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Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

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Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#111

Post by jessaustin »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #81
fps wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a $319 laptop ( http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-G505-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/... ) and, while I can see the brand of the bike, that's likely a less than $150 bike when it was brand new. Pit bulls/boxers are basically free at any dog shelter. The average rent price of apartments in Pensacola Fl (where he lives) is $819/month, and the cheapest apartment I could find was $600/month, with proof of income and first…

>> "Pit bulls/boxers are basically free at any dog shelter." True but you have to feed them.

You don't have to feed them society-approved dog food. Some people live on dumpster-diving; it's much easier to imagine a dog owner helping the dog do that. In an area with the right kind of restaurants, this would take about ten minutes of effort once a day.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#112

Post by cool100 »

twoodfin wrote: post #106
cool100 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone is eligible.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibilit... Anyone with $2000 in a bank account or other "countable" resources.

  Generally ABAWDS between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search. This requirement is waived in some locations. 

  With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in disqualification from the Program.
It's only for 3 months in a 36-month period.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#113

Post by hosh »

twoodfin wrote: post #108
hosh wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, you guys talking about how this guy should have an apartment or something because he has a laptop are lacking in empathy. When was the last time you met the eyes of one of these good-for-nothing, lazy, bad-smelling, disgusting … things ? If you can't even meet eyes with a homeless person, let alone really observing the person, you can't even put yourself into their shoes, feel what they feel, and see the world f…

When was the last time you met the eyes of one of these good-for-nothing, lazy, bad-smelling, disgusting … things? That's a fairly vile perspective to project onto someone you're trying to have a productive conversation with. Please treat folks on hn with a bit more respect.

I've watched people and how they actually react to people on the streets. I've watched myself. When aversion arises, I have seen this reaction.

Does everyone on HN have this aversion? No. I can't even see your faces, hear your voice. But everyone has some kind of aversion. There is often something vile lurking within the depths of people's hearts. It's ugly. I wrote that to give you the reader, a sense of empathy for the people who turn away in disgust from another human being, and believe me, I've seen that kind of reaction in person.

I've seen it in people walking down the street being solicited by the homeless. I've seen it in mothers and fathers turning away from their children. I've seen it in politicians, and activists. I've seen it all sorts of ordinary people.

I don't know if you react that way. You might. You might not. You might even react this way, and don't even know it.

The only way to be truly respectful is not to hide this, but to bring this ugliness out into the open, to really look at it, and to accept that you have these feelings -- whatever those feelings are -- arising from you. Who knows? You might find the deeper root causes for those feelings.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#114

Post by tesseractive »

rfnslyr wrote: post #93
jebblue wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> because you don't earn a living wage on minimum wage Are you saying minimum wage is not already high enough to live on?

I can't help but feel sorry for all these chaps that are arguing. Do you all live in a fantasy land? I feel like almost nobody here has truly started from the bottom, but rather like to observe from the tower they were born in. Why is it that I was able to live on part-time minimum wage ($10/hr) that covered rent (rented a room for $500), food ($100 a month and I ate like a king, never ate outside, always home cooked…

> Why is it that I was able to live on part-time minimum wage ($10/hr) that covered rent (rented a room for $500), food ($100 a month and I ate like a king, never ate outside, always home cooked), and my drinking? I was living fine.

Were you supporting a family at the time? If not, you might consider the possibility that what was a living income for you might not be sufficient for everyone else.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#115

Post by rfnslyr »

tesseractive wrote: post #114
rfnslyr wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't help but feel sorry for all these chaps that are arguing. Do you all live in a fantasy land? I feel like almost nobody here has truly started from the bottom, but rather like to observe from the tower they were born in. Why is it that I was able to live on part-time minimum wage ($10/hr) that covered rent (rented a room for $500), food ($100 a month and I ate like a king, never ate outside, always home cooked…

> Why is it that I was able to live on part-time minimum wage ($10/hr) that covered rent (rented a room for $500), food ($100 a month and I ate like a king, never ate outside, always home cooked), and my drinking? I was living fine. Were you supporting a family at the time? If not, you might consider the possibility that what was a living income for you might not be sufficient for everyone else.

But then that brings me to the question, why are you packing on more than you can handle.

Disclaimer: I'm not talking about people who developed their lives in a different class, then lost everything. I'm talking about people that time and time again make dumb decisions, don't realize it, then blame their problems on either the system, or some other scapegoat when 90% of the time it's you that screws you.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#116

Post by twoodfin »

hosh wrote: post #113
twoodfin wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When was the last time you met the eyes of one of these good-for-nothing, lazy, bad-smelling, disgusting … things? That's a fairly vile perspective to project onto someone you're trying to have a productive conversation with. Please treat folks on hn with a bit more respect.

I've watched people and how they actually react to people on the streets. I've watched myself. When aversion arises, I have seen this reaction. Does everyone on HN have this aversion? No. I can't even see your faces, hear your voice. But everyone has some kind of aversion. There is often something vile lurking within the depths of people's hearts. It's ugly. I wrote that to give you the reader, a sense of empathy for…

"Some kind of aversion" is a long, long way from seeing other human beings as "things".

I think it would be better if we all acted as if hn were populated by people much closer to the former end of that spectrum.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#117

Post by twoodfin »

cool100 wrote: post #112
twoodfin wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibilit... Anyone with $2000 in a bank account or other "countable" resources.

Generally ABAWDS between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search. This requirement is waived in some locations. With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an e…

For people without kids or other family responsibilities who can't even be bothered to show up for free, government-funded work-training?

That doesn't sound like being forced to live on $1/day to me. Yes, of course I can voluntarily not accept the money and goods being offered to me, but that's not really the point.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#118

Post by VMG »

crazypyro wrote: post #74
VMG wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The minimum wage does a lot of good Interesting you say then when you can clearly see that actually hurts those people.

Its almost like it both has advantages and disadvantages... How crazy...

You're right, I didn't consider employers of illegal workers and the automation industry.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#119

Post by sliverstorm »

lifeformed wrote: post #73
hooande wrote: post #29

There were a few points that the article didn't bring up. I was surprised that they didn't discuss the speculative value of bitcoins. There's no way that the value of a dollar in your pocket will suddenly double, but the value of a bitcoin has and will again. Obviously volatility isn't all fun...would you want your salary paid in bitcions? In the current market you might actually come out ahead over the next few year…

I wonder if Amazon's Mechanical Turk pays in Bitcoins? That seems like a better choice than watching YouTube vids. You could earn much more than 60 cents a day.

I love the idea behind Mechanical Turk, but last time I tried to use it I found the barriers too high to make it worthwhile (considering the pay). The good tasks had long qualifying tests, and the market was absolutely flooded with low quality tasks so picking a task became a chore in itself.

Re: Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

#120

Post by sliverstorm »

hosh wrote: post #80
Taylorious wrote: post #50

Love the picture of the "homeless" guy using a laptop newer than mine, with his pet, nice bike, playing a video game while he smokes a cig. He also has an energy drink... as if he needs it to get through his day of sitting around. It's people like him who are hurting the homeless people that are actually in need.

Wow, you guys talking about how this guy should have an apartment or something because he has a laptop are lacking in empathy. When was the last time you met the eyes of one of these good-for-nothing, lazy, bad-smelling, disgusting … things ? If you can't even meet eyes with a homeless person, let alone really observing the person, you can't even put yourself into their shoes, feel what they feel, and see the world f…

If you can't even meet eyes with a homeless person... you lack empathy.

I don't cast my eyes aside because I am disgusted. I cast my eyes aside because I see myself through his eyes- just another selfish anglo that won't show charity- and I am too ashamed to look him in the eye.

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