Seattle is Dying

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Seattle is Dying is a good, neutral analysis of the mental and physical repercussions of a lax and liberal governmental oversight of the homeless and sociologically impaired population of Seattle Washington.

I can personally verify that this account is accurate.

I'm just getting to the part where they're comparing Seattle to Rhode Island. No doubt this problem has a few factors, but at least initially, I'm skeptical of the comparison if for no other reason than the weather.

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31 minutes ago, brownbook said:

Your a little cynical ?. All I can think of is agencies that try to provide services for the homeless somehow profiting? It's like the myth that scientists/doctors know the cure for cancer but they don't want it known because treating cancer is a big profitible industry. I don't buy either one.

I'm on the fence about this too, but what about the notion that the very powerful and influential military-industrial complex profits handsomely from continued warfare? Also, the same can be said about the prison privatization movement-mass incarceration, as in no prison reform translates into $$$$$!

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Specializes in ER.

Walmart is building housing in the greater Seattle area and squeezing the lifeblood out of tenants. The whole real estate market is going bananas again, with big profits for huge corporations.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
56 minutes ago, brownbook said:

Your a little cynical ?. All I can think of is agencies that try to provide services for the homeless somehow profiting? It's like the myth that scientists/doctors know the cure for cancer but they don't want it known because treating cancer is a big profitible industry. I don't buy either one.

No, not the agencies profiting. They struggle with constantly having to do more with less. Who is raising the money for the agencies? How much is their cut?

There's no Charity Navigator for government programs. But we know that some give more bang for the buck than others.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
31 minutes ago, morelostthanfound said:

I'm on the fence about this too, but what about the notion that the very powerful and influential military-industrial complex profits handsomely from continued warfare? Also, the same can be said about the prison privatization movement-mass incarceration, as in no prison reform translates into $$$$$!

Many years ago I read an article that stated eradication of the boll weevil would end research on the eradication of the boll weevil and thus have a greater negative impact on the cotton industry than the negative impact of the boll weevil on the cotton industry?...makes perfect sense...

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

So the homeless tend to be concentrated on the west coast for weather reasons. People there can live outdoors 24/7 with little risk of death from either hot or cold, no matter what season.

The overall problems are a) the bootstraps fallacy b) people not understanding the scope of the issue and how complex it is to solve c) being unwilling to change far more than just housing.

I live in SF. Actual places to live are just a small part of it, there needs to be comprehensive drug treatment, mental health, childcare, education and just overall help for people, even if they don't "deserve" it because they are lazy or drug addicted or whatever. It's not just the people coming in, it's also the people here, who have been here who are trying to cash out and get their own from it.

But, overall gentrification is an incredibly complex issue, which many people reduce to black and white. It will always be the housing cycle that an area will be cheap and dangerous, so poor minorities will move in because they can afford it. And people will call for better neighborhoods, less crime, more access to services. Then a few people move in who like restoring or fixing up old places, then suddenly what people thought was a crap area isn't so bad. They work hard to make it a better place to live. As it becomes a better place to live, low income who are just a fraction higher move in, until improvements have been made until it's a trendy area.

But if people can figure out a quick and painless solution to homelessness, I suggest you also turn your attention to the middle east and brexit and try and fix those! ;)

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9 hours ago, morelostthanfound said:

I disagree that a tax levee is needed considering that the US spends more on defense that all of the other NATO countries combined. The net effect from all of the US's previous foreign occupations, (Iran, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria.....) has been death, destruction, and the creation of political instability in these already very volitile countries-all to the tune of trillions of taxpayers' dollars. Just think if those monies could have been spent on the domestic front; improving infrastructure, drug/alcohol treatment program, jobs housing.... All very sad!

You can defend a region and national interests and take care of societal ills too...there has never been a time or place in history where the standard of living has been as high as it is for the US now, yet parts of the riches cities in the world look like 3rd World slums. I'm not disagreeing with you per se, but the money is there.

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5 hours ago, LilPeanut said:

So the homeless tend to be concentrated on the west coast for weather reasons. People there can live outdoors 24/7 with little risk of death from either hot or cold, no matter what season.

Hypothermia contributes to the death of homeless people on the west coast also. It is incorrect to say that homeless people on the west coast are at little risk of death from cold 24/7, no matter what the season.

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

It's possible to die of hypothermia, but in other places it's nigh impossible to live outside without hypothermia. Living outdoors in San Francisco is far different from living outdoors in Indiana.

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Specializes in ER.

I find it extremely disconcerting that Governor Inslee proclaimed his desire to make Washington a sanctuary state immediately after our Kittitas County Sheriff Deputy was slain by an illegal immigrant.

Today was his public Memorial ?

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
9 minutes ago, Emergent said:

I find it extremely disconcerting that Governor Inslee proclaimed his desire to make Washington a sanctuary state immediately after our Kittitas County Sheriff Deputy was slain by an illegal immigrant.

Today was his public Memorial ?

No words, no words...may God grant the grace and strength for those robbed of their loved one to carry on. Amen ?

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Specializes in ER.
11 minutes ago, OldDude said:

No words, no words...may God grant the grace and strength for those robbed of their loved one to carry on. Amen ?

He had a wife and 3 children. ?

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