Corruption in America
by Gary C. Huber
5/5/03
Iraq or America
It never ceases to amaze me how the United States government and the American people forget about their own. So many are focused on rebuilding Iraq after President George W. Bush blew it apart, by sending mobile clinics there, restoring 6,000 schools, and providing textbooks, food and job training all on the taxpayer while our home is in an economic crisis.
What about our homeless and hungry? We are shutting down shelters and soup kitchens because we can't afford them, but we have money to rebuild Iraq. This doesn't make sense.
Don't we need work, schools and job training here? We put more and more people on the streets each day and chase them from town to town.
In Santa Barbara, California the city officials wish to make a new law that bars homeless people from sleeping in their RV's. If this new law is passed the police will haul their vehicles off, forcing them onto the streets.
Linda Miller, 46, who has lived in a RV for the past four years, said of the new law, "The mental stress is torturous. I have watched my friends break down because they don't know which way to go."
This is not the solution to our homeless problem. I agree with what Peter Marin, chairman of the committee for social justice, said about the way we treat our homeless in America. "This is a class war. Either they want to see the poor out of town or they don't care what happens to them."
Americans, how can we be so insensitive to our own people's needs and allow this to happen while we are sending so much to a country that hates us? The way we treat our own people is disgusting. Our tax dollars should stay here for the American people. LET'S ALL SPEAK OUT FOR THE AMERICAN.
Sources:
"For-Profits Are Focus for a New Iraq" by Nancy Cleeland and Mark Fineman, Los Angeles Times, Orange County edition, Thursday, April 10, 2003, Business section, p. C1.
"R V Dwellers Take Santa Barbara to Court" by John Johnson, Los Angeles Times, Orange County edition, Friday, April 11, 2003, California section, p. B6.
