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Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

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Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#191

Post by forapurpose »

Recall that Bezos effectively undid a Seattle tax, already passed by the democratic government there, to fund affordable housing.[0] This is not a substitute for that tax and policy. Instead, it part of a dangerous trend where an aristocracy substitutes for a democratic society, seizing power and decision-making from fellow citizens.

If Bezos or his company would pay their share of taxes, then society could make a joint decision and investment on how to help the homeless. Instead he does not pay, undermining democracy, and then he has power over the homeless and over the policy of his country.

(In fairness, not all charity is aristocracy, but I'm talking about charity in the absence of democracy and as a substitute for it.)

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/technology/seattle-tax-am...

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#192

Post by WillPostForFood »

dmode wrote: post #101

Finally someone realizes that there is a problem. There is no justification in the biggest economy of the world to have this much poverty and homelessness. I am amazed every time I travel to Europe, how few homeless people there are, despite their economic growth lagging the US. And it is inherently a solvable problem with adequate resources. We have $1 trillion for the military. Surely, we can spare a few billions a…

Military spending is only 16% of Government spending, you'd think we could cover the homeless somehwere in that other 84%.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#193

Post by lostmsu »

emodendroket wrote: post #155
rstupek wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homelessness is typically a mental health problem, not a property value problem

People always say this, but the problem is that it's not true. A majority of homeless people are not mentally ill.

This statement contradicts parent's. What is your source?

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#194

Post by Someguywhatever »

ithilglin909 wrote: post #158

This isn’t popular, but I’d challenge anyone who thinks homelessness in Seattle isn’t primarily an addiction and mental illness problem to go spend a few afternoons in areas with significant homeless populations (3rd Ave in Pioneer Square is a great place, if you need a suggestion). It’s not that affordable housing isn’t a problem in Seattle. I know people who couldn’t live on their own in Seattle anymore due to rent…

I would say the same is true here in Toronto. Almost all the homeless I see appear to fit either of those two descriptors, either clearly mentally ill, drug users who are tweaking, or they have the signs of extreme drug use (visible scabs where they repeatedly inject), or are day drinking right there on the street. I'm not implying anything like they don't deserve help or whatever, I'm just agreeing that affordable housing or subsidies or something of that nature would have almost zero impact on homelessness IMO.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#195

Post by zouhair »

CodeSheikh wrote: post #130

I dont't care if this is a PR stint to ward of recent criticism Bezos is getting from Bernie et al but if this fund goes and actually help and make a real life impact on the lives of homeless people, then I am fine and I will hold back my criticism of Amazon. I mean clearly I have not done enough to mitigate homelessness in this country who am I to question others motives trying to solve the same problem?

Great, this is just the revival of the charity of feudal masters.

Things now are so dire that charity became more than needed.

Your comment is proof that it is a good way to clean one's reputation even if you do horrible things in a daily basis.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#196

Post by carwyn »

ithilglin909 wrote: post #158

This isn’t popular, but I’d challenge anyone who thinks homelessness in Seattle isn’t primarily an addiction and mental illness problem to go spend a few afternoons in areas with significant homeless populations (3rd Ave in Pioneer Square is a great place, if you need a suggestion). It’s not that affordable housing isn’t a problem in Seattle. I know people who couldn’t live on their own in Seattle anymore due to rent…

Often the addiction comes after the homelessness as a mechanism to combat boredom and cold.

Mental illness, financial circumstance and relationship breakdowns (family or spouse) are indeed common initial causes. Especially PTSD in veterans.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#197

Post by CydeWeys »

ithilglin909 wrote: post #158

This isn’t popular, but I’d challenge anyone who thinks homelessness in Seattle isn’t primarily an addiction and mental illness problem to go spend a few afternoons in areas with significant homeless populations (3rd Ave in Pioneer Square is a great place, if you need a suggestion). It’s not that affordable housing isn’t a problem in Seattle. I know people who couldn’t live on their own in Seattle anymore due to rent…

You're not seeing all the other homeless people though who were displaced by high housing prices and who aren't spending all their time drugged out in highly visible urban areas. There are many homeless people living out of cars or shelters, or in tents. Many of them even still have jobs, they just can't afford housing.

See: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-anderson-forecast...

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#198

Post by forapurpose »

BryantD wrote: post #84
pinewurst wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a Seattle resident, and despite my dislike for Bezos, this was a stupid tax - more connected to Seattle's dysfunctional politics than solving our bad homeless problem. Among other things, it was keyed to revenues not profits (specifically to target Amazon) but it ended up burning the likes of grocers who provide decent jobs but don't have a lot of margin even with large revenues. Good riddance to it and a…

Let's go back a little bit further in the history. In 2010, Washington took a shot at an income tax for individuals making over $200,000 a year. Bezos spent $100,000 to oppose that (along with a lot of other wealthy Washingtonians). Bezos also didn't support the Seattle income tax, although as far as I know he didn't spend money to oppose it. The head tax was suboptimal and, yeah, stupid. Nobody would have proposed i…

> Bezos also didn't support the Seattle income tax, although as far as I know he didn't spend money to oppose it.

He did; Amazon was among the primary opposition (if we're talking about the same tax):

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/technology/seattle-tax-am...

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#200

Post by [deleted] »

ithilglin909 wrote: post #158

This isn’t popular, but I’d challenge anyone who thinks homelessness in Seattle isn’t primarily an addiction and mental illness problem to go spend a few afternoons in areas with significant homeless populations (3rd Ave in Pioneer Square is a great place, if you need a suggestion). It’s not that affordable housing isn’t a problem in Seattle. I know people who couldn’t live on their own in Seattle anymore due to rent…

[deleted]
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