Poverty

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- Higher prices are making it harder for elderly to buy food they need
  Posted by Jeff from Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  While the shaky economy has made it more difficult for low-income people to meet their basic needs, the problem is deeper for the elderly and those with disabilities. Many are unable to shop for groceries, get to food banks or prepare their meals. They spoke of the choices they had to make between buying food or medicine, or paying their utility bills. "There's quite a bit of people here who live on peanut butter sandwiches -- that's it," one resident said.
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- More People Living Below Poverty Line
  Posted by Jeff from New York Times
  The poverty-fighting institution said there were 1.4 billion people — a quarter of the developing world — living in extreme poverty on less than $1.25 a day in 2005.
  
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- Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing
  Posted by Jeff from Seattle Times
  While the abundance of cranes on the Seattle skyline seems to indicate there remains some profitability in development, the Seattle City Council hesitated Tuesday to actually put some teeth behind infrastructure taxes on this period of growth: To some low-income-housing advocates, spending $1,115 a month to rent a studio apartment in Seattle does not sound affordable. Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council say it is. The city defines an affordable place as costing no more than 30 percent of a household's income. Separately, the city now spends $40 million a year in voter-approved levy funds on low-income housing targeted at people who make below 50 percent of median income.
  7 comments
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- YouTube - Social crisis in Detroit
  Posted by Sandyenglish from You Tube
  The World Socialist Web Site interviewed workers and professionals in Detroit about the worsening social conditions as gas prices and food prices soar through the roof. In this clip, our reporters spoke with Jada Browning a young mother of three who recently lost her job.
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- Vancouver's Bed Bug Plague
  Posted by Shemuses from The Tyee
  At least once a week in Vancouver, bug exterminator Mark Amery enters a private home, lifts a mattress and watches the box spring move with blood-sucking vermin. It's an optical illusion caused by up to a thousand twitching bed bugs, each no larger than a lentil, which are infesting more houses, rental apartments and hotel rooms in Vancouver today than at any point in the city's modern history.
  1 comment
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- America is rotting from the inside
  Posted by VincebusEruptum from Scholarsandrogues
  Politicians are failing to comprehend the breadth of the US infrastructure crisis. Only disasters move our representatives to act - and in an election year, even those actions seem spotty at best and disingenuous at worst. The United States has much more than failing bridges to find, fund and fix. A comprehensive report by Dr. Denny Wilkins.
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- Local Retired carpenter offers hot soup, warm smile to homeless on Seattle's Capitol Hill
  Posted by Jeff from Seattle Times
  Bill Pond parks his pickup twice a week on Broadway Avenue East near a boarded-up Jack in the Box. There, he offers chicken soup, egg-salad sandwiches and juice to the homeless. The retired carpenter pays for it out of his own pocket, collecting and recycling aluminum cans to help offset some of the cost.
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okami comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

sure. . .that’s about three times what i’m paying on my house. . .which takes up half my retirement. . .
affordable? not to people worse off than me.

Reply »
1:22 am 7/02/08
Jeff comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

Nickels may be a community leading green mayor but he’s also a developer’s mayor and paul allen’s mayor and a do-little mayor on transit.

Reply »
11:35 pm 7/01/08
lizsternberg comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

I was motivated to write to May Nickels in response to this. Here’s what I wrote to him:
"I do not believe $1115 in rent a month is "Affordable housing."

The fact that there are many well to do business people in Seattle should not put a shadow over the Childcare professionals, construction workers, educators, and Administrative Assistants who make less than 40K a year. If they had to pay $1115 a month it would most certainly be well over 30% of their income.

Are you trying to turn Seattle into an elitist community, or what?"

If you feel the same way, you should email important officials too.

Reply »
11:22 pm 7/01/08
Aisleace comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

I always heard that rent or housing shoud be 25% of your salary. That $1115 a month works out to a salary of $53520 a year. They must be rich in Seattle if low income singles (because it’s a studio apartment) are making over $53000 a year. Based on a 40 hour week that works out to $25.48/hour.

Reply »
9:36 pm 7/01/08
mymanjones comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

I live on Social Security only. My income is less than $900 a month. HUD gives we senior citizens a place to live at 30% of income after medical expenses. Try it sometime. Going to the bathroom on a regular basis is our form of joy.

Don Jones

Reply »
8:57 pm 7/01/08
newscloud2 comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

I think I heard someone call the crane the official bird of Seattle.
See http://www.crosscut.com/real-estate/12205/Skyline%2C 2008/

Reply »
5:11 pm 7/01/08
j1o2n3a4s5 comments on:
Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

endentured housitude to the fascist bankers

Reply »
5:05 pm 7/01/08