A block off Fremont

Nope. I didn't say that at all. Not even close. I think you're just being argumentative and you realize what I actually said. However, just in case you're being unusually thick today, I'll reiterate: inflation, considered in isolation, is neither a good nor a bad thing. In fact, deflation can be a sign that something is seriously wrong with the economy! The current inflation is one aspect of a booming economy.

There has been in the past, in the US and elsewhere, a combination of inflation and anemic GDP growth, a phenomenon called "stagflation." That's bad. It also illustrates why considering inflation in isolation is pointless, just as considering any one factor without considering the others makes no sense.

Inflation is only 7.5% on an annualized basis. Inflation for the month of January was 0.6%. Doesn't sound nearly as dramatic, does it?

I'm not even going to speculate on how you think inflation affects the lives of the homeless.

7.5% on annual basis is awful.  Inflation is almost always looked at on an annual basis btw.  Lets just cherry pick one month though.  This is not inflation in isolation either and you know that.  

I'll tell the homeless the economy is booming then.  You can hang out at grocery stores and tell the shoppers that Jan was just 0.6% so they feel better.  

Eliminating the mentally ill, who's at fault Kevin? I believe that those at fault chose many years ago not to prepare for life.  Kevin obviously didn't prepare for life, so I understand why he doesn't agree.

Your question/comment referred to whether and to what extent inflation affects the lives of the homeless. It affects their lives very little.

It is in fact an isolated occurrence, considering that it's only been happening for a few months and is expected to abate soon. Considering such data in isolation is like looking at a week in which ten inches of rain fell and concluding that you live in the world's wettest climate.

Check back in six months, see what inflation is then, and then you can decide whether to storm the White House.

What you believe barely intersects with reality. I know you love (love, love, LOVE) that phrase, "prepare for life," but it's idiotic. No one knows what their life will be ten years from now, let alone twenty or forty. No one knows what the world will be like. There's no "at fault" for not being able to predict the future.

I know that many of those who sneer at the plight of the homeless justify that attitude by saying it's their own fault. Sometimes that's largely true. Other times, that's anything but true. But yeah, pat yourself on the back, preen, and say "MOI prepared for life," so you can feel good about just laughing at that homeless guy, and maybe spitting on him, rather than giving him a dollar.

This conversation really belongs in the Sink, don't you think?

Yeah, but in the past, when I've told them to take their personal attacks to the Sink, they haven't done that. I think it's hopeless.

But I am done with this thread. Pity how there can't be rational discussion--but I've said before that such discussion is impossible when people argue from belief and prejudice rather than objective fact.

Sigh.

I assume that you don't think the homeless deserve their fate and should be rounded up and shot. You seem like a decent person.

I'm getting relatively close to retirement age and can honestly say I've never lived paycheck  to paycheck.  I'm  positive that I, just like everyone, could have if I'd  chosen to.

      From the moment one wakes up until one goes back to sleep, one makes numerous decisions throughout each day. These personal decisions determine the quality of a persons life. People have choices - and people are allowed to make their own choices about how they handle their lives. If one chooses to take drugs, abuse alcohol or do other negative producing things - that is on them. Making excuses for their choice of lifestyle does not mandate that others are somehow responsible for these people. As I alluded to before, some 2/3rds of the homeless are drug users and alcohol abusers ( all of these facts are on and can be verified with a Google search). In all of the articles I have read, no where did I see/read "that the homeless deserve their fate and should be rounded up and shot". The nationwide homeless problem will not change and will only get worse as long as these people are allowed to defecate and urinate in public and move in and set up tents on public streets, parks, lawns and sidewalks. Giving needles and crack pipe kits do nothing to resolve this problem - in reality they only encourage this type of behavior. Apparently there is no answer for how to deal with this issue, but one must be found. I, for one, am not responsible for and will not be held accountable for the chosen lifestyles of these people. I do have a suggestion for those who condemn society about how the homeless are being handled, how about each one of you take into your homes these homeless people and help them become independant and self sufficent. Instead of complaining about and condemming those who are not homeless, do something proactive and help these people yourselves. 

I have done exactly what David Miller suggested (though I suspect he was being disingenuous). I've sponsored homeless people and paid for their housing. I've donated over $50,000 lifetime to homeless shelters. Even when times have been tight, I've bought basic supplies in bulk (you might not know, the one most requested item is disposable razors) and distributed them.

Why? Because many years ago, I was homeless for several months. While I did eventually claw my way out of it, I could never have done so without the help of many kind and generous people. Yeah, I had the drive, the pluck, the ambition, the smarts, the derring-do, blah blah that all the sneering cognoscenti say is all you need to get yourself off the street. To that, I say--my ass. To get out of homelessness, you need help.

So my support for the homeless isn't some kind of noble effort--I consider it repayment. I just wish all the people with their noses in the air had some inkling of what I learned the hard way.