Jobs are being lost everyday due to the decrease in spending. Foreclosures are continuing and unemployment is rising due to low consumer spending. People are not able to "spend" as they are paying too much for the basic necessities of life such as housing, food and medical expenses. Many are loosing their homes and medical insurance as I write this and the homeless population continues to grow. Over the past twenty years there has been a constant increase in the population of the homeless in this country. The economy is fueled from the bottom up and not from the top down. The rich will only get richer and the poor will get poorer with this upside down way of conducting business in this country. Necessities need to cost what everyone can afford.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Continued Notes on the Declining Middle Class
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Notes on the Declining Middle Class
Money and Corporations have a stranglehold on the public. Insurance companies and banks have total control of the people's financial behavior. When everyone survives by living in constant debt due to the high cost of necessities such as housing, utilities, insurance and health care, they are doomed to pay the high interest on debt for their lifetime. Just 30 years ago the people could pay off their debts long before retirement, and 20 years ago "homelessness" was rare. If living on credit were nonexistent, everything would be affordable. A lot of people are paying as much as 75% (25% is acceptable) of their income on housing alone.
The high population of homelessness can never be an accurate count as there are many homeless (formerly of the middle class) who live in their car, RV or boat out of necessity. They don't want to call attention to their plight.
The banks are paying low interest on savings and charging high interest on loans. The bank executives are receiving obscene bonuses.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thoughts on Housing Costs
I'm currently working on an art project titled: HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS
“What happens to One, happens to all of us.” (THE HOUSE OF BERNARD ALBA, Fredrico Garcia Lorca, 1936)
These sculptures are constructed of boxes and newspapers. Newspapers are used regularly by the homeless as blankets and lining for their clothes to keep warm while they sleep in their boxes, cars and tents.
“What happens to One, happens to all of us.” (THE HOUSE OF BERNARD ALBA, Fredrico Garcia Lorca, 1936)
"But Lillian Calamari, a program manager for Single Room Occupancy Housing Corp., which manages more than a dozen temporary, emergency and permanent housing centers and support services around Skid Row, said people are being priced out of the area. "The homeless population will continue to grow as long as housing is considered an investment rather than a necessity," she said. (Downtown News, Fear of a Downtown Chill Moratorium on Conversions of Low-Income Properties Divides Community" by Chris Coates, Friday, May 26, 2006 6:35 PM PDT)
The working class has been forced to live deep in debt on credit due to the rising cost of housing over the past twenty years and the people have been one paycheck away from homelessness. The average cost of a home has risen from 80,000 to 350,000. The rise in the population over the past twenty years of homelessness is a result of this trend.
Today it is considered ”a bargain” to pay 500.00 a month for a home. One needs to be fully employed (.25% of 25,000 a year) to pay even that amount of money for housing, consequently one paycheck from being homeless. The rich will always be rich, the poor and the declining middle class are in a state of stress due to the high cost of living and constant debt. Living debt free with money in the bank – housing takes it all.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Public Art Installation
http://flickr.com/photos/33264678@N00/?batch_done=1
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