Nearly 25% of San Jose Residents Now Live in Poverty

[GRG55]

Re: Nearly 25% of San Jose Residents Now Live in Poverty

Yes that among others, is one of the reasons that once you enter poverty (for whatever reason,) it is very difficult to get out of the viscious cycle without adequate help. Adequate help typically cannot come from charities (which normally are underfunded, and offer little systemic help) -- like it or not state help is the only viable way to help the poor and homeless to break the cycle.)

Unfortunately that is too much the case in our western societies today.

But there was a time when it was the family unit that was expected to take care of their own, not the state. Instead, over time, we have removed the stigma of divorce, among other "anti-family" legislation, and created an entire class of single parent households, without any extended family support, living in poverty.

...In 2008, 28.7 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 13.8 percent of households headed by single men and 5.5 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty...

[from the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy]

Apparently the only solution is more state intervention, in the form of family services departments, "child welfare" organizations, calls for state organized day-care [which, unfortunately, seems what many of our schools are turning into], and a host of other programs designed to address the problems the state helped amplify in the first place.

[Rajiv]

Re: Nearly 25% of San Jose Residents Now Live in Poverty

More than that. THe last 60 years have slowly led to a breakdown of BOTH the family and community. In this case, I would argue that Kunstler is right, and that suburbanization, and the push for nuclear famillies, and the evolution of the work place have greatly aided the process.

For the individual, there is little community outside of the workplace. The shift away from lifetime/long term employment contracts to employment at the whim of the employer over the last 30 years has led to the weakening of even that community.

So again Kunstler and the "Doomers" may have it right. A shift to localization has to happen. For that to happen, "Corporate Giantism" has to go. Even under the current rather dire circumstances, I do not see that happening. So, what is the solution?