It's a national shame, and something the media and even Washington needs to focus more on. While we talk of the economic stimulus and all of the things that have to be done, there are tent cities popping up all over our nation. In the 1930s they were known as Hoovervilles. I don't think I need to explain why. Well, today they are being increasingly referred to as Tent cities because many of it's residents came from a middle class background and actually OWNED a tent before falling out of what was once known as America's safety net. Today we have entire family's living under bridges, in the woods, over by the railroad tracks, in abandoned cars, even in lawfully registered vehicles -- you name it, they are out there living, and they have no roof over there head. They lost their Job, and/or their home and thus any security they may have had. The stories may differ, but ultimately they are the victims of the policies put in place that allowed that to happen. And the person who who was behind the wheel letting this all happen and in charge for the past 8 years: George W. Bush. These are not tent cities, these are Bushvilles -- the 21st century version of Hoovervilles.

In a move to provide greater safety for its residents, the Governor of California is shutting down a tent city in Sacramento and moving its roughly 125 residents to the State Fairgrounds. Cal-Expo will be housing these families. This is a needed step to help address this growing problem. Governors in EVERY state must do more to help provide shelter for these families. Living on the street or even in a shelter is not a solution. We all have heard of the dangers of street living. This is not just a federal issue; states really MUST address this problem.

More must be done. There is a lot of justifiable anger at companies like AIG, but I have to wonder, if the homeless in our nation weren't forced into hiding. If they were actually camped out in front of our city halls and courthouses, in front of our TV stations and newspapers, maybe Americans would finally get outraged enough to force the powers that be to really do something. These families living in tent cities around are nation are the result of what companies like Goldman Sachs, AIG, Citigroup, CountryWide, etc., who played with America's securities, did. They failed, and they don't see the true result of their failure: it's not their paycheck or company that is really suffering... It's in California, or Fresno or Nashville or Atlanta or NY. It's in Arizona and Seattle. It everywhere where Wall street doesn't look. They don't see anything beyond stock prices and their own paychecks. Maybe they should come to Fresno for a day and see the true fruits of their labors.

When you consider that One billion people-- one-sixth of the world's population -- now live in shantytowns, and America has nearly 10% unemployment with the number expected to rise, I wonder how many people are now homeless? I suspect with the number of Bushvilles on the rise, we may find the true number staggering. Maybe it's time for cities to start buying up buildings from the banks and getting people OFF the street. Build apartment complexes and provide shelter beyond a hot and a cot... I don't know. What I do know is that far too many people in this nation are going thru this problem in the shadows of empty foreclosed homes and if most Americans were really aware of how many working poor with children are out there, they might actually be outraged enough to act.

I am angry at the corporations just like many Americans but not because of the bonuses, or dividends or stocks options. I am angry at the real and true results of the non-regulation and thievery by the richest in our country. I am angry at what they are doing to the very fabric of America. They are turning us into a nation of Bushvilles.



:peace: and
Raine