[sparky]

.
I would suppose it's a reference to people who didn't have running water plumbing ,
quite a common occurrence in the country during the first half of the 20th century

Cheap energy raise the price of labor by raising the standard of living ,
expensive energy make labor cheaper ,

[Oakley]

Considering that the Depression in the 1930's was a consequence of the Federal Reserve System and the boom bust cycle that is produced when credit is created out of thin air and loaned into existence for the benefit of the bankers, it is not only depressing to read but maddening.

The current depression has at its roots the rollover of the energy curve and again the boom bust cycle created by the faulty monetary system we have had imposed upon us by those in power. There was a reason that the US Constitution granted to Congress the power to coin money, and prohibited the States from making anything but gold and silver coins legal tender, both provisions which are violated by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and the lack of 100% reserve requirements for banks. When the next wave of starvation comes upon us, it will be nature trying to bring us back to the reality that we are overpopulated and relying upon both energy and monetary systems that are unstable and unsustainable.

Perhaps out of the carnage to come, the survivors will learn that government is a system of plunder and control for the benefit of those who occupy the seats of power and their friends, and that part of that plunder is the monetary system which grants to banks the privilege of creating credit money. They reap the benefits; we pay the price in interest, in inflation, and finally in collapse of the financial house of cards. I suppose this is just what happens when a significant enough portion of the population suffers sociopathy, and gains control over the remainder. Does anyone know how to construct Madame Guillotine?

[vision-master]

.
I would suppose it's a reference to people who didn't have running water plumbing ,
quite a common occurrence in the country during the first half of the 20th century

Cheap energy raise the price of labor by raising the standard of living ,
expensive energy make labor cheaper ,

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families
used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken &
Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive
you were "Piss Poor"

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't
even afford to buy a pot.....they "didn't have a pot to
piss in" & were the lowest of the low

The next time you are washing your hands and complain
because the water temperature isn't just how you like it,
think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about
the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their
yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by
June. However, since they were starting to smell . ..... .
Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting
Married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man
of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then
all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the
children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so
dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the
saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no
wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get
warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs)
lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and
sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof...
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the
house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs
and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence,
a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top
afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other
than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had
slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet,
so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their
footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until,
when you opened the door, it would all start slipping
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big
kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit
the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly
vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the
stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew
had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence
the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas
porridge in the pot nine days old. Sometimes they could
obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When
visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show
off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home
the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests
and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high
acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,
causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with
tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were
considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt
bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests
got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination
would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and
prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen
table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake
up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running
out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins
and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the
grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins
were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
realized they had been burying people alive. So they would
tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night
(the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone
could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.


Off another 4um

[hillsidedigger]

Keeping the poor stupid keeps them poor:

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20 ... theme-park

Ye must believe the lie in order to know the truth.

[Oakley]

Another take on what contributes to poverty:

http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStos ... _stay_poor

[Pretorian]

Keeping the poor stupid keeps them poor:

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20 ... theme-park

Ye must believe the lie in order to know the truth.

you cant fix stupid. Sorry, no can do.

[copious.abundance]

"Impoverishment of the poor."

Um, am I the only one who caught the irony of that statement?

[Pretorian]

"Impoverishment of the poor."

Um, am I the only one who caught the irony of that statement?

That's right, dick. "Poor" is not a homogeneous class. Dick. There are subtleties in poverty, different categories and degrees. Dick.

But you do agree, that American poor will be nothing short of filthy rich in a good number of countries, don't you?

[Cid_Yama]

Nonsense. You are mistaking American sitcom families for reality. Where I live, in rural north Texas, these people are dirt poor. The only thing that is keeping their children fed is Food Stamps.

One man I helped, broke down and cried. Just looking at him, it was apparent he was at the end of his rope. He had children, no work, no hope for work.

My wife and I are ameliorating the suffering here where we can.

It's like the story of the man walking along the beach after a storm, throwing starfish back into the surf.

When it was pointed out to him that there were so many starfish, he couldn't possibly make a difference.

He said, "It made a difference to that one."

[Homesteader]

One difference is the "poor" in the U.S. are, for the most part, unable to fend for themselves on so many levels. No cash? big problem, no electricity? big problem, no gas in the car? big problem, no food? big problem, and so on.

The "poor" in India, Bangladesh, etc. . . are getting by largely the way they always have. No cash? never had any, no electricity? never had any, no gas? never had a car etc. . .

Also, IMO, the "poor" are not being kept stupid, they are being kept ignorant, just like everybody else.

[SeaGypsy]

Yes, that is the big point. Culturally the USA has forgotten how to deal with poverty. Pretorians point is valid. Someone said here the 99 weekers are still entitled to $130 food samps a week per adult, not sure how much for children.
So a family of 5 might pull $400 plus a week in food assistance.
This is definitely rich by Asian, African, Latin American standards.
But there the system is set up for trading by ordinary folks. People build houses from bamboo and whatever they can find and they are let live. They crowd in and pool resources; they can turn any surplus into an exchange.
Relearning this stuff will take awhile.
How long until even food stamps are not available is another question.
Generationally poor people may do better in the time being, than the ex recently deposed middle class.

[PrestonSturges]

Another take on what contributes to poverty:

http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStos ... _stay_poor

Yeah, well Jean-Jacques Rousseau said in "The Social Contract" that the main function of a democratic government was to ensure private property rights, so there's nothing new there.

I have seen a some successful people people being refreshingly honest that they considered their success to be blind luck, like winning the lottery. Which is refreshing because generally anyone with money thinks they are the smartest guy in the room, even if they inherited it.

One of the most worthless dishonest people I knew while growing up is now a millionaire. Why? His Dad kept throwing money at him and pulling strings until he finally got lucky. No I'm not talking about George Bush. .

[Cid_Yama]

Someone said here the 99 weekers are still entitled to $130 food samps a week per adult, not sure how much for children.

Totally not true.

Adults under 50 with no children are not eligible for Food Stamps. Adults with no children over 50 and 0 income would be eligible for $130.00 per month. Same with Under 50 on Social Security Disability.

Why don't people like you actually check the facts before posting such fact free nonsense.

The amount of food stamps you are eligible goes down with increasing income so that someone working at minimum wage 20 hrs a week may only be eligible for $10.00 per month depending on needs testing for rent and utilities.

Assets such as cars can make you ineligible if the vehicle is more than a clunker.

[SeaGypsy]

Ok Cid, appologies.
That is harsh even by Asian standards.
If you want a run down of Australian social security, I do actually know that; I was guessing and msming on the USA system.
No wonder the debt trap approach is being considered; kicking millions out with nothing at all will surely cause calamity.

[Ludi]

Even most Americans don't know how difficult, or in many cases, impossible it is to get government assistance if you don't have children, a disability, or some other compelling reason why you can't make it on your own. There's the myth of the Welfare Bum, the capable person who simply chooses not to work and gets a bunch of free stuff from the government. I'm not sure where they get this idea.

Eligibility requirements for supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP): http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_ ... bility.htm

[PrestonSturges]

Even most Americans don't know how difficult, or in many cases, impossible it is to get government assistance if you don't have children, a disability, or some other compelling reason why you can't make it on your own. There's the myth of the Welfare Bum, the capable person who simply chooses not to work and gets a bunch of free stuff from the government. I'm not sure where they get this idea.

The myth of the Welfare Cadillac is right up there with the Immaculate Conception as an article of religious faith. Better to let innocent people starve than challenge the dogma.

[Ludi]

The myth of the Welfare Cadillac is right up there with the Immaculate Conception as an article of religious faith.

Most people don't even know what the Immaculate Conception is.

[sparky]

.
Vision master thanks a bunch for the stuff
here is a few others
the Royal navy bought a lot of rum for the crews , usual trouble with dishonest contractors
got them to test the stuff , the rum would be mixed with gunpowder
if it ignited it would be the proof of quality , hence " 100 degree Proof "
battle ships were rated by the number of guns they were carrying
a 90 guns ship would be a "first rate" ,
the weakest ship allowed to stand in the line of battle was the "fifth rate"

boxing would be a succession of blow , each one in turn without moving one's feet
the prize fighters would set their feet on a line in the sand
it gave the expression "to toe the line"
to "draw a line in the sand" was to issue a challenge by tracing it with one toes

An Australian one , the colony was run on Royal navy line ,
with flogging the usual punishment , the whip was the "cat of nine tails" kept in a baize bag
anyone blabbering would "let the cat out of the bag"
a man which stood the usual fifty lashes without a sound would be an "iron man"
a title of some distinction

[Ibon]

There is this term "failure deprived" that is now being used in reference to children whose parents are over controlling and try to do everything to prevent their children from experiencing failures and hardships. And how this failure deprivation is causing a lot of harm as it does not prepare children for these necessary character building experiences of suffering hardships in preparation for adulthood. So in the end many of these children become more prone to failure exactly because they were "failure deprived"

http://gmwilliams.hubpages.com/hub/Chil ... or-Failure

Is this just a problem with our children or our we as a civilization "failure deprived". We have had an extraordinary long run of growth and this raises the question if we have been "deprived" of experiences that sharpen and hone.

We all seem to be in agreement of the need of fundamental change to our use of resources, the structure of our economy, the way we govern, the ethical and moral values toward our planet etc. Solutions that tweak and optimize and make more efficient the status quo just extends this growth paradigm and further "deprive" civilization of those fundamental ground breaking inflection points where real change happens; through failures and consequences.

Understanding this failure of deprivation allows one to look at the threats to our global civilization with a new perspective. Welcoming corrections and consequences as the catalysts toward revolutionary new perspectives on our economy, our relationship to our planet, how we govern, how we prioritize the use of constraining resources.

Are we failure deprived?