Some weeks ago, I stood in line awaiting check-in at the shelter. This place charges $3 a night. I was holding my money in my hand, and someone playfully tugged at it. I snapped. I said, “You don’t value your life much, do you?” Minutes later, I explained this to someone else. I said, “Don’t take a man’s last dollar.” “Why not?” he asked. I said, ” ‘Cause that’s the one he’ll die for. That’s the one he’ll kill for.” Don’t take my last dollar. That’s the one I’ll kill for. I’v

(Originally published July 5, 2013 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reblogged 2019-12-19.) There is a song from The Sound of Music that relates; it concludes, “… I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad.” Wednesday morning I stood outside McDonald’s having my last smoke before leaving. I considered that as soon as I got to the library, I’d need to count my pennies and plan spending for the rest of the week. I pondered whether or not to buy a soda on m

This is the first of three posts about entitlement: Today – “Entitlement(s): Attitude and policy” 04/26 – “How I became homeless” 05/03 – “When needs are met” Let’s get rid of (the term) entitlements “In 2012, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid alone represented 44 percent of spending; all entitlement programs were 63 percent. But it’s hard to control entitlement programs because their constituencies are so large.” It makes sense to me that, as Samuelson proposes, we sho

Environmental factors impact a child's ability to control impulses; which fact has profound effects relative poverty and social injustice.