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Not all poor people are in poverty due to bad decisions they've made. There are numerous studies that show where you live in America, and what your family life is like can determine your future earnings potential. Those things are beyond your control as a child.
There was a story recently about a young woman with three jobs who died in her car. She would nap in the car between jobs, and to make sure she was never late for work she kept a can of gas in the back. She died inhaling the fumes from the gas can while sleeping.
Maybe you could consider that just another bad decision, or maybe she was trying the best she could to make ends meet. If a person like her lived in lower Puna, I doubt she could afford solar panels.
The reason you notice all of the unemployed around Puna is because... they're not at work.
You don't see the people who put in 40-60 hours a week hanging around because they don't have the time. And $7.00 an hour doesn't buy a lot of solar panels after you pay the rent, the insurance, buy groceries, fill up the tank in your car...
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Agreed on that, Solar is the only way to go these days. That being said, reliance on local communications services is another problem, a satellite service can provide interruption free service during periods of local catastrophe as long as you've a full PV system to support it. That's the one thing that we had issues with, the local communications systems weren't reliable. Had we satellite internet with VOIP bundled in... all we would have lost was the cellular phones. Everything has a price though, satellite has caps and we prefer to stream video over programed television such as satellite TV. Anyhow... communications is another important factor to consider along with electricity.
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When it comes to income, some get lucky, some have a trust fund, some get help, most get work that the pay is incredibly imbalanced to the cost of living. For me, I work hard, and still wonder where it all went at the end of the month. Others may wonder "what did I do to deserve this" trying to keep food on the table for a family when their SO decides they want out, and they had the job. If you are one of the lucky ones, humble yourself to a 7.00 an hour budget with taxes taken out ( somewhere around 4.80 an hour) for a month, and see what works. It is definitely a different world.
As far as photovoltaic electrical, it would be nice for those on assistance to be able to get a basic system through the State as it would be a major cost saver to the State in what they pay out in assistance in the long run, instead of one agency paying another, with the "employee" being the middle person. One of my wishes if I were to win the lottery is to provide photovoltaic to those that can not due to living situation. Still playing, still waiting...
Community begins with Aloha
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quote:
Originally posted by Tink
...If you are one of the lucky ones, humble yourself to a 7.00 an hour budget with taxes taken out ( somewhere around 4.80 an hour) for a month, and see what works....
Wrong info.
People making minimum wage, $7.25hr, only pay the SS and medicare tax. Figure on just about 7.25% which makes that $6.75 hr. Then, they qualify for EBT (food stamps) at nearly $330 a month in Hawaii, plus some of the other benefits such as free medical thru the Quest (Medicaid) program. If the company they work for is large enough, the company pays the medical and that is a whole better than the Medicaid version.
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quote:
Originally posted by bluesboy
quote:
Originally posted by csgray
"Get a solar system and stop worrying."
That isn't any help for low income people or renters.
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
renters can go rent somewhere else, so i don't see why they would even have a problem. low income people - well it sucks for them. it's not great to hear or think about, but maybe the Island of Hawaii isn't the place for them if they are poor, dependent on helco, and at the whim of a lava flow.
please understand i am not trying to knock anybody down, i am trying to prop everybody up with a solution.
you seem quick to dismiss my ideas. i'm curious, what are your ideas?
i'll keep saying it - there are affordable solar solutions if anyone is willing to take it seriously and look into them and deal with your power situation.
the reality is, many people in Puna are apathetic and lazy. That's why they are in Puna to begin with. No matter what I say or hope is not going to change that.
My next home will be built off grid, but in spite of a professional job here in Hawaii I am not in a financial position to retrofit my current home, plus that would be an economically unwise thing to do with a house we plan to sell soon. That is just one example of someone for whom your "solutions" won't work, who isn't "lazy or apathetic."
My point was that your posts seem to be consistently callous towards those who live a the lower end of the economic spectrum. You and Lavalava both do that a lot.
If lower Puna gets cut off rents in other areas are going to skyrocket, and for the people who do things like serve food, pump gas, or check you out at Longs here in Puna, their jobs maybe going away too. Just try to rent a house when your job is on the wrong side of a lava flow. Off grid is a great idea, but it is not feasible for everyone, and you seem to be willing to just ignore that fact.
Yes, I really resented your smug "well I'm off grid so the rest of you must just be losers if you don't have power" tone to your posts after the storm. They were mean spirited, and ill timed, without offering any real solutions. You weren't offering help, you just wanted a chance to act superior.
If I am misreading your posts, and you are actually a benevolent soul who genuinely cares about those less fortunate than yourself, I apologize, but the tone of your posts on this topic suggest otherwise.
At one point in my life I was a self employed single mom trying to raise two kids without any financial help from their father, I have also worked in social services with abused women who had to flee their abusers with nothing but the clothes on their back and a bunch of kids. Those experiences taught me a lot about what it is like to live at the bottom of the American caste system, and how hard it is for children born into those situations to get themselves out of poverty. Those of us who are luckier than that really should show some compassion and try to actually understand the position of those who are not as lucky as we are.
Just how do you expect a low wage earner who was born and raised here, whose whole family support system is here, to be able to afford to relocate to the mainland, where they don't know anyone, since you think they don't deserve to stay here if they are too low income to afford an off grid system?
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Health officials are also advising all residents living near the lava flow to plan ahead for potential smoke from burning vegetation and low levels of sulfur dioxide. Conditions for nearby communities may vary widely due to the unpredictability of wind and weather.” - See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...ECpjL.dpuf
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WOW! Thanks for the update Leilanidude! Did not know exempt from Fed tax, and all the benefits given, as minimum wage when I earned it had no added benefits, only the unemployed got the EBT and medical. That was almost a lifetime ago (40+yrs), and the sucky wage gave me the will to educate myself into a much more lucrative, but far from wealthy income. Still, minimum wage is faaar far away from a "upper middle class" income.
Community begins with Aloha
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(in response to tink)
If you were earning minimum wage over 40 years ago that makes you a baby boomer and you had all sorts of free perks and opportunities handed to you, some even without your awareness. Your desire to educate oneself was probably a very cheap ticket to college that was probably subsidized by the GI bill, free federal money, or well off relatives. You also probably found it relatively easy to get a higher paying job than what many people these days are facing.
There are many people on this island working 2 or 3 part time jobs with low wages and no benefits just to get by. Nobody wants to rely on EBT to make up the difference between abject poverty and just-trying-to-get-by poverty. Next time you are in Malama Market or a Minute Stop maybe you should suggest to a clerk that they should really be pulling themselves up by their own slippah straps and see if you get any understanding or empathy.
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At the time I did not have the knowledge of any benefits to further my career advancement from flipping burgers at 1.55 hr. Guess I was pretty dumb. What I did do is constantly search for a job that payed more, even if it was only .25 cents more an hour. I eventually was able to work up to construction laborer, sweeping sawdust off the floor and keeping my eyes open to what was going on up that food chain so to speak. From that experience I was able to apply for an apprenticeship and made the grade on an entry test from what I observed while sweeping, never taking a "handout" as some say, just living off what I made, and slept where I could without being hassled.
So, with all that, I guess I was lucky in some sense, and I believe I have respect for the person working 2-3 jobs to get by, and do not judge for what they do, for they are just working to the best of their ability to what is available to support themselves, or their family, and grateful, as I was to at least have a job.
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