Hunger Site et al...

[Budfred]

It occurred to me that some of you may not know about this site, it has a button you press to donate to a number of different causes in exchange for putting up with a bunch of ads. The ads pay for the donations. I have it as my home page on a couple of my browsers and try to click each one each day. It has a popup which ads a little more to the donation, so I put up with it. It has the option on the site to stop the popup if yo want. Anyone else using it?

http://www.thehungersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites

[Budfred]

No, really, I want to know, is anyone else using this site?? Or a similar site??

BUMP...

[Steve]

Doesn't look like it Bud'...

[kayofcircles]

Ahhhh...the guilt. Saw this thread several days ago, and meant to go and check it out..and then got busy and forgot. A couple of months ago, we ran into a homeless man in a parking lot and it made a real impression on me in the sense that I got pretty ticked off at our government. The guy had made some bad judgments, and had gotten ripped off, but he wasn't a wino or a drug addict..and there he was, homeless with a cat and a dog and an old motor home. Oh, and before I say anything else, he was walking past me..and asked if I needed help since I was alone by our pickup. I said no, was fine..but we started talking..so he wasn't panhandling or anything. I persuaded him to eat with us at a nearby restaurant.

What makes me angry, though, is that more and more people, through no fault of their own (layoffs, etc) are finding themselves homeless. And this incident happened right after I watched Bush's speech where he told the Iraqi people not to worry about us invading the country..that afterward, we would rebuild and make sure they had plenty to eat and had medicine. Argh. Saw news last night..and forget which town it was that was hit by a tornado that they said they probably wouldn't rebuild the town. So, where do all those people who worked there and lived there go?? I also saw on the news that since 9-ll, donations to homeless shelters are way down, and that they're struggling. Why is it that the government has bunches of money to hand out to other countries, but not the homeless in our own? There are entire families on the streets now...we have one shelter in ABQ but they can only handle so many families, and where are the others to go? How do you get from "nothing" to enough money to pay first month rent, and deposits on everything???

Sorry, ranting. Will check out your site.

[YODA74]

Nope I look in my own back yard first,I see black dots on that site map flashing every where but North America we have people that are starving here to. I give to that cause every month.

I think that the UN ought to figure a way to feed the rest of the world or at least make sure that the food that America Donates Every month gets distributed to whom it is supposed to. Seems there usless at everything else.:rolleyes:

[kayofcircles]

I am not unsympathetic to people in other countries. It's just that if our "boat" sinks..and it seems to me that we are indeed sinking..that will actually make it worse for other countries. About the only thing I ever see ambassadors from other countries like Afghanistan "do" is come and ask for money from the U.S. Or trying to remember..think was Pakistan that was asking for money to fight their terrorist problem. And think was Argentina asking for money to rebuild their economic mess. And the list goes on and on. Well, if we have no taxpayers left, we are gonna have a hard time giving out money.

[Steve]

Don't worry Kay. :) The boat isn't sinking. It's not even leaking a little. We are the richest country in the history of the world. We have just gone through the largest economic expansion in history. We have the highest standard of living ever.

I live in the little state of New Hampshire. We are a tight fisted lot around here and don't give out money without good reason. But even up here, this years budget for the Health and Human Services department is $1.35 BILLION! and we give over $1 BILLION each year in charitable giving. (and we are 48th in the country in charitable giving!)

If you extrapolate that across the country, we are giving hundreds of billions of dollars each year to help the unfortunate in our country. And that is only the states and indiviguals. It doesn't even start to add up the Federal help available for the unfortunate.

We will never run out of tax payers and charitable givers in this country. ;)

[Budfred]

I agree that we give a lot and I am also aware that more and more people are going hungry here and around the world. If we give 1 billion, but 2 billion are needed, that is still going to result in a lot of unfortunate stories. State and Federal govenments are cutting back on social programs all over the country so even though we are still rich as a country, the numbers of people who don't have the wherewithal to survive day to day is increasing. Part of the problem is that much of that wealth is concentrated in a very small number of people who want more. They are unable to see the connection between creating more poverty and the impact that will have on the world their children will inherit. Well, I've ranted enough....

The main point that I want to reinforce is that the Hunger Site and the associated sites do not cost you anything except for the 30 seconds or so it takes to go there and click on the buttons. They get paid by the advertisers for bringing you to the page. I have never had trouble with any spyware or other junk there either.

[ZURKE]

The problem is weeding out the people who just need a good kick in the rear, from the unfortunate.
I would suggest that we would be doing allot more kicking then handing out money.

I despise taxes in any form but I like to think I have a sense of compassion for the unfortunate and would give them money out of my pocket and have.

Budfred, I find it hard to give something when I am not sure where it is going.

I am positive there are those out there that would profit from somebody in need.

[Budfred]

Zurke,

There are a number of ways to find out which organizations are truly using donations to help people versus those that spend 80% for "administrative costs". Also, if you look at the data, most people that receive assistance these days are truly in need.

There was a politician a few years ago who ran on the platform that he was going to clean up welfare fraud that was costing millions a year. He got elected and promptly initiated an inquiry to save the public from all those welfare crooks. They spent a couple of hundred thousand investigating and found something like one cheat that had cost the state something like $10,000. This all occurred in the days when welfare was much more common. The people left receiving any type of assisstance are generally very old, very mentally ill or very physically disabled.

One more point: The Hungersite is free, it won't cost you a cent. I is gratis, it only costs about 30 seconds of time.... I doesn't cost any money, no dinero, no peso, no Euro, no dollar, no tael, no nothing (no reference to the out of control thread intended:D ). It is a nonpaying site and your click provides for people who need it at no expense to you..... Even if they were crooked, it still wouldn't rip you off, but it does have a good reputation.

[ZURKE]

Budfred,
I don't really know you but am sure you are generous, and as smart as anyone might need to be.

My mother raised four children on her own and got a four year degree while working a full time job. We did get some assistance from the state, which we were grateful for. My mom used the food stamps to purchase us food. She never said so but I know it ate her up to use them.
But in the end that is what I believe drove her(she also gave us enough lickings to last a life time). Thanks MOM.
We are all much better off now and lead comfortable lives.

But growing up in that environment you see the waste, fraud and abuse.
I can still think of a lot more than one person that got assistance in those days that was far from not able to work or provide. But preferred the booze and drugs and whatever else they could get for free.
There are people that need it yes, but there are allot that will take advantage anyway they can and don't care to further themselves.

As I said previously, I know where I came from and I also know what a good kick in the pants will do.

If you say the site in question is a good cause then I apologize for my skepticism.
I think that is great.

[kayofcircles]

Zurke: We always hear about the minority. We hear about the one "bad" cop...not the hundreds of good ones. The "one" bad puter shop..not the dozens of good ones. The lazy person on Welfare, not the hundreds needing it. And so on. That's the way the media works.

I wish I agreed with you. And Bush, who keeps saying everything is fine, it's just a matter of perception. Yeah, agree with the last part. But unemployment rate keeps going up, and that doesn't even count the people who couldn't find another good job to replace the one they were laid off from, and took a minimum wage job or part time job in desperation. Many states are cutting their Medicaid funding way back, and although it may look good on paper..how much money is still allotted for that...if it doesn't even begin to cover the need, you still have seniors in particular choosing between taking their medicine or eating.

And let's face it, you and I were raised in a different time. Our parents didn't max out their credit cards, and over extend themselves. Houses were not as expensive. And the what's it called?..pay scale vs cost of living..was much much better. Saw on news that one is only supposed to pay 25% of one's income to mortgage/rent, but that many now are up to 50% of their income for their home. We know people who are only a few paychecks away from homeless..literally. If they lose their job, then they're gonna be hurting in a very short time. So, it is a mix of people's judgment and the state of the nation, but when my son moved out, I thought of how much harder it was for him to do so than it was for me years and years ago.

Sorry, Budfred. I should have checked your site out BEFORE posting above. This is a just a sore subject with me because it seems to me that the politicians are just ignoring it altogether...or only giving some token lip service to the very real problems. The "by the time the stuff really hits the fan, I will be out of office enjoying my hefty pension plan." mentality.

[pentachris]

I wasn't aware of the site before seeing this thread. A quick "background check" on the web indicates that it's legit. I found this (http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/29/hunger.html), and it makes some sense. But I'll visit the site just the same. Adbusters is notoriously critical of anything but the most altruistic ventures. The only bad thing I can see coming out of it is if I think that by visiting the site and clicking a button, I've done my "good deed for the day" and don't make time to consider other ways I can help my community.

Incidentally, my wife and I have been thinking about a weekend at the beach. One of the sponsors I saw on my screen after clicking through was for a local tourism site. I clicked through the ad, browsed around, and got a couple of ideas. So the sponsorship paid off for them, and for someone less fortunate.

Thanks for the link, Budfred.

[ZURKE]

How did you find that site Budfred?

[Budfred]

I read about it in a computer magazine, but I have since seen it referenced in a number of other articles. I have never read anything other than it is a legit organization that takes advertising monies and gives them to a variety of different causes. I do not recommend that anyone view this as a substitute for any other giving that you might do, this is simply a way for those of us who hang out on the web to chip in a little more for a small investment of time and bandwidth....:cool: :)

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Zurke,
I must side with you on this:
But growing up in that environment you see the waste, fraud and abuse. Yup. I admire your mom. I've also taken courses when I could, even out of the blue just to increase my chances at bettering myself.

Budfred,
They only caught one because the system is set too lenient to make anyone guilty. I have seen welfare 'professionals', Social Security fraud, people with Medicaid whom sell their pills as soon as they get them to fuel their alcoholism or the likes, food stamps in trade for 1/2 rate cash and more. People on disability that are much healthier than I, who has a tough time taking profitable time (can't afford the time off) from work just to get to the doctors every once in a while for chronic problems let alone general checkups, maintenance and oil changes (Oops! wrong maint. schedule). :eek:

I know so-called 'men' who work solely 'under the table' so their unmarried spouse can get assistance for the kids because no income is tracable through the system. Some of them are too damned scared to go over the table because they believe the government will take too much out and actually make it more difficult than it already is to use the "2" incomes that is so needed with kids or not these days in a sub-$20 Grand household. In my opinion though, fraud is rampant. (Sorry Kay, I must disagree) Though I have seen as of late, the laws getting stiffer and rules more precise, problem is there's too much or too many "grandfathered in".

This is in stark contrast to those like the truly able but unfortunate homeless that I see but only in minute quantities compared to the bigger cities. I know one man that has chosen this way of life. I hear he has anough money available through a small service pension and then government assistance to get his own place but he chooses to 'rough it'. This man truly earns his stay and will not take anything for nothing, though to you and me he is homeless. Now in my experiences, it is he who is in the minority amongst welfare recipients etal.

But as to the abusers, yes I know I should report these people, but some are too close to home, others well, I just don't have enough proof and then also, the whistle blower had better watch his backside too yunno...

Spread the wealth, and yes, this is a rich country. But those that are the few, the far and the in-between, don't help the average 'joe' in the community all that much and any money (peanuts compared to some) in some of the areas is a help.

Anyway, I'll look over the site, I've always been one to help another in need, (I can remember a storm I was shoveling people out of snowbanks on Christmas Eve till 3AM after Midnight Mass) but I just loathe bums and those who do nothing but soak the system dry! Respect someone that is only too shallow only to become a burden to his children??? OK!...NOT!

It's one thing to believe: "If you don't start at the bottom, how do you ever expect to make it to the top" or some similar mentality, as long as you TRY! I've seen the bottom, and I am somewhere between there and well,, what one thinks is the top may only show a view to the next peak that is taller than the one you're on... :rolleyes: (I think they call these, "Goals"...) The 'middle income' american is becoming an ever widening cliche'. There's the few estchullon and the throngs in-between but there is WAY too many on the poverty end IMO.

Kay, One thing I see on your level, is the Baby Boomer generation. They may have come from a deep recession, nothing of which I have ever seen, to some of the BEST economic times our country had/has ever seen. Maybe I'm off kilter being from a poorer State, but it seems my folks (Baby Boomers) have a pension+ and I have a tough enough time getting a company to assist me with a 401K! There seems to have been a peak here and our children now need all the NON monetary but the MOST educational support available. ([{But let's cut the music department first from our school's budget, then the teacher's benefits,,, SHEESH!}])

Clearcut answer? Sorry, just venting.... I think, the more I learn, the less I know... OK,

Who's Next?!?

[Budfred]

I'll step up again....

I know there are cheats in the ranks of people receiving public assistance. I have seen them and worked with them. I also know they are the minority and that they are roughly similar numbers to the white collar criminals who feed off of corporate America. I also know that they are grubbing for a dollar here and there while jerks like Michael Milken, Jim Baker, the Enron crowd and so on walk away with millions.

I have worked with a number of these able bodied people over the years who rely on public assistance to live. I remember one who was a powerful woman, extremely intelligent, attractive and physically powerful. She would have loved to have a job and pay her own way. She tried over and over again. She always ended up in the hospital and having to start over again. Her mental illness was stronger than her best intentions by far. I could cite numerous other examples.

There was a time when I was a child that I was homeless with my mother and siblings. We lived with relatives until we could afford something more. This was because my father worked for the military and they paid poverty wages then. Later on, he retired with a very nice pension, but back then times were tough for people in the military. Both of my parents were eventually able to improve their circumstance greatly and I have managed to do ok.

That said, I know that I would not have done as well if I had a serious mental illness, a disabling physical problem or any number of other issues. At one time, I thought I was going to be a teenage dad and that I would have to forget about college or anything else to raise a child. If that had happened (false alarm), my life would have been very different, even without a disabilty to make it harder.

Helping people who need help for me is not just altruistic. If we help people to create a better life for themselves, we also reduce the crime rate and we make our communities nicer places to be. Minnesota has a long standing national reputation for a good quality of life. That has been based on an infrastructure that is designed to make the most of resources for the sake of the community and the individual. That is now being gutted by the current government so that they don't raise taxes. This is after they gave away the last surplus. I believe this frugality will end up costing us a huge amount, both in terms of money and quality of life.

One example that has already happened. The governor cut out a rebate program that costs several thousand dollars a year to encourage film companies to make films in Minnesota. Saved lots of MONEY!! Except, 3 or 4 (I forget the exact number) films that were planning to come here have now moved to Canada which is more than willing to give them all sorts of deals. We lost millions in revenues in order to save that money. Penny wise, pound foolish.....

[gracious]

Budfred I have checked out the site and I am now clicking on it as much as I can. Thank you for sharing. Wow, I am proud to be with such caring people. You know about the only empowerment I have is to pray to God and for his will. I get upset at these countries that have a multitude of farm lands, food, that they pay their own people to farm, harvest...for next to nothing and instead of giving them back what they need to survive, they export it, make a bunch of money and allow their own people to starve. And then there are those drug governments that use rich land to grow poppy for heroin...and meanwhile their people starve. We have gotten so rude and insensitive in this country. If people would just go back to saying "Thank You", "You're Welcome", or just offering a hand for whatever, opening doors for people, just everyday basic manners, what a difference that would make. A genuine smile goes a long way!:)

[kayofcircles]

Did you see the story on the news about the girl's team "hazing" the new girls by beating on them? They had film of the girls attacking the others. Afterward, they had a young lady in a sound bite saying, "So a girl got her head cracked open...so what?" Now, I grant you that a "normal" teenager is a bit self-focused, but the complete indifference, the total lack of empathy/sympathy, in that young lady's voice and statement is just appalling. That may be an illustration of a big part of our current problems..the "it's not me, so who cares?"

[ZURKE]

Hunger and Medical attention in this country is a business, it is campaign stump.
It is an issue that some will use to further there own agenda.
Poloticians will use it as a tool.
Why dont I see this wide spread hunger and lack of medical attention in this country on the evening news?
I think because it is not there, but it will be, come 2004.

[Budfred]

You don't see it on the evening news because something that has been going on since the beginning of time is not news. The numbers go up and down, but there are always hungry people are there are always people who are homeless. I remember driving in the Kentucky mountains once and see a shack that I thought was like a tool shed, but in a odd place. I asked my father about it and he said a large family lived there. It was falling down and smaller than most people's garage, but a family lived there. Things have improved a bit in that part of the country since then, but I still have seen great poverty there when I go there.

You can live your life in America and never see poverty. That does not mean it is not there or even that it is not right in front of you, it simply means that it is not as obvious as it once was and many of us are insulated from it.

And yes, I think it will get worse in 2004....