Forum Post: Sentinel: Central Florida child homelessness has increased 79 percent since 2009
Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 9, 2012, 4:06 p.m. EST by GirlFriday
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http://floridaindependent.com/63300/central-florida-child-homelessness
Last year, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $12 million from the state’s general revenue fund to the National Veterans’ Homeless Support Group for “homeless housing assistance grants.” This item was one of the many public assistance programs Scott axed.
According to federal and state labor statistics, government and academic studies, economic forecasts, and interviews with economic analysts — information that has not been widely reported — FCIR has found: There’s no evidence Scott’s policies are responsible for any of the new jobs in Florida over the past year. The jobless rate is falling because so many Floridians have stopped looking for work that they aren’t being counted anymore. Steep cuts in state spending have further squeezed the poor and unemployed, and in turn, the municipalities in which they live. The majority of new jobs are in the lowest-paying sectors. Wages have fallen for the poorest workers. Poverty has increased. Florida has one of the highest populations of uninsured in the country. Meanwhile, Scott has eliminated the corporate income tax for half the businesses that paid it, and is working on eliminating it for another quarter that still do. He has also rejected federal money to implement a new health care law he is opposed to, in both cases forgoing tens of millions of dollars.
Bloomberg's decision to transport the homeless out of New York City was a controversial idea, but it seems that the city of Fort Lauderdale is taking a page out of the same book with its newly approved $25,000 bus program. The program — much like Bloomberg's — aims to help the homeless by providing them with one-way bus tickets to relatives who are willing to take care of them. The program won't cost taxpayers a dime and is instead being paid for by money confiscated from criminals via the Florida law enforcement trust fund, according to CBS Miami. Overall, it seems that those living in Fort Lauderdale are supportive of the program, especially since there is no cost, and no people are being forced to leave the city. Nonetheless, is transporting homeless families out of a city the solution to homelessness? Should Orlando initiate a similar program, or could that $25,000 price tag be used to fund another, more long-term, program?
Arnold S. Cohen, the president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for the Homeless, an advocacy group in New York, considers moving the homeless as a mere cosmetic fix. It may look better for the city, but in reality the issue of homelessness hasn't changed.
"We're taking people from a shelter bed here to the living room couch of another family. Essentially, this family is still homeless," Cohen said in a report by The Times.
Cohen is absolutely right. Spending $25,000 on a transportation program for the homeless will not help these families find jobs, normal wages or security. It does nothing to end the cycle of poverty nor does it provide rehabilitation for those who might need it. Sure, that $25,000 is virtually free for the city of Fort Lauderdale to use, but do you know how Orlando uses money from the Florida law enforcement trust fund?
The city uses it to pay for initiatives like the Illegal Gun Bounty Program, a citywide effort to get illegal guns off the streets. These are the type of programs that have potential for a long-term impact on our community; asking the homeless to leave does not.
To be blunt, Orlando has even bigger issues to deal with when it comes to taking care of the homeless. You might remember members of the non-profit organization Food Not Bombs being arrested for feeding the homeless at Lake Eola. Then we have the growing childhood poverty rate of 25 percent, meaning that one in four children in Central Florida is homeless, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
If we want to end homelessness, it's going to take more than a bus ticket. It's going to take contributions of spare change, donations of old clothes and lobbying to our legislators to demand more for the middle class. This year, let's commit ourselves to being the change that we've been waiting for. If not now, then when? http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/opinion/one-way-tickets-not-solution-for-homeless-1.2683749#.TwtUMaWJf8E
Responding to the broadcast, state legislators announced a bipartisan effort to combat Florida’s homelessness crisis. State Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, and Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, announced that they “filed legislation for the 2012 Florida legislative session that seeks to raise awareness and funding to help combat homelessness.” http://floridaindependent.com/63300/central-florida-child-homelessness
Awareness we have, funding is necessary. Not one dollar should be spent on "raising awareness". Every cent should be used for the homeless. If it is humanly possible it should not be fanned out to multiple organizations. While I applaud the fact that they are doing something, it is not fast enough and I wonder if it will be enough. Further, it should be a criminal offense for any city, town or county to deny food to the homeless. Attempted murder.
"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."
gandhi mistreated his wife, denying her medicine. she died because of that.
Excellent quote.
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great post!! It proves that this government- federal and state- doesn't care about human suffering- It only cares about making the rich richer-
This corruption must be brought down..
You could also go to jail in FL if you feed the homeless.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/10/orlando-food-not-bombs-arrests_n_874840.html
Yep. Mind blowing. That's why I said that it should be a criminal offense for any city, town or county to deny food to the homeless. If they can make it a criminal offense to feed them then we need to make it a criminal offense for them to deny it.
And a shelter which is safe enough to rest for the night. Closure of the mental hospitals under the guise of big Pharma finding the solution to mental illness started the homelessness explosion and now the housing bubble has added to the problem. Now we are to just bus away the problems this has caused??? WTF!!!! These are human beings where is the religious right helping these folks??? They are the ones yelling LET HIM DIE!!!!
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In some areas some religious folks are helping them. In fact, they are some of the only people that are helping them as opposed to the overtly religious folks in office. Funding has been cut so drastically that the state agencies cannot take care of business. A bigger problem is that all of those charities were funded by our tax dollars and they are out now too.
We need to bring the money back into the public sphere, drop the charity funding and get back to business and reopen the state run mental health institutions and tell the for profit mental health institutions to take a hike.
I agree with bringing back the the state run hospitals, with proper protection of the patients rights of course. As for the religious far right, not too many of them are what they pretend to be. I have witnessed many of their short comings and the hate first hand from so called followers of Jesus. A lot different from my times in Church as a child that's for sure.
I agree. It is a death cult that is dying.
Homelessness is never a problem under a Democrat administration. If a Republican is elected this year then the media will go into a frenzy of sob stories about how the heartless 'pubs are killing the children.
It's a problem under Democrats as well. :/
If these we're victims of a natural disaster, we would go to hell and back to help these people get back on their feet. But when these people are victims of a human caused economic disaster, we treat them like lepers and drains on our society, and offer them a bus ticket to nowhere. Ruthless.
The Obama economy....
Whoops! Try again.
The disastrous Obama economy. Four years of Nancy Pelosi, six years of Harry Reid, and three years of Obama crushing capitalism results in the economy we now enjoy.
Had enough? Vote Republican.
Not a chance in hell. Your little party is done. You have nothing but batshit crazy to offer. You are aware of this.
Your party is done.
Not my party, just the only alternative to the current power brokers.
Sorry, toonces. I've seen your ramblings. They are your party.
Only because the Democrats are the antithesis of what I believe. Even the Republicans are not consistently conservative for me.
Don't care. It's mostly drivel on any account.
Fuck the tea party, just in case that is more your speed.
About the U label on your food. You pay for the 1% every time!
Non-Jews are unaware that all food products marked with the "K" or "U" Symbols have been TAXED by Jewish Rabbis!
Note: Each nation has its own symbol. Check in local Jewish publications, to find out what mark of the beast, is being used in your own country.
On every pantry shelf in America, lay dozens of canned and packaged food products which have a tiny "K" or "U" printed on the label.
This symbol informs Orthodox Jews that the items have been checked by a rabbi, to make sure that they have been prepared in accordance with "Jewish Dietary law", as set forth in the Jewish Talmud -(the real "bible" of the Jews.)
American food companies are forced to pay multi-billions of dollars to several Orthodox Jewish organizations, just so an estimated 10% to 20% of Jews, (or 800,000 to no more than 1.2 million Orthodox Jews), will buy their products. Please bear in mind that this is a country of 315 million people, and we are all forced to pay this Kosher Tax, just to appease LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION!
This comes out of your pocket!
What does "Kosher" mean? The word "Kosher" means "fit" to eat. Orthodox Jews are forbidden from eating meat products from any animal that doesn't have a split hoof and chew its cud. Pigs, (pork), is not kosher because while they do have the split hooves, they don't chew their cud. Rabbit meat is not kosher because, while they chew their cud, they don't have split hooves. Jews are not allowed to eat any dairy products along with meat at the same meal. If they eat meat at one meal, they must wait six hours before they can eat any dairy food.
All of this is superstitious nonsense, and has absolutely nothing to do with improving the quality of any food product. Still, this clever scheme of requiring kosher labeling has become a multi-million dollar business today! The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1942 states that the practice of eating rabbi-approved "kosher" foods goes back to ancient times when Jews were forbidden from eating with or having sex with Gentiles. The Encyclopedia says rabbis taught that, "Gentiles are ridden with diseases and death from unclean habits, and that, God wishes to protect his people from being contaminated by the Gentiles. The non-kosher goods of the Gentiles were ruled to have a contaminating effect!"
How Racist!
Falsehoods Used To Entice Christians To Accept Kosher Products.
One of our subscriber's wrote the "Aunt Jane Foods Co." in Faison, N.C. asking how much they pay annually for the use of the "U" symbol. Ms. Donna Fonvielle, head of Customer Relations, responded that Jews told them that by submitting to rabbinical supervision they are informing the public that "kosher products are produced under sanitary conditions."
The Jewish Press of Feb. 26, 1988, quotes Menachem Lubinsky, a major marketer of kosher products as saying, "the industry should tell inquisitive Christians this line, Kosher has become something like the 'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'. It makes a product appear to be healthier and of better quality."
The Washington Post of Nov. 2, 1987 quotes Rabbi Schulem Rubin, an Orthodox rabbi from the Bronx as declaring:
"Kosher doesn't taste any better; kosher isn't healthier; kosher doesn't have less salmonella. You can eat a Holly Farm chicken which sells for 39 cents a pound on sale, and next taste a Kosher chicken selling for $1.69 a pound, and not tell the difference. There's a lot of money to be made! Religion is not based on logic!"
The Sun-Sentinel of March 20, 1987, quotes Rabbi Irving Silverman, who organized the recent giant Kosher Foods Exposition in New York City, as stating: "There's one misconception I would like to clear up. There's a perception that the Jewish dietary laws are steeped in health considerations. That's not so at all. It is a commitment to a strict adherence to a tradition, a thread from one generation to another. I'm not kosher because its' healthier - I'm kosher because my parents were kosher and my grandparents were kosher. Its a commitment!"
Rabbi Bernard Levy, head of the Orthodox, "Committee For The Furtherance of Torah Observance," demonstrates how he stamps the Kosher symbol which has made him untold millions of dollars. (Tax free)
There would be no objection if the small Orthodox Jewish community made their own kosher products and paid for them, as they did before the kosher business was launched in 1919, for the general public. The problem lies in the fact that the meaning of these kosher labels is a tightly guarded secret of which most Christians have no knowledge.
America's huge manufacturers of processed food products keep a tight lid on this subject so that no explanation is ever allowed to seep out to the public. They only run ads announcing which products are kosher in Jewish publications, and NEVER in the daily press or on TV. This subject is so sensitive that few daily newspapers dare to carry articles about this controversy. Growing numbers of non-Jews who become aware of the secret kosher tax object to being forced to pay it. This is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Who Receives The Kosher Food Tax Money?
In 1960 there were only 225 companies paying the kosher food tax. This jumped to 475 in 1966 and 800 by 1975. Jewish promoters of kosher labeling say there now has been a "kosher food explosion" today with over 16,000 products now paying rabbinical organizations for their "stamp of kosher approval." Kosher products retail sales today amount to $30 billion a year according to "The Chicago Jewish Sentinel" of July 7, 1988.Note: In the year 2000, this is now a trillion dollar racketeering scheme, in which ever nation on Earth pays the KOSHER TAX.
Orthodox Jewish organizations have copyrighted certain symbols which only they can use. The giant in the business is "The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations" which issues the "U" imprint. They service some 1,200 companies or about 80% of the business. They employ nearly 600 rabbis as part-time "checkers." This is twice as many as ten years ago. The next largest is Rabbi Bernard Levy's "Committee For The Furtherance of Torah Observance" which uses the "K" symbol.
Canadian Kosher products are stamped with the letters "COR" which stands for "Council of Orthodox Rabbis". This is a front group for the powerful Canadian Jewish Congress, which actually receives all the money from this tax. The Jews in Canada are so united they do not allow any competition which is not the case in the U.S. Here a number of Orthodox rabbis have split away from the major groups to go into the kosher racket for themselves. (Why split easy money with the higher ups?) Note: This is not Just a problem in the UnitedStates and Canada. All nations with an Orthodox Jewish population are being extorted this way. Any were you have agents of the World Jewish Congress, you have this form of Racketeering. Do to NAFTA, Mexico is flooded with this problem. 100 Million Mexicans, mostly Catholic, have to pay tribute to Jews in this manner.
Rabbi Jack Goldman was formerly with the Orthodox Jewish Congregation but broke away and now runs the "Metropolitan Kashruth Council of Michigan ". He has several rabbis working for him and they issue an "MK" label. Some believe this stands for "Michigan Kosher." It is said that had he remained in the New York-New Jersey area his life would have been in danger. Note: The symbols differ from country to country, to find out what symbols are use in your nation, check advertisements in Jewish news papers and magazines.
Minnesota has Rabbi Asher Zeilingold who immigrated there in 1953 from England, and today issues his own "K with a shield" to some ISO factories.
This is strictly a religious tax, which millions of non-Jews unknowingly pay each time they buy a basket load of groceries! What would happen if a group of Christian ministers or priests got together, and demanded that all companies pay them a similar tax? They could use a "C," symbol (for Christian), or a cross, (for Christ), threatening that those who refuse to print such a label on their products would be boycotted by Christians.
If that happened you would hear an enraged outcry from the ACLU, American Jewish Committee, Jewish Anti-Defamation League, etc. They would be filing suits to stop this "violation of the Constitutional provisions providing for the separation of Church and State." But, because of the Jews' centuries old claim of being "a poor persecuted people" along with the Christian fear of being accused of "anti-Semitism," there is a deafening silence on this problem. Note: Modern Jews are not Semites, or the Jews of the Bible.
Most advertising agencies paint out Kosher symbols in ads. This violates the (American) federal "Truth in Advertising Law!" No daily paper or TV program has ever explained to the American people how this Kosher food tax costs consumers billions of dollars every year. In Jewish publications they have arrows pointing at the symbol so that Jews will be on the lookout for their product. Note: Were is the U.S. Justice Department on this subject ? If they can burn children alive at WACO, and shot fourteen year old boys in the back, surely they can go after the "Kosher Mafia".
Every Time your Eat, You Pay !!!
Take action. See samples of how below.
183,361 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 10:15am central time 01/15/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
The petition to save abandoned houses has 15 signatures. We picked one up at around 9:50pm 01/13/2012. Were just rolling right along.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Savingpeople-savinghomes-payingdowntheNationaldeficit/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
Sierra Club has some good things to take part in as well. Set-up and ready for you to take part in. http://sierraclub.org/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
Busing the homeless out was a strategy used here in Burlington some years ago - they were given free bus tickets by . . . .
you guessed it!
a repeliKan . . .
and they all came back . . .
bwa hahahaha
They did - honestly. I shouldn't laugh, homelessness isn't funny. What is funny is the way the initiative failed.
I love the way they handle issues. Sweep it under a rug and pretend it doesn't exist.
The repelican ideology has got to unravel at some point. It has to. Why anyone in NH is even planning to turn out for the vote tomorrow is beyond me.
We should have had a six month media blitz on the issue of global warming and repelican talking points on it.
There is simply no excuse for anyone to vote repelican anymore.
I cannot think of any reason to vote for them.
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