In his most recent STOU address, Obama commented that “Food Stamp recipients did not cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did.”1 Most Americans agree with this statement. The surprisingly informative as well as entertaining movie, The Big Short, along with Bernie Sanders rise, have helped in reinforcing conversation about the inequality increasing across throughout the world.2 We can see that the system is rigged, but as the recent uproar over the lottery has shown, we still want to be millionaires, and that's the problem: we all can't.

Recently I went out on the bay of Seattle for a family brunch cruise. The small cruise takes you all throughout the bay passing by small islands decked out with large homes. Passing halfway by one of the islands, the Captain comes onto the intercom to announce that we're passing Bill Gate's House. The Captain continues to give us the details of the interior, as the house has 24 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, 2,100 square foot library, a garage that can accommodate 23 cars and over a dozen security guards who patrol the area. The Captain also reminds us that although when building this house he was nice enough to pay off their mortgage and send them all on trips across the world.

A sense of appreciation for this man's greatness who, with his own money, was willing to pay not only his neighbors house mortgage but also willing to send them anywhere they wanted to go free of charge. All of this done so they could avoid the annoyance of Gate's building his fortress, which would take seven years to complete. Talk about altruism! And people on the boat were amazed, impressed. One could easily sense the ounce of pride one has for themselves with having so much money. The luxury, freedom, and of course, the liberty to do as you please.

A woman behind us who brought her daughter on the cruise to celebrate her birthday was talking about how great and generous Bill and his wife Melinda are with their charities. They save Africa from diseases, help fight the “corruption” of public schools with the implementation of the equally nefarious charter schools,3 and help bankrupt communities by funding the harsh oppression of slave labor.4 What can't they do?

This is the beauty of capitalism: it's inspiring. We hear these grandiose stories and our conversations of the rich having too much money and the people working two or three jobs barely making it completely disappears. We can talk about the corruption of politicians working in favor of private interests but once we see their palace, and connect the idea they give charity our hearts warm and our desires for a similar lifestyle null any sense of logic on income equality disparities we had before. Ironically enough, Bill Gates recently admitted Capitalism won't solve Climate change, especially considering he helps sustain the corrupt and inept culture of fossil fuels. 5

We see rich people's homes and imagine ourselves one day that can be us. Although in most cases, my generation is already living on less than what are my parents were. We are the first generation not to live a better life than our parents.6 We own less money, have more debt, and it's not because we're lazy. In fact, we've been more productive than our grandparents generation and get paid less for it. And this is the problem.7  The transfer of wealth has changed hands.

How can we possibly look at one house that has 24 bathrooms whose owner is worth well over 80 billion dollars and not make the connection of why 578,424 are homeless,8 and more than half of Americans can’t afford their house or rent.9 Even if you made the argument that Gates paid the other occupants mortgages, it only went to a very small percentage of people who were already well-off (did I mention their living on a island). But this again forgoes the bigger picture of the majority of the population falling ever more into the lower brackets of poverty.

Many economist will remark that the top .01% will own as much wealth as the bottom 90%.10 The irony with this statement is that the bottom half don’t even own wealth. All the money they account for goes right back into the economy or to pay off debts. There are a few lucky with enough equity in their homes, but even some have to use that equity to make up for their stagnant wages.11 And debts have been growing since the 80’s which has nothing to do with laziness. They’ve gone into debt to keep up with the increase in costs of goods and services while not seeing an increase in their wages. It’s simple to understand, especially when you look at the fact that 95% of the income gains has gone to the top 1%.12

People continue to see the federal and local governments raise taxes on the lower and middle class and we're still left with broken roads, weak public transits, and an already failing new bay bridge.13,14 People are right to point at the corruption in government. It's been hijacked by corporations and private interest who are pulling the strings. Democrats and Republicans both agree that “Crony Capitalism” isn't working and we need to change it.

We look to figures like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and see people who have attained large wealth but are feeding it back into the community through charity. Zuckerberg has adored fans with his recent charity to a non-profit, which turned out to be a for-profit group.15 When one actually looks into these charity groups, one can see that the money is usually going to a non-profit or disclosed group and the charity is used as a write off, but the public only hears the words charity and their hearts warm to the idea of a billionaire handing over their money to help other, missing out on the real reason for these “generous” donations as a way for them to save on taxes.

People seem to understand that they haven’t been getting paid well and their benefits have been getting cut while other expenses have continued to rise. It’s the reason people are protesting for $15 an hour. The paradox is is that when we see the unattainable glories of other people's “rewards” from capitalism, we don’t make the connection that that glory came at our cost. A cost to the relentless tax breaks on the rich, the underfunding of our schools, forgoing repairs on our infrastructure, and local economies. Instead we just see a life that maybe, just maybe if we work hard enough, we can attain.

A majority of people will never become millionaires. The most recent popular excitement over the billion dollar lottery is a perfect example of this. As income inequality grows and opportunity to rise the economic ladder continues to disappear, there will only be a smaller and smaller group owning that piece of the pie while the rest of us struggle and suffer below. Without people making the connection that the transfer of wealth from the lower and middle class to the upper class, the less potential there is of actually solving the problem. 

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1https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/12/what-obama-said-in-his-state-of-the-union-address-and-what-it-meant/
2http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/18/worlds-inequality-countdown
3http://www.democracynow.org/2015/11/23/newark_mayor_ras_baraka_elected_after
4https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/11/philanthropy-charity-banga-carnegie-gates-foundation-development/
5http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/bill-gates-says-that-capitalism-cannot-save-us-from-climate-change--b1xNpbL8O_x
6http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2013/11/30/millennials-earn-less-than-their-parents-and-the-recession-isnt-to-blame/
7http://www.ibtimes.com/america-workers-are-more-productive-their-wages-are-flat-some-cases-lower-1393941
8http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/the-state-of-homelessness-in-america-2015
9http://www.marketwatch.com/story/over-50-of-americans-struggle-with-home-affordability-2014-06-03
10http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/13/us-wealth-inequality-top-01-worth-as-much-as-the-bottom-90
11http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/09/02/3697832/epi-wages-productivity/
12http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2014/0514orr.html
13http://www.alternet.org/economy/why-toxic-myths-rich-people-believe-about-poor-are-so-dangerous
14http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Fears-of-failure-grow-for-rods-on-Bay-Bridge-6588743.php
15https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/12/facebook-zuckerbergs-charity-gates-philantrophy/

Syriza has been in office for five months now and the government struggles to agree on a deal that wouldn’t force them to continue austerity. Many critics have been pointing out the cracks in the Syriza government and see the hope that pushed the party to victory fading away. Others, however, see the government’s ambitious talk of being able to rid the country of austerity just that --too ambitious. But, if anything, it just reveals how relentlessness the system of economics who control groups like the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund) against those who try to make a more equal and democratic society actually is. 

Syriza has been bending to the demands of the troika, until now. With the June 30th day passed and no agreements met,  Greece may be on it’s way to exiting the EU (something Syriza doesn’t want to do). This would have a large impact on the EU as well as destabilizing effect on the world economy. But Greece has been left with few alternatives, especially with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the ECB (European Central Bank) standing sternly with the continued enforcement of austerity. 

Greece has been put in an unfair situation since the beginning of the recession. Since the enactment of the austerity, the country has suffered worse unemployment (hovering around 60% for youth unemployment) and poverty than the US did during the Great Depression. 

Greece was accepted into the EU with a deficit. Once accepted into the EU, outside investors exploited the landscape along with local investors who saw the opportunity for growth in their country with reckless investments. When signs of the crash began to appear, they fled, exploding the deficit further. 

The election of PASOK party’s Prime minister George Papandreou, the socialist leader who betrayed his constituents and party, served the first hand of austerity to the public. And now seven years later, Greece has only accumulated more debt, no growth, and continued massive unemployment, with little to no opportunity for the citizenship that had no control over the debt that has  engulfed their country. 

Germany and the European Central Bank wanted to their investors and banks to get paid back for their losses that took place during the recession and the IMF was there to ensure such a thing would happen. 

When the crisis hit, Greece wasn’t the only country hurting. The EU was unstable and to many it looked like it was about to collapse. One way to keep countries like Germany, and other European Financial institutions profitable was to squeeze the money out of debtor countries like Greece, Spain and Ireland (with the assistance of the IMF). But the IMF was aware of what damage these measure could inflict on countries like Greece. 

Back in 2010 when the IMF contemplated debt restructure in favor of EMU (Economic and Monetary Union which makes up the eurozone) and European Financial Institutions, Arvind Virmani, India’s member of the IMF, said “Even if, arguably, the programme is successfully implemented, it could trigger a deflationary spiral of falling prices, falling employment and falling fiscal revenues that could eventually undermine the programme itself." And this is what happened. 

Now several years of continued crippling debt, along with report after report revealing the unnecessary and brutal implications of enforcing austerity on countries has, there is no real growth or change to show. But it has never been about helping Greece and its people. The economic institutions were there to help the banks and investors get their money, not a country of people who were caught in between a deregulated and a shady market. 

Yet, this is the key point of what is happening throughout the world. Corrupt economic models are running the show offering little to no alteration other than continuing upon its own demands. Syriza is allowing the public to vote on a referendum on whether to continue with the current terms and continue austerity or push for another direction. And if Greece falls out of the EU, they will go through some more turmoil. Investors and the EU will leave Greece. Greece’s markets will collapse, but without the EU, they will have the capacity to reprint money and start funding projects, jobs and rebuild their broken economy. 

Either way, Greece has a difficult few months or years of moving forward, but the option should be up to the people in allowing them to build the type of future they want. The IMF could alter this grexit. Taking a note from Keynes, they could enforce the eurozone and creditors to use their surpluses to make long term investment in Greece, allowing Greece to produce and grow their export market, building up their economy and use their newfound surplus to pay off its debt. This model was used with Britain when they struggled to make a dent in their debt after World War II. 

The other option could be debt forgiveness. This was an action that was ironically handed down to Germany after World War II who owed creditors Greece and Spain (two countries, along with Ireland, paralyzed by austerity). While the arguments that Germany’s debt than is different to Greece’s debt today, it’s the action itself that allowed Germany to rebuild itself and begin to live again; unlike Greece. 

Regardless of the what Syriza decides to do as they await for the referendum, people should stand with Greece. What happens next can present an expectation of what to come for other countries being restricted by the IMF, EU and similar economic policies that are enforced throughout the world. 

For those who think Greece is acting unfairly for trying to get out of the harsh terms of their bailout ignore that even the institution who implemented the policy was well aware of the damage that’s being done to the Greek citizens. As Ashoka Mody, former chief of the IMF’s bailout in Ireland said, “Everything that we have learned over the last five years is that it is stunningly bad economics to enforce austerity on a country when it is in a deflationary cycle...Syriza should recruit the IMF’s research department to be their spokesman because they are saying almost exactly the same thing as Syriza on the economics of this. The entire strategy of the creditors is wrong and the longer this goes on, the more it's going to cost them.”

Years after the recession, no acts have been implemented to deter the policies that continue to be pushed forward with the creditors, economists, and politicians, as the continue the reign of  of risky financial investment. As public outcry begins to boil over into the streets and country after country is looking for new economic models, the governments will have to listen to their citizens or continue their betrayal of working for corporations and bankers instead of its people. 

(Originally published at http://communitysoul.net/2015/04/the-poverty-epidemic/)

Recently, a YouTube group has released a couple videos in an effort to grow poverty awareness. The most recent shows a child who looks around 12 years old, who pretends to be homeless, sitting on the sidewalk of a busy street asking for help as he freezes in the cold. Several minutes pass showing people walk by the kid and take notice of him, but not stop to help him. Towards the end, a homeless man goes over to console the kid. Although these videos may jolt some into action and make us become more aware of a person who might be in need, they also touch on the deeper issue of our growing discontent of seeing and living with the homeless.

Many assume that living on the streets is an outcome earned by those individuals themselves. The homeless man or woman made a wrong choice and maybe we think they don’t deserve to live on the streets, but we’re not going to help them either. It further distracts the public from the growing inequality that continues even as we move away from the recession into a “recovery.” The truth is, 44% of the homeless population do have jobs.

The real issue is the way we perceive the homeless in economic and social terms. We can see it with the cutting of social programs and housing developments by our politicians and ruling economists. We can see it with cities like San Francisco as they try to literally wash away their problem, and with Florida arresting people who want to feed the homeless, and with stores installing spikes to stop homeless from sleeping in public areas. To fully acknowledge the issue of people being homeless and its continued growth, we need to alter the way we see these individuals.

Around 20-25% of homeless adults suffer from a mental illness. This highlights two important aspects of homelessness’ history. Since the 1980’s, we began to cut the budget to mental hospitals and its underfunding has continued to this day. This didn’t leave any options for people suffering with mental illnesses to go.

At the same time there are almost 50,000 veterans (many who suffer from PTSD) who find themselves living on the street any given night. This is particularly significant in comparison to our bloated military budget that’s handed off to military contracts and continues the expansion of 900 bases across the world. This signifies that there is money available to fix the problem, but the unwillingness to grant this money to those returning home from war is a continuation of our economic and political ruling ideology.

A recent video surfaced showing a former veteran harassing a homeless person because he found out the homeless man was wearing military jacket even though he had never served in any army. Aside from taking part in the persecution of the homeless, the former veteran does little to examine the man’s background. He doesn’t know the man, yet he feels that wearing clothing from the military is an insult that has to be pointed out and stopped. The issues of poverty or the fact that this man is literally living in the streets never enter into the veteran’s mind — instead  he focuses on the superficial image of “patriotism.”  Is it patriotic to disregard the poorer sections of your community? For many returning veterans, the irony of the situation is not missed, as most can relate to the homeless man’s predicament of being misunderstood, persecuted.

But how can we begin to acknowledge the issue of poverty in this country without acknowledging the economic model we all live under? Our economists may  have different points of view, but they all come from a similar background of how to present economics. Whether neoclassical, Keynesian, or neoliberal, these groups help in promoting the segregation of the classes and the growth of inequality. They do this simply by not acknowledging it or framing it in a different manner where people blame each other and become distracted from the real issue. It’s impossible to have an actual debate on poverty and classes without being seen as the perpetrator of class warfare.

And those who would point to growing movements like the $15-an-hour wage protests, or companies like Wal-Mart and McDonald’s raising wages to $10 an hour (in the case of McDonald’s, only a small portion of their staff would receive the wage increase), entirely miss the point. While the $15-an-hour wage increase is important, it doesn’t address the roots of the problem that make up and run our economy: the big banks, the lack of regulation of financial trading, the sub-prime car loans, stagnating wages, lack of investment in infrastructure, the housing bubble, pay-day loans, charter schools using public land while cutting the budgets of public schools. The list goes on.

As the Federal Reserve continues to extend its low interest rates for lending to big businesses and the banks, these groups are still slow on extending that money to the public. We’re also not seeing an increase in well-paying jobs with security as the economy grows. We’re not seeing investment into local communities that could helping deteriorating cities like Detroit, Baltimore (which is becoming the new Detroit), and many other cities.

The politicians fall in line – if they’re not already in the pockets – of pay-day loans and the growth of debtor prisons (which were ruled illegal since 1833). Jon Oliver has done a fantastic job on illustrating these troubling issues that affect the middle and lower class on his show Last Week Tonight. These issues are of course products of creating poverty and homelessness, and without change it will only get worse.

To highlight our disconnect of poverty even further, look to liberal bastion cities like New York and San Francisco (San Francisco being the most expensive place to live in the US) to  see how much rent has skyrocketed  in these cities in the last decade. The dramatic increase in rent has gentrified neighborhoods and created the most segregated schools in the US. These are cities that are supposed to extend help  to the community, but both cities are continuing to see an increased income divide and a loss of culture as their economy gets “better.”

Even in my own city of Corvallis with the opening of a wet homeless shelter, debate continuesas people already are getting anxious  about the growing presence of homeless living in our parks, and of finding needles in a park across the street from a school. People who might like to do more for the panhandler looking up at them as they enter the grocery store have their own busy lives to live.

Yet, when I look around my own town, I see the people, young and old, in the streets. I learn that many of the people here are veterans, have lost their jobs, come from troubled and abusive homes. Some struggle with heroin and meth addiction, but that only highlights another symptom of poverty. Without hope, what is there to hold on to?

Utah has been one of the first states to implement a simple solution that is the best one so far:  they created housing for the homeless. After doing the math and seeing that it cost more to have people living on the streets with medical bills, they built housing. In most cases, it’s allowed people who lived on the streets without employment to actually be hired and hold onto  jobs.More cities are coming together to build tiny home communities for their homeless. And while these solutions may not alter the presence of poverty right away, they are creating a communal spirit that is challenging the current economic model and beginning the transition to something better for everyone.