Will you be okay through the next two months?

[grasswire]

Just thought it would be a useful reality check to see how our DU-ers are doing in George's economy -- how many are in danger of homelessness, how many are doing well, how many will have a bleak holiday, how many are doing fine. Please take the poll even if you don't want to post a message.

[grasswire]

1. hmm

I hadn't considered the fact that if no one posts a message, the thread will sink. I wanted people to feel sheltered and anonymous. So I guess I'll have to kick it till bedtime!

[DemBones DemBones]

2. Oops! I wasn't planning to stay up much longer, either, but

maybe you can find someone who is? SoCalDem is another night owl and it's just after midnight her time so maybe she'd kick it for you and then find another person, etc. Your poll is one that I'd like to see answered by a majority of DUers.

[Kanary]

3. I might as well put it out there

For the next two months....? Probably. But...seven months from now, it is questionable.

You see, I'm on disability. Yes, unable to work. I depend on public housing to have a roof over my head. WE have to be "recertified" every three years. Next year is my turn again. I found out that next year, more than 130,000 of these housing vouchers are to be cut out. Gone. No more. So, I could be one of those. That means..... no more me. There are so many people facing these sorts of things, and yet... it doesn't make the news. It isn't an "issue" that people get behind and make phone calls and write letters about. We're just expected to fade away "gracefully"...

I think an informal mechanism here for helping people who need it is a great idea, and sorely needed. At the same time, I'm afriad that it couldn't help people like me who are caught in a really severe crunch. So, how 'bout the idea of being willing to take on issues like these, and try to forestall them? How 'bout if you're supporting a candidate, to write and call and push that candidate to tackle the housing issue, etc.? How 'bout gathering your friends and relatives together, and explain an issue such as this, and what it is doing to people, even though it's not on the news, and get others to write and call. Hey... what about even being willing to do a protest on behalf of people who are so in danger?

There are so very many issues, and so many people feel overwhelmed and overloaded. However, those of us facing things like this need very badly to know that we aren't alone... that there are those who think about us and do what they can to put a stop to this shredding of the safety net. If that many thousands of people can be mobilized to protest a war, surely there can be some effort to save lives right here in the U.S.? We need to know that we have people "at our back".

Great thread. Thanks.

Kanary

[Karenina]

16. Kanary, all GOOD things to you!!!

Yes, as a citizen of the most wealthy nation in the world, "Rückendeckung" should indeed be your birthright! Your circumstances raise an important issue about which most Americans choose to remain in denial. The U.S. government has been hijacked by *fascists whose ties, for generations, with the Third Reich and its monstrous beliefs in eugenics et al. are beyond dispute. Their comprehension of history is limited by their arrogance, HOWEVER, they HAVE LEARNED what happens when documentation of their crimes is easily found. Make sure the numbers of those who face death as a result of their policies FLY UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN. HOW MANY AMERICANS DIE as a result of inadequate health care and safety nets? HOW MANY DIE from the poisons the *misadministration's crony corporations spew into the environment The young, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, Mother Earth herself are ALL "fair game."

Until it is understood and acknowledged that the life and welfare of this planet and her inhabitants mean NOTHING to this self-appointed "Überclass" we are ALL in grave danger. ALL OF US. EVERYWHERE.

[thebigidea]

4. as an unemployable underground quasi-insane filmmaker, take a guess

go on, GUESS.

[psychopomp]

5. Thank goodness

...I don't have to live in the U.S. during the reign of Dumbya...at least for the next two months.

[grasswire]

6. kick

hopefully some morning person will kick a couple of hours from now.

[Piperay]

7. Kick

a BIG :kick:

[monarch]

8. Helping each other

I voted for the emergency assistance fund but I realize that it probably would be a nightmare to administer. I would certainly contribute to a fund. I think of DU as family and there have been many many times that I have wished I could help a fellow DUer with something more than just encouragement.

[Syncronaut Seven]

9. Good Morning Iraq!

Scraping along here, If it wasn't for bankruptcy and a radical "downsizing" of the family economy we'd be much worse off. Reading "your money or your life" was helpfull. So was Grandmas stories of living thru the Great Depression.

We've been bracing for the worst for a couple of years now. Looks like the effort may pay off. :( :kick:

[DUreader]

10. kick

[catmandu57]

11. It could be better, it could be worse too

Right now we're okay, holding our breath until this idiot* and it's puppett master is cast into the fiery pit, but right now barring any unforseen nasty stuff popping up we're holding our own.

[0007]

12. Soon we'll all be rocking in the same boat!

[BigMcLargehuge]

13. I have long since ceased to be a voluntary participant in our

mercantile/service based economy. I literally live paycheck to paycheck. No savings at all.

[dweller]

14. Same here

and it's voluntary for me. I refuse to give any $ to corporate entities outside what i takes to eat and stay warm, and that's more than i want to.
if i have a nickel at the end of the month, i consider it a raise.

:kick: for the post, back to page one.
dp

[Forkboy]

15. Had to choose option 3...sadly

Great economic rebound there Georgie...you ass :puke:

[grasswire]

17. kick

I've been wondering if there's a way for DU-ers to provide care for each other like some of us are sending care packages to soldiers. But, as mentioned above, the mechanics seem formidable. Often, charitable efforts in internet communities go awry and people develop hard feelings. But I'll keep thinking about it. Total anonymity would be necessary between giver and recipient. But that would require a blind go-between and a LOT of trust on everyone's part. I know that ungnmoose is a certified financial planner. Maybe he would have a few ideas.

[grasswire]

18. actually....

...the best thing for Dem activists would be if a moneyman interested in throwing Bush out would invest in some message board activism. Republicans have been paying people to do battle all over the internet. Hiring a hundred DU-ers to do the same would have a huge grassroots effort. An ENORMOUS grassroots effort.

Ten bucks an hour. Only hire DU-ers with a certain post level, such as perhaps 3000 posts and six months membership, so that some level of trust and competency is ensured. Have them keep a log of their activities. And hire a couple of people as supervisors to monitor performance.

What a miracle that would be.

[Padraig18]

19. Please read:

#2, thank God! With my business, and Tony's salary, we're OK; we gave extra this year to our Civic Association (gives cash grants for rent, utilities, food, medicine, etc.) and to the Mennonite Relief Agency here.

God bless all of you who are struggling, and to those of you who aren't struggling, dig deep and help out those who often need just a little bit to get through the tough times. $100 may not be a ton of money to you, but to someone who's $50 short on their utility bill and needing a prescription filled, it can be a godsend!

:hi:

[mdmc]

20. my life is in the shitter right now

but I have a wealthy family... So while I'm poor, sick, and a democrat, at least I can suckle of the gop family teat for assistance... still makes for very bad holidays.

[Padraig18]

21. Kick

[Tinoire]

22. I would love to see Emergency Assistance BUT

I remember personally contacting some of my DU friends to help a DUer who was supposedly in need after reading his pitiful thread in the Lounge. None of us were wealthy and gave from money we needed because we wanted to give someone a helping hand- we all got taken for a ride royal to the tune of about $800 without as much as a thank you ... Looking back at the situation I would not do it again because it destroyed my faith.

If I ever run into that person, in this world or the next, I will kick his butt black and blue up and down every street of hell or heaven wherever I have to go to find him because that money could have done a lot of good for people who were truly in need and HONEST.

[grasswire]

23. that's understandable, but....

In order to give in that kind of situation, you have to factor in the chance that the recipient might be what evangelicals call "unworthy."

This is part of the whole dilemma of charity in America in modern days. The church decided that it was wrong to give money to the "undeserving" poor, and started who were "sinners." A progression of events led to our crippled welfare system, where more money is spent keeping aid from people than money is actually distributed, because administrative costs are spent on suspicions of unworthiness. Needy people would actually get more aid if fewer restrictions were applied. Yes, some would scam the system, but that would be less expensive than the administrative costs are now.

Of course, Christians are instructed to give without any regard to "worthiness." They are instructed to give sacrificially and freely. If a person asks for your hat, give him your coat, too -- that kind of charity.

(For what it's worth, I'm just musing here.)