There is a wide divide between the 1% and the rest of the country.  The homeless population is becoming a huge dilemma.  It really had grown the last while; even under Pres. Obama.

Upon reading this, you may be surprise by what you read; since in a lot of my blogs I come across as being a conservative.

For the longest time, I saw the homeless person as a wino and in need of a bottle(alcohol).  We were always taught never give a bum money when they beg, because they will just go buy more booze.

I remember years ago as I was cutting through the alley on the way home as a shortcut in the evening.  I happened to spied a bum digging through the dumpster.  Let just say, I was scared, and I never took that shortcut in the nighttime again.

Since then I had came up with a different realization about the homeless.

There are families out there who are homeless. They are homeless because they lost their job and home for some reason.  Some are homeless because they cannot afford a house or even renting an apartment.

Cost of living may be low in North Dakota; but renting an apartment can be very expensive.  It all depends where you rent an apartment.  The nicer the area, the higher the rent.  In the slum area, rent will be cheaper, but the crime rate is higher.

Sure a single person can have roommates, but who will wants the headaches.  Sometimes personalities will clash.  I would rather not have a roommate unless it happens to be with my wife if I had one.

There are two of the reason for the homeless dilemma now.

I’m also learning that a lot of the homeless have some form of mental illness.  Because of their mental illness, it’s hard for them to hold down a job.  Some of them with mental illness becomes alcoholics.

Some of the homeless are Veterans.  Some were in the Vietnam War.  Now that war had caused some real trauma for them; thus the reason for their mental illness.  Which proved that war was a war that we shouldn’t had been in in the first place.

Some of the homeless had been in prison.  I think this is one of reason the returns rate for those returning to prison is high.  No one wants to give them a chance to move forward.  Some who had been in prison has some form of mental illness as well.

I have to admit, when the Church United moved into the old Plunkett’s building just on the outskirts of Moorhead, I was skeptical about it being there.  Like the 1%, I felt that it would be an eye sore.

My question is: where do you put them and what to do with them?

The 1% people even thinks those living in trailers is an eye sore.  They are called trailer trash.  Living in a trailer house is cheaper than a house though.

The Democrats wants to throw money at the problems but doesn’t have a solution.  They figured, if they did that and put them on welfare.  That way the taxpayers will have to suit the bill, and they will win over their votes coming election day.

The Established Republicans(1%) people, just wants to ignore the problems and maybe it will goes away.  They just wants to hide them off in a little corner.  They don’t want to deal with the problems.

I know that Jesus said in the Gospels, “You will always have the poor among you.”  It’s just getting worst that’s all.

The saying goes, “Give a man a fish and they will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and they will eat for a lifetime.”

We can’t keep throwing money at the problems like the Democrats would like to do.  We can’t ignore the problems either.  We need to find away to handle this dilemma before it gets even more out of hand.  I don’t have the answers to this but I know that something needs to be done.

You can’t force businesses to raise minimum wage, they have to do it on their own.  You can get them counseling to deal with their mental illness; but you can’t make them go.  Like the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink it.”  That is why I’m against court-ordering people to treatment.  They’ll go but they won’t get anything out of it.  They got to want to get the help to better themselves.

Years ago, people with mental illness were locked up in an asylum; so that no one would have to deal with them.  Now, it’s good to see that there are organization out there to help them to become a vibrant part of the community.

Maybe something like that can be done to help the homeless.  It may even cut down on the prison population as well.

At the same time, somehow employers needs to look at raising their wages and be willing to give them a chance.

I have to admit that can be very scary.  The big question: can you trust them?

I know that I have kind of seen the light on this homeless dilemma. My views had change a little.