https://www.foxnews.com/us/washington-property-owner-squatters-returned-swat-raid

This IMO is where a lot of America is headed. I'm forced to remember the argument a member who is no longer here once threw in my face insisting that homeless "have the right" to scavenge a store's dumpster, against the stores' own wishes. Wonder how the bank will deal with America's most sacred victims?

Empower the weak, punish the strong, reward the lazy......and this is where it leads

I went to Washington State in 1999 with my parents and absolutely fell in love with the place. Was there in the summer and it was cool there (I hate summer because of the heat), beautiful landscapes. Went to Seattle and didn't see any homeless people there, no tents or anything like that. For several years I wanted to move there, either Washington or Oregon. Now, unfortunately because of the situation in those two states, I think otherwise.

Much of the reason is like the story mentioned above. I dont know about the term "squatter", these people are invaders, they dont own the property, not allowed to be on it, yet the cops wont do anything because they are homeless and have more rights than you. I feel for the homeless, but to be fair, the vast majority of them are alcoholics, drug addicts and nutters. The West Coast states allow them access to do as they like.

For me it sucks that Texas and Florida are now the hotspots to live, because I would not want to live in either state. I would hate Florida on so many levels, crowded, boring flat landscape, not into the beach or watersports, it's almost always HOT there, plus a fear of hurricanes. I was in Texas a few years ago to Austin and San Antonio, again, that is a fast growing area but it just held little appeal to me. Austin would be fun if I was in my early 20's again.

Much of the reason is like the story mentioned above. I dont know about the term "squatter", these people are invaders, they dont own the property, not allowed to be on it, yet the cops wont do anything because they are homeless and have more rights than you. .

I suspect the use of the term "squatter" was a reach trying to use a term not otherwise interpreted as abusive or insensitive. In this scenario we really can't call them "unsheltered" because they have a roof over their heads, it just happens t be someone else's roof.

The prospect of the property owner deciding to just default on the mortgage and let the bank deal with the problem, brought to mind Ayn Rand's book "Atlas Shrugged".

What happens when the foundation stones of our society decide it's "simply not worth it"?

I suspect there is an evolutionary process at work where the "haves" eventually conclude that empathy is a liability.

We are living in unprecedented times and it was most likely been coming on for some yrs but it's all exploded with this Re***, the wealthy will always be ok.

There have always been squatters and hoboes but all this escalated after the Viet Nam war, that's when the homeless increased,. feedings in the park near where I live and it's just gotten worse and worse, long after Nam. 1000's come to CA for the warmer streets and help.

And then the jobs situation, tech explosion, lots of hiring and now lots of firings....

I've digressed but I'm looking at the whole picture.


I'm hearing there are a lot of people here in So Cal who don't have jobs and can't pay their rents. My apt bldg owner owns, 3 apt complexes in this area and I know they are very lucrative to his family, but it's interesting and never happened as long as I 've lived here he has 2 empty apts and they are in no hurry to get them ready for renting. I believe even his family is having rental problems as so many have lost jobs.....in the last 3 yrs.

"we are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause, that which is the product of several, and a majority of our controversies come from that" - - Marcus Aurelius

I suspect it's often convenient to scapegoat alcoholism and substance abuse as the major cause of homelessness, but I more suspect those to be symptoms, rather than the primary cause.

And, I wish I had a solution. I don't. But it does seem ironic that our society will spend hundreds of billions of dollars fighting "human rights" conflicts of foreign soil, yet feign indifference to the plight of our own most vulnerable citizens. I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but I do feel that we have made numerous political blunders that have fueled this problem. Allowing low and semi-skilled jobs go "offshore" just so that stockholders can make a wider margin being among those.

So often, what looks like progress to some, ends up being a major setback for others. The consequences of which sometimes take decades to reveal themselves.

If there was just a way to make solving homelessness into a profitable venture....lotsa luck there.

There are a lot of very unpleasant jobs always available, which is why they are always available. Some that I've seen first hand were so bad that I'm fairly confident that I'd choose living on the street over working myself to death just to be "respectable".

The value of respect earned being subjective,....and I think that might be a big part of the equation. Which is more degrading? eating out of garbage cans, or busting your rump carrying 200 lb bales at a pace you can just barely keep up with, all the while having some fool badgering you that you'd better pick up the pace,...or else... Sometimes "else" becomes the desirable alternative?

"we are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause, that which is the product of several, and a majority of our controversies come from that" - - Marcus Aurelius

I suspect it's often convenient to scapegoat alcoholism and substance abuse as the major cause of homelessness, but I more suspect those to be symptoms, rather than the primary cause.

And, I wish I had a solution. I don't. But it does seem ironic that our society will spend hundreds of billions of dollars fighting "human rights" conflicts of foreign soil, yet feign indifference to the plight of our own most vulnerable citizens. I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but I do feel that we have made numerous political blunders that have fueled this problem. Allowing low and semi-skilled jobs go "offshore" just so that stockholders can make a wider margin being among those.

So often, what looks like progress to some, ends up being a major setback for others. The consequences of which sometimes take decades to reveal themselves.

If there was just a way to make solving homelessness into a profitable venture....lotsa luck there.

There are a lot of very unpleasant jobs always available, which is why they are always available. Some that I've seen first hand were so bad that I'm fairly confident that I'd choose living on the street over working myself to death just to be "respectable".

The value of respect earned being subjective,....and I think that might be a big part of the equation. Which is more degrading? eating out of garbage cans, or busting your rump carrying 200 lb bales at a pace you can just barely keep up with, all the while having some fool badgering you that you'd better pick up the pace,...or else... Sometimes "else" becomes the desirable alternative?


Hold people responsible for their own actions. Make them earn what they get.

That's the lesson for today.

Make them earn what they get.



I'm usually not very sympathetic to "deadbeats". But I've also come to the conclusion that the overall problem is bigger than just that.

i had a much longer reply prepared, but thought the better of it before hitting the "submit" button. I'll just summarize it in saying that not all employers are playing above the board. And, I believe there is likelihood that many "broken" employees have ended up on the scrap heap as a result.