. But when I go and research socialist countries, I find that financially, they are doing far better than the US. Canada, Norway, Austraila. They all have high standards of living, some massive collective savings systems that are not threatened at all by current economic problems, healthcare, housing... Im just learning that non socialist countries dont seem to be having the same finacial problems we do. They have different systems to, not all the same, with different political structures. They even have free markets and people can own a bussiness themselves, so its not like the government owns everything, just certain critical and basic needs services. Also the people seem happy, not oppressed, are not being aressted in the middle of the night, have a lot of social mobilty (you can actually get ahead financially) they have a right to free speech, all the things that socialism, as I have been taught all my life to be well, isnt.
I could be missing something, I would love to hear from those of you who live a socialist (or partly socialist) country. What is it like to live that way? Are you free? Can you grow personaly and financialy? can you speak your minds? Do you live in poverty? How do I immigrate?
I think islam is the solution and will be the solution to all man kind, it is the only religion was mention to be the religion of God, unfortunetly those who assiciated God with jesus and lie that He is God son will be punish from here and after this world and this, is the sign also that, in islam interest is prohebited and those who will use it will be punish ,if you take interest or get interest is like you are fighting with God now this a simple example that America and all its people will be ruin for getting or using interest will be ruin you dont need to blame Obama before Obama, was bush you wont fight islam, you burn holly quran without getting the wrath of Allah to all nations, this is only a starting, Allah can give and take and this is unjustice of standing with jews towards palastine.american people are very nice human
unfortunetly devil from the pro-jews will bring all the calamity on earth.
I invite you to be Muslims the true religion Of Allah.
you have seein what represent your church pedophiliies from so call men of God are all rapes under the cross weak up people islam is your solution
they may dislike islam is because it tell them the truth. those who will associated God with jesus will go to hell and hell start from here.
jesus is a messenger of al mighty Allah
To whom much is given much is required.Stop watching TV and become part of the solution!!!
The issues in this documentary speak also of another problem which is that of having no community. Where are their friends? Their families? Their churches? Neighbors? People who may not have much but share what they have with each other?
Where is everyone? Apathy.
"Become the change you seek in the world" -Ghandi
Churches "get tired" of seeing the same people. I think they may not fully understand how big poverty and homelessness is. It's often easy to discuss it from your middle-class neighborhood, but in practice, very few people want to "hands dirty".
at least they still have their marlboro cigs
The trillion dollar bailout that was given to bankers could have bought each of our million and a half homeless children a home free and clear AND reversed all unemployment.
$1,000,000,000,000 / 1,500,000 kids = $666,666 per child
Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind.
The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II.
But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America. Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period.
The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our biggest export is today?
Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children?
Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America does into more debt and every single month America gets poorer.
So what happens when the debt bubble pops?
The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them.
For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.
The following are 19 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind....
#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.
#2 Dell Inc., one of America’s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.
#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States? Zero.
#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
#6 As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.
#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
#17 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States.
#18 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
#19 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.
So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it?
How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands?
How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?
How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide?
The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.
If you disagree with this article, I have a direct challenge for you. If anyone can explain how a de-industrialized America has any kind of viable economic future, please do so below in the comments section.
America is in deep, deep trouble folks. It is time to wake up.
You too Canada.
Thank you. Very good information, some of which I already knew but the stats were missing from the information I had. Thank you for posting it.
im sorry to burst your bubble but england was where industrialisation happened.
I am from Lithuania, a country that is much poorer than USA after decades of socialism.
I have to say that the people that are shown here as "poor" in America would be considered "middle class" in my country. 11 000 dollars per year salary is almost double the average salary in my country. The kids shown in this documentary have modern games, etc. for instance.
I could not personally understand why not having money for a haircut is a problem, you can do haircut yourself. Many mothers cut their children hair themselves in my country instead of going to hairdressers, and they are not necessarily poor (by our standarts).
The point is that many people are unable to correctly spend money in USA. Many use credit cards instead of waiting a month and later saving on interest for instance. They spend money on things because of peer pressure rather than saving on what they really need.
Many poor Americans earn more than middle class Lithuanians. A poor Lithuanian lives like a middle class Chinese. And a poor Chinese lives like a middle class person from Sub-Saharran Africa. There may be even more steps in this in fact, some 6 or 7, but the general idea is that there is an awful big financial distance from somebody poor in America from someone poor in China, let alone someone starving in the Sahel countries.
This distance I described here is much bigger than that between the 1% and 99% of the Americans. Because the social distance between somebody who has food, clothes, access to PC, basic entertainment, etc., and somebody who dies of starvation, is much larger than the social distance between somebody who earns a sum with 5 zeros a year and somebody who earns a sum with 10 zeros. Several billions, likely over half of world's population would *want* to live like poor Americans. That's why all the illegal migration to the USA goes on.
I agree with your comments, and like you said at the end of your comments, "This is why all the illegals migrate to America."
The catch is that social comparisons are always "local".
Even in traditionally "poor" countries, the advent of TV and later the Internet, has raised expectations *ALL* over the world.
The simple truth is that automation has doomed the bottom dwellers. There is little need for labour, unless it is very highly skilled and even then, where once thousands were required, they are replaced by a handful of specialists to run the automated systems.
BUT, in the final analysis, Reost, you make a good point.
UNfortunately though, there is no real need for the USA to bother about manufacturing, there is already an oversupply of every material thing out there.......
The trick is - how to pay for it?
THAT is the coming storm.
Land of the free, folks! Free to scavenge and suffer.
@ 1humannotrighteous: Do you really think the society in the States is separate from us here in Canada? Separate from the issues in China, or South Africa? We have before us a global society, and the issues facing the States are the same that face the world. We are all in the same boat, and it's sinking pretty fast. The issues are systemic and built to the vary fabric of the socioeconomic system we're so "proud" of. Neo-Liberalism and Capitalism have failed. Life is a gift, not earned. People are born to be loving. All other behaviours are learned.
And you wish to replace capitalism with what? Tell me of a system that has never had the poor. And tell me of a system you propose that will not have poor. Don't go all starry eyed either.
Evening Lak :)
read the differences in democratic ideas by reading Aristotle's then Madison's versions in regards to wealth/poverty/the landowners/the landless.etc..
Think my kids were like cats when they were tiny, they don't love anyone in particular. They like familiarity and milk and somewhere warm and soft to sleep and they'll take as much of that as you can give. It's us that love the newborns! Little horrors. :)
There is something fundamentally wrong with the U.S. It is a cancerous country that will gradually consume itself. With over 40 million people under the poverty line, violent civil unrest is imminent. Should be interesting to watch from the comfort of my home in Australia where we believe in helping others via adequate social services and universal healthcare. I find it amusing that some americans still defend the propaganda that has been force fed to them by corrupt politicians for decades.
consume themselves? I think more likely they will ship even more of their crappy enonomy and problems onto us Aussies, hoping we will help solve even more of their problems as we have been doing for a while. Look how much American culture has wormed its way into our country. We have been poisoned by American language, fat diet and some Aussies are blind enough to even celebrate THEIR holidays e.g. halloween. If America fails we will cop it too. Shame Gillard doesnt just pull our troops out, ban the Americans from coming here and say, "Toughen up princess's. Time to get off your lazy asses and solve your own problems."
Say on, brother because SURELY you're right!
richest country? right
To Mark Fiori....I think you're mis-reading issues here a-bit, first of all.......................... "I AM CANADIAN" ........AND PROUD OF IT!
Worked for 40 years, PAID TAXES like every good Canadian has always done, paid into the company pension plan and now finally retired.
Period.
Thank-you.
Now I'm inviting anyone here that would like to challenge me AS A PROUD CANUCK? Any yank would do! Go ahead...make my day...punk!
Y'all 'mericans....don't you see what is happening to you, and your country? Do y'all not realize WHY and HOW you got to where y'all are at?
Some of you blame yours so-called presidents...GIVE ME A F*****G BREAK!
Your presidents today are nothing but pawns, icons and nothing a puppet! You're gonna blame everyone of your so-called clowns no matter who you put into your government. That's what your society teaches you to believe!
I suppose the next thing you're all gonna say that, ".....you see, we told ya so, it was always a black man that took down america....."
Ma-an....what`s with you yanks...are you all on drugs? Ignorant, stupid or what?
Hear this.....It's the gang of Secret Societies and their idealism of "NEW WORLD ORDER" that have been around for centuries that controls your country!
Here`s some of the most prevalent secret societies that are doing you in:
(1) The Illuminati
(2) The Freemasons
(3) Bilderberg Group
(4) Skull and Bones
(5) Brotherhood
(6) Council on Foreign Relations
(7) Trilateral Commission
(8) Roundtable Group
(9) Power Elite
(10) Young Presidents Organization
....and that's just to name a few!
YOUR RICH WILL STAY RICH, YOUR RICH WILL KEEP YOU POOR, YOUR RICH WILL MAKE YOU SICK THROUGH COMPANIES LIKE `MONSANTO` WHO CONTROL YOUR FOOD SUPPLIES AND PRODUCTION.
Just admit the truth....Your country is greedy and jealous. Your country wants to control the world, your country has poisoned the world....and your Federal Reserve boss Bernanke is still PRINTING MONEY.....WTF?
Anyway, if you didn`t know as most americans don`t anyway, prepare yourselves....YOU ARE IN DEEP WET S**T
Good-luck to y'all......eh!
You basically are self righteous... I am canadian living in america and soon you will be too... before we collapse we will stagger on everyone else so the fall isn't so far. thus is the american way. you should be proactive as other countries trying to prevent our inevitable decay of all society.
I agree with you(even though i did not read the rest) but you have to add this :it will be done to you what you are doing to others.I guess you know what doing to others mean.I would say that many of those people did not think or care about what done to others means.
I was extremely disappointed to see so much of the blame for this poverty put on Obama - when he inherited a tremendous mess from Bush, has tried hard to bring about change, and has been fought at every turn by the damn republicans ! Get it right reporters ! Otherwise YOU are part of the problem !
he also inherited bush's traits of over spending and lying you fool. and what does it matter if he "tried" when his atempts clearly makes a mess of this country?
This woman does not take into account wage stagnation over the years, the extreme tax cuts for the very wealthy. A Republican talks about a meritocracy, how if you work hard etc......doesn't she realize many Americans are working harder than ever while their CEOs are making thousands of times more than the average worker? Many of these policies started back when - companies and wealthy individuals are paying less taxes than they e3ver have. When they were paying higher taxes in the 60's a nuclear family could work one job, go to college, buy a house. She seems to blame Obama when it's the Republicans who have been most obstructive on jobs, wage creation, health care, education, everything really. Did she take into account Bush's trillions going for two wars, one of which was based on unfounded information on WMD, and his obscene tax cuts for the very welathy, his prescription drug benefit which was a benefit for drug companies, none of which was paid, none of whichmade them scream we have to makew cuts to pay for them? Everything Obama has done has been to try to stimulate the economy, while having to deal with a nutty Tea Party Republican-controlled House. Bush left a big mess and walked away, saying "What, me worry?" never having to assume accountability. As far as the Health Care Act, it doesn't go far enough but just even prohibiting health insurance companies for rejecting people with preexisting conditions (and with some of these companies, pregancy is considered to be so) is a big change. I had a friend who, while working very hard, developed heart disease and could not get health care at any price and died alone in a hotel rooms, still working to try to pay those health care bills. That's a true story. But Republicans would have you believe that you're better off beholden to these health insurance companies who keep raising their premiums insanely high. So either this woman is not cognizant of realities in this country or she just hates Obama. The economy is starting to turn around, we still have a long ways to go, but if we had had a Republican president who just wanted to give more tax breaks to the wealthy, cut regulations for corporations that were already massively deregulated under Bush, and make huge cuts to services, we would have had a major depression. Does this woman work for Rupert Murdoch?
Another ignorant democrat I see. Politicians are to blame. Not just the republicans or the democrats. and know this. Obama is the president who signed the NDAA into law when he clearly said he wouldn't. hypocritical of the president who "tried" to bring this country back into his feet huh?
We just had 2 homeless people shot in their sleeping bags while they where sleeping outside.The good news is,they get to stay in a nice warm hospital.
Till they get well.If we do not help each other,we are part of the problem.
That host was obsessed with blaming Obama.
Make sure people have the skills to help themselves ? What about out of work tradesmen ? Skilled laborers ? That fella living in the sewers in las vegas ? The skill is there, the will to work is also there. Major corporations however send a good deal of production to another country and cut back on staffing to save a buck so these people cant even find a part time job. America is a consumer nation and its heavy addiction to cheap imports and labor export is the downfall. The banks and corporations control America and they only care about their profit margins. The presidents and Prime ministers (speaking of both the US and Canada) of the past have mostly been scapegoats and victims in their futile attempts to reign in the stupidity.
Private healthcare is fine if the people can pay the bills or donate time and money to needy healthcare projects. But its not going to happen unless the corporates are slung over someones knee and beaten into submission. Unchecked capitalism doesn't work !
My two bits.
life sucks
......take a look at this one.....I had to go to the dentist the other day. Of course, I use what we have the services here in Beautiful British Columbia is called, `Pacific Blue Cross` which covers my Health and Dental needs.
Now before criticism keeps in on this sight, just to have you know....I WORKED FOR 39 YEARS FOR THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN VANCOUVER PAYING TAXES ALL THE WAY THROUGH AS A GOOD LITTLE CANADIAN CITIZEN LIKE THE REST OF US HERE IN CANADA DO.....so I retired, I have Extended Group Medical and Dental Plan....THAT I PAY FOR....HAAAALLLLOOOO....IT`S NOT FREE !!!!!!!!!
Anyway, being on a single plan, retired, I`m paying $21.80 per month for my Dental Plan. So, back to the dentist, after doing cleaning, a root canal, 4 cavities filled, a damaged old molar removed, 2 bi-cuspids rebuilt and even cosmetically porcelain filled the tops of my front teeth.....total cost to me = $250.
The best about this, is that here in CANADA we know how to establish Health and Dental Plans, why because we invented the system. HAPPY HAPPY.
Can you imagine if I was just on the other side in Bellingham Washington.....and I had to pay up the same amount of dental work!
I`d either have to take a mortgage, borrow cash from broke blokes, steal, or just go around lookin`like a louisiana redneck couch surfin` behind an ole truck!
Ma-an am I ever glad I`m CANADIAN....cya...gone skiing to Grouse Mountain for the day ;))
you already paid more. You just paid ahead of time. All your are claiming is "the government forced me to save money so that when i needed my dental work i only had to pay 250 bucks."
I am on HSA, meaning I control my own healthcare, and it is all cost to me (except taxes). My employeer, which normally pays for my insurance, pays my HSA account instead. I get over 1000 a month into my HSA more medical. That is right, I get that much per month. So give me 39 years, that would give me around 500k + interest to pay for that 250 dollar visit. I think i'll keep my half million for medical.
That is such a brilliant plan. Now all you have to do to make sure it works out like a Disney tale is DO NOT GET SICK IN THE NEXT 39 YEARS. This is very important. If you do get very sick, you could easily drain that account but still be left scrambling for loans to pay for the rest of the care. While sick you could lose your job, stop having payments made to your HSA, and be forced to mortage your house. Then you could join the others that sang the same tune until it happened to them and now they're homeless, pissing and moaning that the system they called others fools for not believing in, failed them so miserably. For the record, I don't pay ahead of time, I pay so that OTHERS THAT DON'T HAVE MONEY, get help now. Until so many Americans stop being so f*cking self centered, nothing will get better down there.
Where did our friend John go to? I think we answered his question quite well.
.....yaaa we-eelll....you know how yanks are....they blow doors down, barge into countries and peoples lives, politics and religion...inflate their heads bigger than humpty-phreekin-dumpty....bark up every-bodies trees....make a seen to be seen....try to justify their "perfect society". Ignore 'em.....nothin' but show-offs....and it's not like the rest of the world doesn't know these condescending and dysfunctional traits....Y-AA-WW-NNNNNN.
**** I LOVE CANADA :0)
When I was growing up in the 1960's I thought I would like to be American and live in Arizona or California.Then I grew up and realized that I was stting on the motherload.I can go down there in 3 years when I retire.
I have a brain disease and my care would cost a house but it's all taken care of.My father had brain tumors and he spent 10 years in Hospitals and had several neurosurgeries and a million in care.All taken care of.
Hug your Canadian flag and the Oil fields of Alberta with 100 years of oil reserve.God bless SOCIALISM !!
Thank-you....I'm glad to see that you are very well taken care of :))
we are taken care of quite well....u should come north of the border but have to help ur fellow man and pay taxes like a nation should....were together as one not every one for themself no wonder u have so much crime
woooo hooooo budddddaaaaaaaaayyyyy.........too hell with Americans....i hate how they think they are better off 2.....fine u want to be a dr or lawyer or anything for that matter go to school and get into thousands of dollars in debt yah we think that’s fair (dumb)....or the fact that if u have a child with a disability and u get fired because or recession that kid is now f--k*d cuz no healthcare gimme a break,.....Canada is the greatest nation on earth..
No, Australia is the greatest nation on Earth but seeing as how your bagging the Americans... Ill let you have this one..
I feel dumber now that I have just read that
@Azilda:
There you go Az, @1humannotrighteous: has set you straight, Lady Gaga is a Canuck! I hate being right all the time! lol.
exactly...distant as in 1600...search it up under The National Post, some guy wrote a book about the Canadian geneology and found the connection from the 1600. (i guess he was trying to add some star roots.)
and then....wiki updated her profile saying she has DISTANT French Canadian roots from when her descendants came to North America. An aunt in my family has done our geneology, we came to North America from France...does that make me French from France or French Canadian?
az
Az, that's easy, it makes you both! French from France and French Canadian. How about throwing something more difficult at me? lol
So Gaga is both American and Italian/French Canadian. Yes? But since the distant roots originated in Canada, makes her more of a Canadian, therefore she is no matter how you cut it an original Canuck, that is before the term was coined of course.
Let's say we're all relocated Africans then.
az
edit: and why are your comments not under Recents Comments?
Yes, you could say that.
In the 1600's france owned what is new york, and minuet actually bought the island of manhattan.
Edit, under recent comments? don't know, ask Vlatko.
Wasnt Canada new france in the 1600s? so canadians didnt exist then right.
in the 1600s their was no United states so Americans didnt exist right? or we all were americans
Americans didn't exist in the 1600s, new England(America) was British back then so the people called themselves British not American. And natives Americans didn't call themselves American back then because they were/are their own nation. The word American itself is from Europe, not America.
people needs jobs and a good budgeting system for them to be able to live well and the government should give more job opportunities especially to those who badly needs it.
Here in my country (well I'm living in a third world country) poverty is almost usual to the people -lackness of food, lack of clean drinking water, wishing for a better educational facilities, better hospital facilities- all of this seems so usual to us, I don't know where will poverty ends and I believe that as long as the people and the government keep on blaming each other, poverty will still be a usual scene.
to our govement STOP CORRUPTION even for a while
Refreshing not to see the stereotype African-American woman with 3 children on welfare / foodstamps complaining about her nails not being done...this shows that many more whites are impoverished and this has been longer than what the media leads people top believe....yet those ofus of the 13 % are disproportionately the victims of Economic terrorism for the last 2000 years globally. (400 Years in America) ie...Rosewood ,
Florida......Tulsa , Oklahoma 1921 .....Pierce County , South Carolina. Economic Terrorism wielded against African- Americans ....Chattel slavery ,Racism , Segreation , Black Codes , Jim Crow ,Tuskegee Experiment 1932-1972 and other ongoing Crimes Against humanity..Poor America is justan added ongoing process of tthe "new World Globalization of oppression of most people no matter what their color ....wicked order from causing chaos and conflict of the ignorant, many times innocent masses ..Peace After liberation!!!
This reminds me to add one of our best canadian Thing...Just for Laughs festival or Festival Juste Pour Rire, the largest international comedy festival in the world which originated in the streets of Montreal.
Because us Canadian have humour to an art!
az
I'm sorry I'm sorry! lmao! It will never happen again. That is a promise.
I think, on a good note, that while these people DO live in what we americans would consider poverty, It is not poverty compared to some of the worlds other nations. I'm 17 and i REALLY fear for my future living in the United States. The other kids i go to school with, and the kids from surrounding highschools have NO idea about the economic collapse that WILL come if nothing is changed. They just don't care, because their parents make sure they have everything they need. I guess the best i can do right now is make good grades, and try to claw and bite a living when i get out of school in 2 years, just like everyone else.
Mr. John, do your homework.....
Jim Carrey, Donald Sutherland, Paul Shaffer, Dan Aykroyd, Guy Lombardo, Raymond Massey, Rich Little, Pam Anderson, Wayne & Shuster, "King Kong" Fay Wray, Mary Pickford, Mr. Lorne Green, John Candy, Niel Young, Martin Short, Raymond Burr, Charlie Farquharson, Don Haron, Leslie Nielson, "Captain James T. Kirk", Howie Mandel, Emma Albani, Diana Krall, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Robert Bateman, Emily Carr, Rick Hanson, Terry Fox, Anne Murray, Dave Thomas, Monty Hall, Tommy Chong, Doug Henning, Susan Clark, Ivan Reitman, "SNL" Lorne Michaels, Morly Safer, Wayne Gretzky, Rich Little, Eugene Levy, Margot Kidder, "The Munsters" Yvonne DeCarlo, Alan Thicke, Percy Faith, Paul Anka, Steppenwolf, The Band, The Barenaked Ladies, The Guess Who, B.T.O., Gordon Lightfoot, James Cameron, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Rush, Gino Vanelli, Triumph, Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Platinum Blonde, Oscar Peterson, Cirque de Soleil, Ginger Ale, Ice Skates, Medical Supplies, Gas Masks, UN Peackeeping, Intrepid, GC45 Howitzer, Standard Tome Zones, Insulin, Stem Cells, Healthcare, Uranium, Aluminum, Canadian Bacon, Lumber, Ice Cubes, Codfish, NASA "Space Arm", Snow Shoes, Curling, Asbestos, Toques, Poutine, Ice Wine, Lacrosse, Snowmobiles, Pulp & Paper, Tartan Kilts, Wool Mittens, Cheddar Cheese, Pork, Snow Tires, Game Shows, Herring, Hockey, Maple Syrup, Java, Electric Cooker, Electric Wheelchair, Alkaline Batteries, WWI, WWII, Trivial Pursuit, MANTRACKER, Calvin and Hobbes, Trailer Park Boys, Hockey, .....and let`s not forget Rye Whiskey and phreekin BEER.....in under 142 years!
.....we`re proud, not jealous, so please....don`t yank our chain....eh!
I think you forgot Banting -- he developed insulin, I believe many diabetics are pleased with that.
Fleming invented universal time zones; Bell invented the telephone (although his citizenship is questionable); James Naismith invented basketball; James Gosling developed JAVA....
Not to mention David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, Kids in the Hall, and TIM HORTONS! =D
eh?
Edit: oh! I read that lengthy list again and I see you did mention time zones and insulin -- but you forgot...(do I dare?)....Beiber! oh god! I can't believe I just did that, I feel dirty...
Beiber?? good grief!! You forgot to mention...Stefani Joanne Angelina Gemanotta, better known as "Lady Gaga", descended from Italian and "French Canadian" roots.
Oh come on! The Lady's French Canadian roots are almost as inexistant as the roots of Wolffia.
American celebrity genealogist Chris Child has found that Madonna (née Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) and Lady Gaga (née Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) are linked by a farming couple who immigrated to Quebec from France in the 1600s.
az
Az...Hark, do I see a little invideo from you because there may be some verisimilitude from my raison d'etre assertions.
So what if the Canadian tie originated in the 1600's Still viable, still viable.
I call that very very thin blood line, strawberry Kool-aid is thicker and more real than that.
az
isnt gaga from new york?
....the gagging lady is an American singer and songwriter, yea born there......but.....born to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur. Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots. Yup....there`s another Canuck!
"Italian and more distant french canadian". wouldnt that make her italian or american not canadaian? since the canadian is more distant in her heritage, and her mom(and i think her dad) were born in the USA too? If its based on heritage there is no such thing as canadian or american(unless your of native descent) youd be french or british or some other european.
In the present system, you are Canadian if you were born in Canada or if you have become a legal citizen. You can have all the background there is, you are no real Canuck unless you are a stamped-on Canuck.
As much as Achems wants Lady Gaga to make him feel like she and him are tightly connected...she will remain in his wet dreams as a dried up blood line.
LOLOL
az
Ha, Ha, again I see some "invideo" (that's latin) by the way. lol
Why should i be jealous? I have had more exchanges with you than the Lady has had.
You and i are an excellent distant match, you're blue/black like the night and i am orange/pink like a sunrise.
LOL
az
ahahahah keep keeping it real AZ
now should i take my like off? lol
az
Hubert Reeves astrophysicist popularizer of science, Jacques Kirouac writer, Plume Latraverse counterculture singer, Harmonium (who doesn't know them?) Graeme Ferguson for IMAX and Hubble participation, John Polanyi Nobel Price chemistry
also:
Air conditioned Railway Coach
5 Pin bowling
Anti Gravity suit
Computerized Braille
Basketball
Anyone else?
az
This is a terrible documentary with an obvious agenda. What the hell has Canada given to the world??
Electron Microscope was invented by James Hillier and Arthur Prebus at the University of Toronto.
Bone Marrow Compatibility Test was invented by Barbara Bain
Pablum was invented by Frederick Tisdall, Theodore Drake, and Allan Brown
Wonderbra was invented by Louise Poirie
SONAR was invented by Reginald Fessenden
The Walkie-Talkie was invented by Alfred J. Gross
The 56k modem was invented by Dr. Brent Townshend
and we could go on and on.
For one thing, "BRAINS" which is the most important!!
@John:
Another Canadian first! on the news right now...Astronaut "Chris Hadfield" to (command) the "Worlds International Space Stations" (ISS)
Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
.....so Mr. John....
It's common knowledge that US is ignorant of Canada! VERY OBVIOUS. You know, when I travel abroad, I were a "tiny" pin, a small Canadian Flag Pin on my jacket. You would s**t your pants to see the hospitality that we receive for just being humble "Smart" Canadians! And we don't need to carry a piece.
By the way, at the rate of the domino effect that the greed of US need of superiority and wealth has back-fired, would you not say?
Remember, all your presidents were, are and will always be, only pawns, an image, an icon, that's all. Period.
Most of you yanks don't even know your own system, y'all blame your Democrats, Republicans and what ever party that your own country has, is and will always spoon-gag and fool you into believing that it will change, change what? The boarder-line World economic financial collapse that your US greed has caused!
Are you aware how runs and controls Obama, you and your future today in your country? How about this for a list........
(1) Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who landed a lucrative job at an investment bank despite having no prior experience in business (he made over 15 million dollars in less than 3 years at the firm!). He was the top House recipient of monetary donations from Wall Street, hedge funds, private equity fund, banks, and the overall financial industry during the 2008 election cycle…even as the financial markets nearly collapsed in 2008.....WOW !!!!!!!!!
(2) Senior Advisor to the President, David Axelrod.
(3) Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, he has been President of the New York Federal Reserve (which is by far the most powerful and influential branch of the Fed) during the major economic crisis (2007-present) which has UTTERLY DECIMATED the US economy and brought it to the brink of a depression and now this guy is put in charge of the Treasury....WTF !!!
(4) Secretary of Dept. of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.
(5) IRS Commissioner, Douglas Shulman.
(6) Treasury Adviser for Auto Sector, Steven Rattner.
(7) Economic Adviser to the President, Robert Rubin & Alan Blinder.
(8) Director Of Economic Policy, Jason Furman.
(9) Chairman Of FTC, Jon Leibowitz.
(10) Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Ronald Klain.
(11) Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President, Jared Bernstein.
(12) Economic Adviser to the President, Former Head of Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker.
(13) Foreign Policy Adviser, Lee Feinstein (2009- ).
(14) Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Gary Gensler (2009- ).
(15) Solicitor General of the US, Elena Kagan (2009- ).
(16) Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Ronald Klain (2009- ).
(17) Deputy Secretary of State, Jack Lew (2009- ).
(18) Middle East Policy Adviser, Eric Lynn (2009- ).
(19) Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag (2009- ). He was formerly a member of Clinton’s Whitehouse, adviser to the Bank of Iceland before they crashed and burned, and also adviser to the Jewish Oligarchs in Russia when they started stealing billions !!!
(20) Special Adviser for the Gulf and Southwest Asia to the Secretary of State, Dennis Ross (2009- ).
(21) Foreign Policy Adviser, Mara Rudman (2009- ).
(22) Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro (2009- ).
(23) Head of Middle East desk at the National Security Council, Dan Shapiro (2009- ).
(24) Deputy Secretaries of State, James B. Steinberg (2009- ) and Jacob Lew. Second in rank only to Hillary Clinton in foreign policy matters (meaning if something happens to her one of them will take over). Both of these people are hardcore Zionist Israel Firsters, so it is difficult to imagine how they will remain objective and neutral when it comes to dealing with foreign policy matters in the Middle East....go figure, will your wars ever stop.
(25) Director National Economic Council, Lawrence `Summers` Samuelson (2009- ).
(26) Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Mona Sutphen (2009- .
(27) President’s Council of Advisers on Science/Technology, Eric Lander AND Harold E. Varmus, Co-Chairs.
(28) Obama’s National Finance Chair, Penny Pritzker. During the election cycle, she is a billionaire heiress of the Pritzker family fortune (at least 5-7 separate billionaires in the family), the Pritzkers are major players in the ’squeaky clean’ Chicago political scene.
(29) Economic adviser to Obama-Biden, Robert Reich.
(30) Director, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Nora Volkow, Great-granddaughter of Trotsky (Leon Bronstein), Bolshevik murderer and point man for the International Banking and Jewish over-throw of former Russia.
(31) President of the CFR and Obama’s ambassador at large, Richard Hass.
(32) Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz.
(33) Special Representative for Border Affairs, Alan Bersin.
(34) Chief of Staff for Michelle Obama, Susan Sher.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OBAMA’S LEADING ‘CZARS’.....
Economic Czar, Larry Summers (real name: Samuelson)
Regulatory Czar, Cass Sunstein
Pay Czar, Kenneth Feinberg
Medical Czar, Ezekiel Emanuel (brother of Rahm Emanuel)
Guantanamo/Military Jails Czar, Daniel Fried
Car Czar, Steven Rattner
Border Czar, Alan Bersin
Climate Czar, Todd Stern
Global Warming Czar, Carol Browner
Climate Change Czar, Todd Stern
.........AND IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS........
Richard Holbrooke, Special Envoy to Pakistan/Afghanistan
Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Lawrence Summer, Chairman, National Economic Council
Paul Volcker: Chairman, Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist and Economic Adviser
Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Jason Furman, Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget
Dennis Ross, Obama’s Ambassador-At-Large in the (Entire) Middle East
Jeffrey Zeints, Chief Performance Officer to streamline government and cut costs as well as Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget
Gary Gensler, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Mary Schapiro, Chairwoman, Securities and Exchange Commission
Sheila Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Karen Mills, Administrator, Small Business Administration
Jon Leibowitz, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
Douglas Shulman, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
Neil M. Barofsky, Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“SIGTARP”)
.........THE FEDERAL RESERVE.....(What a joke!)
Benjamin S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
FRB of Boston, Eric S. Rosengren
Timothy F. Geithner: (former) FRB of New York. Former Goldman Sachs executive Stephen Friedman was acting head until May, when questions about his insider Goldman Sachs stock purchases came up and he stepped down.
FRB of Philadelphia, Charles I. Plosser
FRB of Richmond, Jeffrey M. Lacker
FRB of St. Louis, James B. Bullard
FRB of Minneapolis, Gary H. Stern
FRB of Kansas City, Thomas M. Hoenig
FRB of Dallas, Richard W. Fisher
FRB of San Francisco, Janet L. Yellen
FRB of Cleveland, Sandra Pianalto
FRB of Atlanta, Dennis P. Lockhart
FRB of Chicago, Charles L. Evans
...............US SENATE............
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.)
Al Franken (D-Minn.)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.)
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.)
Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.)
Carl Levin (D-Mich.)
Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.)
Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
...............HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES...................
Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.)
John Adler (D-N.J.)
Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)
Howard Berman (D-Calif.)
Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
Stephen Cohen (D-Tenn.)
Susan Davis (D-Calif.)
Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.)
Bob Filner (D-Calif.)
Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)
Alan Grayson (D-Fla.)
Jane Harman (D-Calif.)
Paul Hodes (D-N.H.)
Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)
Steve Kagen (D-Wisc.)
Ron Klein (D-Fla.)
Sander Levin (D-Mich.)
Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)
Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)
Jared Polis (D-Colo.)*
Steve Rothman (D-N.J.)
Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.)
Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)
Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)
Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)
Robert Wexler (D-Fla.)
...........Soo-ooo-ooo let`s see now, in your eyes we know that we`re just a push-over as you see us....but as a PROUD CANADIAN, the rest over the World, which you people are not, also know that it is us that have the BRAINS and BALLS....not the greed of an american.....eh!
BTW, if your country does finally collapse and loses the position of being in the world`s first financial exchange trader, prepare for your mass riots. Prepare for mass public chaos. Prepare for zombies coming after you.
Maybe you should make buddies with the above Illuminati group that runs every one of you in the US.
Don`t try crossing borders cause I`m not wiping your a**......you better run pal.....cause you could end up in REX84 camps.
Good luck to y`all ;)
Mr. John, do your homework.....
Jim Carrey, Donald Sutherland, Paul Shaffer, Dan Aykroyd, Guy Lombardo, Raymond Massey, Rich Little, Pam Anderson, Wayne & Shuster, "King Kong" Fay Wray, Mary Pickford, Mr. Lorne Green, John Candy, Niel Young, Martin Short, Raymond Burr, Charlie Farquharson, Don Haron, Leslie Nielson, "Captain James T. Kirk", Howie Mandel, Emma Albani, Diana Krall, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Robert Bateman, Emily Carr, Rick Hanson, Terry Fox, Anne Murray, Dave Thomas, Monty Hall, Tommy Chong, Doug Henning, Susan Clark, Ivan Reitman, "SNL" Lorne Michaels, Morly Safer, Wayne Gretzky, Rich Little, Eugene Levy, Margot Kidder, "The Munsters" Yvonne DeCarlo, Alan Thicke, Percy Faith, Paul Anka, Steppenwolf, The Band, The Barenaked Ladies, The Guess Who, B.T.O., Gordon Lightfoot, James Cameron, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Rush, Gino Vanelli, Triumph, Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Platinum Blonde, Oscar Peterson, Cirque de Soleil, Ginger Ale, Ice Skates, Medical Supplies, Gas Masks, UN Peackeeping, Intrepid, GC45 Howitzer, Standard Tome Zones, Insulin, Stem Cells, Healthcare, Uranium, Aluminum, Canadian Bacon, Lumber, Ice Cubes, Codfish, NASA "Space Arm", Snow Shoes, Curling, Asbestos, Toques, Poutine, Ice Wine, Lacrosse, Snowmobiles, Pulp & Paper, Tartan Kilts, Wool Mittens, Cheddar Cheese, Pork, Snow Tires, Game Shows, Herring, Hockey, Maple Syrup, Java, Electric Cooker, Electric Wheelchair, Alkaline Batteries, WWI, WWII, Trivial Pursuit, MANTRACKER, Calvin and Hobbes, Trailer Park Boys, Hockey, .....and let`s not forget Rye Whiskey and phreekin BEER.....in under 142 years!
.....we`re proud, not jealous, so please....don`t yank our chain....eh!
That was fantastic!
I have some family in the states who are republicans (I am so ashamed to admit) and it so infuriating to talk to them about anything political/social/moral when I know more about their political system then they do. They just blame Obama.
Hell! They didn't even know Canada BURNT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE!
*shaking my head*
You first need to understand that republicans like to make laws to rule personal morality while democrats like to write laws that rule social morality. Either way you are getting controlled.
lmao...i like how you put this and omg mate you're spot on. worst part is im an american! cheers.... (ok, so im a cultural mess. im an american who sounds yorkshire with a japanese heart and mind)
????? -??????-
(kenkou to choujyu -kage no mozaiku-).
(good health and long life -shadow mosaic)
ignorance like what you show with that stupid comment is the reason people all over the world think americans are stupid. Panorama and the BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation) are British or from "England"
And you are the smart one, hmm.
when compared to him yes. Since i know BBC is British not Canadian. and i know Canada has done a lot for America(especially for music and hollywood two of our big claims to world fame) and the world.
Capitalism does not work in a country full of greedy sc*mbags.Money is the only focus of the 1%.Congressmen should have to live one week homeless. Even then I don't believe they would admit that capitalism isn't working.
@ jujibonn
i agree completely. People need things so fast these days that no one will give time to something to see it through. I don't like how, yet again, they make Ron Paul look bad.......no context.
I am a Democrat, and will vote for Pres. Obama again, because the current Republican party have it all wrong. I am not rich, and hate the fact that the 1% don't give a hoot about the rest of us in the 99% bracket.
But, did you see any skinny kids in this video? (In fact none of the poor looked underfed). I presume they eat junk food, because it is cheaper. Sadly many Americans had their priorities in the wrong order...buying gas guzzling cars, big TV's and stuff they didn't need, mostly on credit. When Wall St. collasped many become unemployed and then their troubles started. Having no health care is a VERY serious issue. I believe it should be the right of every American to have adequate and affordable health care. Nobody should go broke because they get sick. Nobody should die from lack of health care. But Republicans proudly say that health care should be a "privilege" and not a "right".
I think this video is somewhat misleading by blaming Obama for the problems of the poor. He inherited a major amount of trash from the Bush era. Wall St. got its bailout, as did the car manufacturers. Banks continue to dish out excessively large bonuses to their employees.
Remember Katrina - do you think this administration would have handled it as badly as the Bush people did?
If Obama gets re-elected I think we will see things improve, (this is already started to happen, just a little). Unemployment is down to just over 8%, companies are beginning to hire people again. We have to give this time to work. But, if Santorum or Romney get to be president, America will be on a worse downward spiral. I live in Virginia, and right now Republicans are waging war on women...religion is influencing their politics...they want VA back in the 19th century, not the 21st.
So, I don't think we really live in a democratic nation...not yet. I hope Pres. Obama gets the chance to finish what he started.
If the whole system collapses no-one wins.
Hand-outs are not the answer, but neither is leaving people to die.
Europe and North America cannot compete with China and emerging markets where there are no state hand-outs for doing nothing, living on benefits has become a way of life - while in China you DO have to work, DO have to save.
In Western countries DEBT has become a way of life, a way of living, a Right on its own. Why stop now - we are not like Greece yet.
The party is finishing, please the last one turn off the lights.
Yikes! What the brits must think of us after watchng this. Yes, this is happening in the USA...no, this is not all of America. Definatly a targeted look...a narrowed view of what is happening here. Considering the collapse, it is not unexpected to understand the number of disadvantaged would increase and the recovery would be painfully slow. There has been no real evidence the 1% have any intention of changing things. It will be up to the 99% to create a way out...hopefully side stepping the people who never cleaned up their mess.
....the British?
.........ahhhhhhh am I missing something here? Everyone should ask what we think! Daaahhhh!
I'm 58 and finally retired contributed to society for 40 years. You know, in the 70's when I was in my twenties working my a** off, graveyard shifts, swing shift, etc., but I still did it and I clearly remember wanting to have "nice toys"....just as the people in the US who have always bought materialistic things form hot rods to hot yachts...you name it.
Was I envious, you bet your a** I was, driving around in a beat old car that I had to repair weekly, sleeping in a 2-man pup tent when I went camping....remembering going to a Washington State Koa campground pitching the pup tent up beside a $100,000 Class-A motorhome! I though....WTF ???
And to really swing the carrot in front of our faces...US gets to write off mortgages, shiny new cars, boats, planes and what ever else that "beautify's America"! Why, why, why???
A country now in very serious debt, that had never learned a lesson for example, dating all the way back to post WWI when Germany was the first country to print money....proved their futility, and failed! Over 10 countries have tried the same since then....and guess what? ALL FAILED! Hello 1% big-shots, do you not listen? Is this not a world of Hedones?
Enough ranting, so I'll just continue paying the Provincial and Federal Income Taxes along with everyone else and as we have always and will continue to do.
Happy Canuck, from Beautiful British Columbia, CANADA....ehhhh?
...wow, great piece by the BBC... share this, it could be any of us.
I agree with wheelnut53, it's really painful to watch. Decades of the USA soft-power policies, I.e. spreading throughout the world an image of the country that is rich, full of opportunities, a country where anybody who wants to work can realize their dream (and I believe it used to be such), lead many to believe that something like this would not be possible there.
But the cause of powerty should be sought beyond Obamas and Bushes, they can't solve the deeply engrained injustices stemming from a faulty system, regardless of whether they want to do it or not. The system has been long taken over by the corporate interest and those truly in control of the flow of money - they run Obamas and Bushes and alike and their policies. That goes for the world as a whole. And those guys beyond the curtain are getting ever more bold. Discussing the small picture, Democrats vs Repulicans for example, leads to an endless circle of debates without substance.
You had the whole Bush era thats what happenned.
President Clinton left Surplus to the U.S. economy... Yep we had money left over. So just think what happened after that?
Too painful to watch
The budget for defence in 2011 was: 780810 billion US$ that's more than all nations together. For altruism, we have to free the world? Hell no, just to get hands on oil and natural resources. It's called american imperialism.
If you take a 4x4x4 inch cube representing 1000 Dollars, the average american in his working life can build by stacking these cubes one on one a 50 feet pillar. The richest americans can build the Eifel tower reel size with these cubes.
Long live american capitalism and free market economy. It's time for americans to say no more.
The problem is a monetary system based on debt and a war-mongering nation built on greed and corruption...WAKE THE F%#K UP AMERICA and destroy the Illuminati. Your liberties are being taken away from you and the irony is, you're letting them!!
What I can see is, even poor Americans are living in heaven, if compared with those in developing countries.
The problem is, this is supposedly a first world country where this should not be happening in the first place. Why are we always comparing our poverty to third world countries like Somalia?
You're wrong.. sorry.
Somalia is THE richest and most fertile country of Africa!!!
Exporting soy, rice, flours, weed, potatous, etc, etc. The problem is that the grovernment sold all fertile land to foreign land owners from England, Germany, India, China and US. Corruption is the main desease for Somalia, not a penny from them is going to the people in need in Somalia.
"Why are we always comparing our poverty to third world countries like Somalia? "
In order to point out how USA become different than somalia in the first place.
Commies ask "how do we spend the money we have?"
Sane people ask "why do we even have all this wealth in the first place? Why are we different than somalia in the first place?"
No, America is not dealing with it.
It rather ruins other countries. :-(
Its ******, and the poor are the ones who are paying.
@Lyn Chadwick...there is no need to leave Australia to find plenty of "people who are PEOPLE who need medical help, food and shelter".
Take a look at the Govt's recent 'Closing the Gap' report and you will see the deplorable poverty of our own Aboriginal peoples admitted by the regime.
To mention just a few...Life expectancy around TWENTY years less than average; Shocking health stats generally, including preventable diseases like diabetes (epidemic), glaucoma etc; Suicide rate 3 times higher than average.
The list goes on - Poverty levels, Incarceration rate (less than 2.5% of population makes up 40% of jail population) - i'll stop there.
Despite lip service you'd think this racist country still employs the "White Australia Policy" given the Thirld World conditions here in the so called richest country on earth - the Lucky Country (for some).
This documentary is horrible, if it is true. I find it difficult to believe because there are food stamp programs, child care programs (that pay your daycare, if you are poor), churches that will help the poor programs, energy programs, financial aide programs for college, and in Oregon, if you are on unemployment; there is even a program to help you save the house you own now. I wonder, if the families of these children who go to bed hungry, get food stamps? It seems that the BBC is picking the worse of situations in America to show the world to me. If there are all those abandon buildings in Detroit, why don't people move into them instead of living in tents in the Winter?
20 minutes ago · Like
Candace Jean Sturtevant The documentary makes both Republicans and Democrats look like hell, when both parties have good ideas. However, the main idea that should be brought up is Maslow's scale of needs wherein
1. You have to meet food needs first.
2. You have to meet safety and security needs second.
3. You have to meet love and belonging needs third.
4. You have to meet needs for being productive fourth.
5. You have to meet needs of wanting to give back fifth.
Until basic needs are met, it is difficult for a person to continue up the pyramid to be a self-actualized person. Therefore, if the self-actualized persons in the USA helped the ones with basic needs: they could work their way up the scale too, so they eventually would not have to be cared for perhaps.
I would think many countries besides the USA have their rich and poor people, but I wonder; if they do to the extent that the USA does where statistics say !% of the Americans have all the wealth, and the other 99% of us are the peons. The 1% must be self-actualized enough, it would seem, to help the 99%; but they have to be forced to do it some cases. If they won't help, tax it out of them. 1 and 1/2 million children in America should not go to bed hungry. Just look at those aides packing food for children, so they eat on weekends: the 1% could take some of their tax sheltered money and put soup kitchens in every town in America. Here, kids can even have breakfast and lunch free in the Summer at one of our central schools free. This documentary makes it look like American's do not help other Americans, and that is not totally correct at all.
I sit in my dining area in Australia and watch this and then I read some of the comments and feel sad over it all. It matters not who is to blame, what matters is these people are PEOPLE and they need medical help and food and shelter. Made me feel ashamed that I visited the US in August 2011 and spent money on meaningless things. If I ever return I will seek some of these people out and give them help rather than wasting money on things I take for granted.
Fantastic, made me feel like that too. we all need to take responsibility.
Like I said many times before....to many people I know...
GAME OVER
USA thinks filling the bucket with water (jobs) will fix all...
But yet fail to plug the large hole at the bottom of the bucket
Then wonder why it doesn't stay full
US Corps get to incorporate in USA under a excellent corp law structure
Get to patent products under very tight US patent laws
Then make these things overseas with labor so cheap it wouldn't buy dog food in the USA.
STOP blaming this president, or that president, democrat, republican.
Every time I hear people STILL blinded by the whole "republican VS democrat", it makes me sick to my stomach.
It's like an argument I would have with a 12yo child. GROW UP!!!
This crap of selling US up shore for corp profits/globalization has been going on a loooooooooooong time.
The sooner USA, it's citizens, it's government, realize there is no need to have people work like a slave 9-5, the sooner it will move forward.
Workers are...and will be..a thing of the past.
Technology, and cheap labor has made US citizens working full time obsolete.
Do I really need a stuck up 16yo with an attitude serving me McDonalds?
OR can this all be automated?
We have already started a transition from people doing the work....to machines doing the work.
YES, I know you were told that machines will "create more and better jobs for people"....LOL...yea OK
SURE, it WILL create SOME jobs, but will eliminate many many more than it creates.
Need some examples? OK
Let's take Blockbuster Video, Hollywood Video Brick and mortar stores.
How many people worked those stores, in the store, delivering to the store, running the store, building the store, and on and on.
50,000? 100,000? 200,000?
NOW, it's online...lol. How many people you think now work there, I bet it's 5-10% of what it used to be.
There isn't 100,000 people running around to fill your rentals.
An up and coming example....
We now have the technology to eliminate ALL clerk/cashier jobs.
You put items in your cart (prob in set bags built in the cart)
Walk to the door, and within seconds everything is scanned
You swipe card/insert money and walk out the door.
NO putting goods in cart...then taking out of cart...then putting back in cart again...take out of cart again...then putting in car...
LOL...that's 1900's thinking!
HOW many millions of clerk jobs are there?
Are those machines (which will be built offshore) going to create MILLIONS of other jobs? LOL NOPE, And especially not full time jobs! Mostly temp jobs for install, setting up, ect.
USA and the western world need to get with the program.
The TOP will not make the move as they are holding the wealth, thus would be a step down for them.
SO your choices are:
Keep on the same BS monetary based economy where the wealth distribution is from the bottom to the top, becoming increasingly dependent on hand outs and becoming the working poor "middle class"
Or a resource based economy where great ideas are actually implemented because they are good for people, the world, life...and not just what the profit margin is.
Where solar panel electric is being done because it costs too much NOT TO!!
And where hiring a grocery cart boy isn't job growth, but a DUMB idea...considering you just walked past 200 carts on your way to the door!! LOL
After years of deregulation under president George Bush, 2 stupid wars and roll back of taxes for the very rich, surely you can't be surprised by any of this. The republicans say President Obama is waging a class warfare and the poor people in the republican party agree with them. One can only hope that the poor people realize that President Obama wants to tax the rich a little more so that the government can give the poor a pick-me-up.
This absolutely a partisan video.
Do Americans really want another Republican moron for a President? Obama is the best thing you guys have had. You are just so racist and anti-intellectual you think your problems will be solved in a couple of years. Bush dug such a deep hole for you it'll take decades to climb out.
I don't really like this documentary because is bias. President Obama is not going to fix in a short time what BUSH MESSED UP!!! IN 8 YEARS!...IS not Obama's fault.. Why is it TOO HARD TO UNDERSTAND???...Bush needed to be impeached...how can a person do soooo much harm and get away with it?.. and yet this Documentary only show what's going on now!...Our situation should not be blamed to one person. Is unfair to Blame President Obama. What was this Documentary about??? is it to promote a negative image to president Obama?....Where is BUSH in this? ---IS THIS A NEGATIVE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA? OR A DOCUMENTARY?...SAD, SAD, SAD! Learn history people!!! Don't let people insult your intelligence. This "Documentary" is what makes people numb and Stupid. And by the way, I was foreclosed too, and this is what I have to say. Thank you!
Has nothing to do with Obama or Bush, this is capitalism sweetie, where there HAS to be losers. Change the system, and maybe you'll change the game.
lol u sound like u realy love this obama brand they sold to u, who cares about clouns who pretend to be presidents, they all the same... ALL THE SAME!!!
Not surprise for me because America has to pay about what he did in several part of world like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and so on. And specially in Palestine…GOD will not forgive the America….Shame to America.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
noone took the revenge from aemrica for what it did in iraq afghanistan.....families there are living in hell.... families in this doc are in no way comparable to them .... anyways whats america is going thru is the result of the greed, undisciplined capitalism of the 1 percent americans
recently i hear alot about %'s, good, its about time we all nail it to our heads that we are 99%s, F... the 1%!
please do not mention god, its only in your mind, its you, who will not forgive america
It also made me laugh when she started yapping about the 99 %. this united states of yours have been infamous for the big difference between the elite and the rest for many years now. this is biased and a smear campaign. only dumb people would buy into this. gonna stop watching it now or im going to die laughing.
Intro made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. The worlds richest country ?? wake up america, those times are over. More like the worlds fourth most endebted, Haha. (not based on any facts.)
When they audited the fed it was actually found that most nations were indebted to us. But ok.
Can't help but wonder why the tent people don't just go and squat the empty buildings, a new kind of occupy. They already hit rock bottom, what's the worst that could happen ? As for the kids, they should be fed and they should receive free health care, no exceptions. Do they have child benefit, a weekly payment from the government for every child to help care for them ? People have kids whether they can afford them or not, they shouldn't be punished because their parents are poor. And where are the extended family, even a garage or a spare room in a relatives house is better than a tent, also easier to rebuild your life if you have an address.
As in Amsterdam where squatting was made legal in 1994, the law stated that people were entitled to live in buildings if they had been empty for at least one year. The owner of the building could evict the squatters only in court and by good reason. A new law was introduced On October 1st 2010 ‘Kraken en Leegstand’, making it easier for landlords to evict people.
The daughter of a friend of mine, lives in one of those squatting place still while she is attending university in Amsterdam.
az
That's the problem in America. There are groups of people who believe it is not their problem. Not all Americans believe this, but several decent sized groups do. The attitudes need to be changed to where people see an investment in free health care for kids is seen as being an investment in society, not a detriment. I am so happy I live in a country where I can receive necessary health care without having to worry about losing my house or choosing between just scraping by and a life-saving surgery.
People here talk a lot about helping others in need. But the reality is that the social service programs are expected to help people, People here value individuality and "privacy" above any obligation to help anyone else. But these SAME people will then pontificate about the value of helping out someone in need, then go vote against a tax or service that will provide it to the poor for them. The sad fact is, people will not take people into their homes. The social service programs are underfunded and understaffed into uselessness, mostly by the SAME people who believe that the "free market" can and will solve all problems and than homeless people are homeless because... (blame homeless person here). I was homeless for three years. It took me three years to find one person who was willing to help me by letting me use her facilities regularly, and her address, so I could find a job and get on my feet. And before that I had a lot of friends and family that could have helped, but most of them unfortuantely, were of a 'libertairian' mindset. Once I found that one person, it took less than a month to find work and a place to live. I was unable to access social services becasue I do not have kids and do not have a disability. It was that one rare individual that did it for me. We need more people willing to help others. We also need the "free market' worshipers to get off of that trip, becasue expecting the free market to help people without money is sort of like expecting your two year old to clean house and fix supper every night for the family. The free market exists to make money and nothing else. It needs to be diciplined and cared for, we can not expect the FM to do that to or for humans. As long as we allow the FM to make the decisions for us, we will live in poverty, filth and chaos.
This is bull**** to me. These people are poor, because they don 't work. Here is why:
1. it hates foreign investments and products( so no country will invest), and no job created.
2. It 's priorities are all wrong. People pay more attention to sports, than school. Care more about maintaining appearance, than substance. Think being an idiot is cool. East Asians realize( foreign, and native ) realize that they are discriminated, and work twice as hard, and never let an opportunity goes to waste.
3. Blame others. This "crisis" happen in the 70s when real wage is stagnant, and cost of living is starting to growing. Why? because native people remain unproductive, and the increase productivity is met by importing foreign talents.
4. Instead of welcoming these imported talents, American media want to demonize them. Great.
Try this then. Dont take a shower for a week and (we will say your lucky, so you can sleep in your POS truck that is running on fumes and have 5$ on your phone so an employer can actually call you back). You can only eat food box food (that you will spend most of your time looking for). Then, with what little time you have that you have not spent on meeting your basic needs (and on finding a computer/printer to print your resume and find the employer), go job hunting. You get about one hour per day to do that. (Im being generous there) Not being willing to work, and being unable to present yourself to an employer as someone that should be hired are different ideas entirely. People are homeless for millions of reasons, oversimplifing the problems gets us nowhere. Finding a job while homeless is "not difficult, merely impossible."
You can not speak about or even think about the everyday realities of poverty and homelessness, unless you have been there.
You know what really amazes me, is that no one blames the corps that move (taking jovs with them) overseas for any of this, but then they demonize immigrant workers for taking jobs here, and attempting to create new jobs by hiring Americans, in America. The people who should be demonized are those people who were born and educated in America, whose parents were able to provide for them and educate them because American companies are forced to pay a "minimum wage", and taxes, then they grow up and become sucessful, then move thier company to another country because they pay less labor costs and taxes.
Ingrates.
You do realize American foreign assets have to be taxed, right? There is no way to escape this.
Do you know why some people have high wages, and why some people have low wages? It is determined by the labor market. If your skills is valued, you will be pay high. If your skills is not valued, or have low market demand, you wage is low.
The Asian Indians, East Asians in the US realize this a long time ago. This is why they compete to study engineering, and business. Places where there are real demand, and not imaginary degrees, and have fun in college. Life is a struggle. No one owns you a living. You have to earn it.
My question is, If the Chinese in American with so much racism can earn a decent living, why the hell is it so hard for white people to do so? You know why? because the Chinese in American work 3 times as hard, and actually care about finding a job. For poor white Americans, you need to compete, and that means stop having fun, and actually find a skill that the labor market needs.
Perhaps the first step into reality would be the introduction of free health care for all. Of course, any nation that allows the sick to be turned away from care will also have tent and canal cities. Let those who seek 5 star treatment pay for it, but how can you keep ANY government in power that denies even life saving treatment for it's own, unless they have the cash or collateral.
Everything after that just continues to flow on, like the military presence in other people's countries etc. A lot of people in those countries end up in tent cities or in cardboard coffins as well. A lot of 'money' is required by the USA in order to kill people.
I'm not interested in your politicians or your Donald Trumps, or your movie stars' recreational habits. Neither should you be. Find people who actually care about 'the people' - not the flag, and vote them in
******* conservatives...can't afford social services for hungry kids but you can afford welfare for banks and corporations so they can give themselves million dollar bonuses, and wars that makes security firms and wealthy oil companies more wealthy. Sorry but any country that would rather spend trillions on defense and have nothing as humanly civil as universal health care isn't a civilized society-its a rich mans gong show! You may be the richest nation but you ain't close to being best place to live. That honour goes to-god forbid-socialized countries like those in Scandinavia. Whats also sad is how so easily manipulated the typical middle class are regarding the 99%protestors and how they dismissed them while they were fighting for you! Because its you who are paying all that income tax just to pay the interest on the debt your government owes a bunch of extremely rich bankers, but the middle class just blindly follows whatever seems trendy-to busy working to payoff the banks that own your home and nice SUV.
*SIGH* Public opinion is never on the same side as the facts. The Koch-puppet from the Heritage foundation doesn't have a real argument.
so much for the american dream. i can see it gettin a lot worse before it gets better. the states and here in europe. cant see the euro around to long either.
Not to mention bad grammer and spelling.
Once again a grammar police who can't spell.
az
Welcome to Third World America. A military might that can't feed its own people. Invading others to pun their brand on madness on them while its own citizens linger in ghetos and underground tunnels. Forcing women to have children they don't want or can't afford to raise while ignoring the ones that are already here. Such is Amerika, a paradox, a contradiction, the world's hub of hypocrisy.
I simply cannot believe Americans can BE THIS STUPID. They simply have got to stop WARRING every friggin moment of their country's history and dragging everyone in while they're at it. Sort your own friggin country out first. Do Americans even UNDERSTAND how much funding a war costs? Is it a memory thing? Obama this Obama that... no mention of Bush and his "he tried to kill ma daddy" war that has drained the US economy... (YOU GOT YOUR MAN... so get then f*ck out of there!) Then your bankers shaft you for TRILLIONS and give themselves FAT BONUSES right in front of 313,019,661 US citizens (as the population stands today) and they think it's simply Obama not doing his job? Are they all living in a DISNEYWORLD? That someday their Prince will come... and waltz in and whisk them all away to NEVERLAND where no one ever has to grow up and be responsible for themselves? Those bankers publicly and openly threatened YOUR government (which actually IS YOU THE PEOPLE) to sign it away to them, even though THEY CAUSED ALL THIS CRAP... and they did it right at the peak of the Obama Pageant high... talk about great timing.. All this right in front of their eyes on their big screen TV's and still THEY WONDER WHY it's all sh*t??? And what's all these starving FAT homeless people in the video. It almost comes across as Panoramas April fools joke... video of Detroit in ruins... and blaming Obama... FOR REAL? Just the price of ONE of the jets or helicopters in the WAR ON TERROR would rebuild that whole block, school, cops, houses, food and people are WONDERING WHY there's no cash to be spent? How many of those jets and copters are over there in your neverending war... Who is America actually after anymore... there isn't even a FACE to terror (remember, you got your man)... now it's just anybody... anywhere... anytime... ANY ANY ANY... This isn't a matter of America Wake-Up anymore...it's a matter of America, "SHUT THE F*CK UP", either get off your asses and reoocupy your cities, pull these robbing idiots out of wall street, demand the Federal Reserve extinct and save what little industry you have... It's getting REALLY boring watching everything on the net about the US and the people's search for someone to save them... or someone to blame. GROW UP... WAKE UP.. or reap what you sew! How can a country with it's head so far up it's own ass make so much noise? Even the title... POOR AMERICA... I mean SERIOUSLY!!!
America is not the richest country in the world. Influential sure but not rich. If you subtract what you owe from what you actually have and find that you still owe. That's bad, That's Poverty. Can you really blame Obama for the deficit? Its been around and growing before he was born. Thinking America is a rich nation is a big part of the problem.
This may sound harsh, and I'm a liberal socialist, but many of these "homeless" / "hungry" people are either overweight or obese. Specifically, the woman living in the tent city and many of the children complaining about not being fed enough. It strikes me as odd that people who are overweight are complaining about not getting enough food.
You do realize that obesity is a sign of a poor diet, correct? Just because they eat lots of sugary, junk food doesn't mean they're not poor, it simply means that's all the food they can get.
You can be fat and malnourished at the same time, all you have to do is eat a lot of the wrong foods and none of the good stuff. They probably are starving.
Not many want to hear the truth, but here it is. This situation that we are in began in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve. Central banks existed before 1913 and Andrew Jackson was the only president to not only eliminate the one operating during his presidency, he eliminated the national debt ENTIRELY by having the US government itself print and distribute US currency without having to borrow anything from a bank.
Don't worry about what money may be backed with. Ours isn't backed by anything at all except the "Full faith and credit of the United States" so whether the government prints it directly or borrows it, it only changes one thing - whether or not there is an interest payment attached.
If I loaned you $100 and expected you to pay me back $110 but the money I lent you is the only money in existance, where are you going to get the extra $10 from? I guess you would have to borrow some more from me as I am the only source of money there is. That is how the Federal Reserve works. Even when you borrow for private use (car loan/mortgage) you only borrow the principle into the economy. Where do you get the interest from? Somebody elses' borrowed principle which makes them even shorter than you...someone is going to go bankrupt REGARDLESS OF THEIR WILLINGNESS TO WORK. How has this economy, that is destined to fail, been able to continue functioning? Besides corporate and personal bankruptsies, which cancel some of the principle debt held by the bankruptors, there has been a continuously growing national debt.
Read your 16th ammendment. It allows for the collection of taxes for only two purposes. 1. To pay for the common defense and 2. To pay the interest on the national debt. The US National Debt is the absolute largest interest only floating rate debt in the entire world and you are the collateral for that debt. This is the Strawman argument...that your all capitals name represents you as collateral for the nations borrowing with the Federal Reserve. Because only interest payments are being made, the principle is available for you, me and corporations to hopefully have the money necessary for our own interest payments.
And then we added machinery. Once machines started taking over the actual labor from people, the people had to start doing something else. And why use machines instead of labor? It is less expensive. And why do companies have to keep cutting costs? This is the big one nobody understands.
Every time the economy gets bigger, and it gets bigger each time more money is lent than is being paid back, the money already in existance becomes less valuable. Lets say you build a product that costs you $10 to build and you sell it for $15. Seems like a profitable endeavor. But you built this product when the $10 was worth $10. Because of the ever expanding economy which devalues the money in circulation as it expands, by the time you sell your product, even $15 is now only worth 9 actual dollars.
The only real solution immediately is for the Congress of the United States to begin directly issuing US backed currency. This too is in the Constitution which reserves the right of Congress to issue currency.
With the 'new money' being created without an interest cost, it will become plentiful WITHOUT TAXING individuals or even corporations. Money will become so abundant that we will realize it is a waste of time and resourses printing or even trying to keep track electronically of it entirely and we will decide we don't need it at all.
Let the machines do as much work as they can and let us begin living as much as we can...without limitations imposed by the bottom line. Would you work for your boss if you didn't need to? Would it be different if the industry you were in needed you but you didn't need it?
Cool.
America richest country? only by invading and taking other countries' resources perhaps (though not the only one doing so).
I live in England and we're always moaning about how people grow up in the welfare system, don't even bother trying to get jobs and mock people who do work for being "stupid" because you can get everything here by doing nothing. But actually, I'd rather have to pay my taxes and national insurance for these cocky welfare leeches than have to live in a society like the one shown in this video. America is always acting like it's on the moral high ground, good christian folks who care about others and help charity but this video shows what bullshit that it.
As someone who was born and raised in another country and has now spent half of his life in America, I can categorically tell you that this country is the sewer of the world and it's utterly morally bankrupt from the inside out.
yep, they dont give a flying **** about eachother when you look at it: they think taxes are theft.
Looking at that from Europe I can only do one thing: *rolls eyes*
How is America the richest country in the world when they have the biggest dept to pay off?
In my opinion, America is the poorest country, both in morals and money.
I spent 3 years on the street. I can totally sympathize with the folks in this video. We need to make low income housing and health care a priority in this country.
And what to say about the cost of primaries? The list could go on and on and on...
az
sad :(
Pardon me but wasn't the economy messed up before Obama took the reign's. Seems to me like he was appointed captain of the Titanic... after it hit the iceberg.
By OP I meant the maker of this Doc, and I retract my statement about the meth heads, only 90% of the people interviewed are addicts, clearly.
Yeah I think that group of children weren't high (at the time).
I have seen many comments fueled by hatred, yours is near the top of them, here on this doc.
az
srsly. and jeremy should know that meth is the symptom of poverty, not the cause.
Something tells me you're a current or former meth addict (one that isn't homeless) who is lashing out as these people to feel better about being a meth addict yourself. The only thing that separates you from these people is the that you have some family / significant other that lets your meth-addled ass stay in their house while you spend all your money on drugs. Not everyone has this luxury, and that's assuming that you're correct and "90% of the interviewed people" are indeed meth addicts.
And don't bother writing a rebuttal -- I'm only being as presumptuous as you are.
Too bad the OP is too naive to notice EVERY single transient she interviews is HIGH ON METH. They are homeless cuz they are mentally messed up and or have a horrible drug addictions. Obama nor anyone else can fix that.
100 bucks says you're a good Christian.
46 million Americans live on food stamps. That is crazy. Thats Canada plus 13 million others. Its funny that there is an ad for a gold American Express card up here too.What is that called. A juxtaposition? C F Frost. Thats cold brother.
The situation of the homeless is kept so completely out of the public eye, that those who are in any power whatsoever are not aware of the severity of it. This documentary is short but straight to the point and should be shared widely all across the US and the world.
I think it would be fascinating to explore the socio-economic backgrounds of every person featured in this doc that somehow downplayed this poverty issue -- never having to struggle might explain how these people can be so callous. otherwise - they are inhuman.
Instead of exploring their socio-economic background, why don't you ask what their political/religious affiliation is. I think that is going to be quite the shocker when you find out who they are.
"Put politicians on minimum wage and see how fast things change"
And then put lawyer's wage on par with manual worker's wage.
az
and make lobbying illegal!
I completely agree with that.
Why does she keep mentioning Obama? Isn't this the legacy of the Bush 8 year disaster?
it's a political thing just blame Obama that will solve everything so so sad looks like they forget what G W Bush did!!!
Yeah just blame the black guy lol
it dosnt mater what cloun u have as president, they are not the ones who make decisions
No Zureal, that is just what the Obamabots have been chanting over and over again to brainwash you...wake UP!!!!!
This is so bad. We are really so poor here and everyone else in the world thinks we are the richest. I will concede that other countries have it as bad or worse, but there is just no excuse for it here. In the other countries its not so very divided like this. When you push people up against the wall bad things are bound to happen. Remember the 4 day rule. 4 days without food / water and a person become desperate enough to kill for his food no matter what his morals or reasonable judgement tells him.
Charles, certainly there are those who would starve to death rather than kill another for food.
But even with those strong stoic morals, how many would let their children starve? I don't think many would.
And I just remembered, on another doc I watched here recently, an African man was being talked to about poverty and famine and his words were "If God didn't want us to eat man, he wouldn't have made him out of meat". You really never know what people are capable of until they hit that level. Speculation from behind our computers isn't going to give us the ability to empathize with these people.