Las Vegas bans feeding homeless in parks

[IR15H]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli's Apprentice

You assume that "everyone" is being punished. So the people who live near the parks, and use the parks, are irrelevant? I doubt this law would have happened without local complaints about the bums.

Every homeless person is being punished, regardless of whether they have commited an offence or not. It is not a crime to sit in a public park. I doubt many locals complained homeless people were been given free food, they may have objected to the pissing in doorways etc, but then punish those idividuals, not all of them. This method is not addressing the problem properly.

They won't get jobs as long as they are getting free food, shelter, and money.

Then why do your parents work? These people need help, not to be starved to death. If the council said we're banning soup kitchens but setting up 2 more shelters I might be more understanding.

[masked_marsoe]

I found a stat that some 33% of homeless men in America are war veterans.

[Joe Bonham]

I found a stat that some 33% of homeless men in America are war veterans.

That would be a misleading statistic.

-45% of these men suffer mental illness.

-More than 2/3 of them served before the Vietnam War - older people have a harder time financially - which compounds the problem of mental illness and financial irresponsibility.

-The military attracts all sorts of people, many of whom are unfortunately less undesirable individuals.

So no, I am not surprised that a third of homeless men served in uniform at one time or another.

Then why do your parents work?

Are you accusing my parents of taking welfare money? Since you mentioned my parents, are you accusing ME of not having a job?

Why do your parents work? (BTW - what do our parents have to do with any of this anyway?)

[Nostradamouse]

Originally Posted by AzH

No, I wasn't being serious, but at the same time I don't think that charity is the way forward. Like the US, and like all other developed countries, homelessness is a plagued which blights society. These people need to be properaly assessed and if they are capable of work; put to work. I'm sick of having my taxes pay for a bunch of lazy, anti-social misfits. Get jobs!

I doubt you pay much taxes for homeless. Well, at least, where I am, that's how it is...

I mean, you can't give them social aid paychecks because they don't have lodging nor any adress and they can't get an adress because they don't have any social aid!

[Nusentinsaino]

Why won't those homeless people make an effort and get a job?

[Joe Bonham]

Why should you, when the government is more than willing to pick up the tab for you?

[Napalm]

I think that what most of you fail to realize is that many, if not most, homeless people are unable to get a job due to mental illness, drug or alchohol addiction, lack of education, and the general neglect of the urban inner city (esp. in the USA).

They are not like this because they are lazy, but because they are unable to succeed.

[Joe Bonham]

and the general neglect of the urban inner city (esp. in the USA).

As far as I can tell, the ghettos are no worse than the British inner city, or the Parisian slums.

They are not like this because they are lazy, but because they are unable to succeed.

Yes. But this inability lies within themselves. It is unfair to expect others to pay for their own laziness/drunkeness/mental instability.

[Napalm]

I specifically mentioned the USA because I am more familiar with the contions of the urban inner city here than in Europe. I did not want to make broad generalizations just to be proven inncorrect later, thus negating my arguement.

How are people paying for others to be homeless? Soup kitchens, food banks, and shelters do get money from the gov't, but a lot comes from charities and donations.

It is the lack of money that people are giving to organizations helping homeless people that is forcing the government to spend more on them.

[Locomotor]

Originally Posted by Napalm

because they are unable to succeed

That doesn't give anyone the right to place an undue obligation on everyone else.

Anderson Cooper even did a great bit on Oprah one day about the homeless. He talked about how easy it actually is to get on your feet, if you're ambitious enough. If you know Anderson Cooper, or Oprah for that matter, you'll know that this is an unexpected thing for him to say. The only thing stopping the homeless from bettering themselves is themselves.