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posted by martyb on Friday December 08 2017, @05:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-walk-barefoot dept.

San Diego continues to face a hepatitis A outbreak:

Like other major cities all along the West Coast, San Diego is struggling with a homeless crisis. In a place that bills itself as "America's Finest City," spiraling real estate values have contributed to spiraling homelessness, leaving more than 3,200 people living on the streets or in their cars.

Most alarmingly, the deplorable sanitary conditions help spread a liver-damaging virus that lives in fæces, contributing to the deadliest U.S. hepatitis A epidemic in 20 years. "Some of the most vulnerable are dying in the streets in one of the most desirable and livable regions in America," a San Diego County grand jury wrote in its report in June — reiterating recommendations it gave the city over the past decade to address homelessness.

San Diego has struggled to do that. Two years ago, Mayor Kevin Faulconer closed a downtown tent shelter that operated for 29 years during winter months. He promised a "game changer" — a new, permanent facility with services to funnel people to housing. But it wasn't enough. The result? Legions of Californians without shelter. A spreading contagion. And an extraordinary challenge to the city's sunny identity that threatens its key tourism industry.

Previously: San Diego Declares Emergency Due to Outbreak of Hepatitis A
San Diego Power-Washing Streets to Fight Hepatitis A Outbreak


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  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Saturday December 09 2017, @08:18AM (1 child)

    by edIII (791) on Saturday December 09 2017, @08:18AM (#607649)

    they take away both their ability and their will to go out and do better for themselves.

    Well, that's kinda bullshit. When it's because of medical reasons, it's UTTER bullshit. I would advocate for all who find themselves there, myself included, to find a rich person, literally gut them, and then stay alive by taking their resources (namely money). I'm sure as fuck not dying for the rest of you just because I got sick. We can play the blame game forever on that one, but woe to any one of you that get sick. When the reason why I can't get well is because some fuckers want to get rich, and doctors are no longer able to care for patients and assess reasonable fees, well then fucking kill the rich. Dead nuts serious on that one. I'm not going into that light just because Mr. Sociopathic McFucknuts wants a yacht. In your world medical better be fucking free, or covered by living wages. In that dystopia the ability to afford some sort of insurance just to survive the very real chance of being added to the meat grinder. They will not get away with it while I still have life. Medical is absolutely fucked in this failed country of mine since the for-profit assholes turned into an industry. Title 19 in the 1970s is a good damn reason why we're not even close to the top 10 in the world for medical, and Cuba embarrasses us.

    As for the will to do it, I think that's mostly bullshit too. Or can be mitigated with social programs that made more sense than adding 10,000 beauticians to a zip code while a rich fucker in the community gets richer by rent seeking for those government dollars to run the classes.

    As for the ability, when sick, you're literally backasswackards. The government is giving you BACK the ability. See the movie Sicko. France invested in their citizen and he got better and went back to being a productive member of society. In this country, it's FUCK YOU. Watch as your life savings drains to nothing, and like a Sniper just wounding a soldier, life brings in your loved ones and relatives to go down the hole with you. It's not like they can take the proposed position and just tearfully watch as they smother their loved one with a pillow to avoid the costs. That's a tremendous drain on society that serves no one. It should make sense for us to prevent that, invest back in our citizens directly, and get them back to work. But, But, But we can't get over the who deserves what, and why do I gotta pay *whine*?

    As for the ability, when well, you also ignore the costs of treating them like animals with no safety nets. They're not going to be all civilized and march quietly and obediently into the Soylent processors. They will fight to survive, almost as if it has been genetically engineered in us to do so.

    Does welfare need to change? You betcha. Killing it entirely while maintaining the rest of it status quo is a recipe for complete utter disaster and the deserved death of our society and country.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday December 09 2017, @04:33PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday December 09 2017, @04:33PM (#607710)

    So, nice rant, but I think you missed my angle - I'm against the bureaucracy of social security, not the benefits - basically pro UBI. Since "free" is such a problem for people, provide a no-questions-asked UBI to every living citizen. Make the UBI sufficient to afford food, shelter and basic medical care, then quit worrying about it. People who want to do better than UBI need to go and make their way in the world. Tax the fuck out of weed, booze and video games for all I care, let people be industrious enough to grow, distill and create their own - if they get the skills and ability to do any of that, they're probably also developing skills that might be somewhat valuable in society too.

    In UBI-land when somebody has enough of the stressful shit of the career world, just take a break, move into affordable housing and chill until you're ready for it again. I chilled in University for 6.5 years making barely basic income (still relying on the parents for health insurance), and when they offered me 4 more years of the same, I was done with it, ready to actually go do something and have a little extra money. Too bad in this world that once you make that transition, you're on a treadmill that doesn't stop until retirement. Take a break from the "career" life and you might never get back into the world of health insurance and enough income to pay for a modest home again.

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