The poor can not afford to avoid Frances.....no resources to leave.

[madfloridian]

No way to secure their homes. Very sad.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040904/NEWS/409040381/1004

SNIP...."FORT PIERCE -- Charles and Laura Willis sat on a blanket in a high school hallway Friday because they had nowhere else to go to get away from Hurricane Frances. But with a beat-up car and no money to even board up their house, they probably couldn't have gotten there anyway.

"Believe me, if I had any money I wouldn't be sitting here," said Laura Willis, 42, whose $5.15-an-hour income from sporadic work cleaning up construction sites is all there is to supplement her husband's disability check. "I'd be sitting in a motel somewhere."

This part of Florida is known as the Treasure Coast. But for many in this depressed fruit- and vegetable-producing area, where sharecropper shacks are not a thing of the past, there was not enough treasure to get them out of the path of the storm. About 11,000 of Fort Pierce's 38,000 residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census...."

[Kanary]

1. Thanks for bringing poor folks' situation to our attention.

I've been wondering how in the world people with no $$$ are faring. Very probably not well.

Since this is connected with the hurricane, which is so big in the news, maybe this won't sink to the bottom quite as quickly as most posts about poverty do on DU.

Kanary

[madfloridian]

4. And did you see the figures in that area? Almost 1/3 are poverty level...

in such a "treasure" coast area.

It is sad.

[Kanary]

7. Only in America........ such a large number are invisible.....

Compassion isn't only dead on the "right" -- it's breathing it's last on the "left", also.

Being one of those whose very own existence is very much in question, I don't find the "jokes" about this deadly serious subject to be humorous.

It would be nice to be the recipient of concern sometimes.

Kanary

[madrchsod]

2. jesus christ!!! poor white people?

i guess you didn`t get the message-all poor people are--you know-----.just any republican they`ll tell you who is poor in this nation under bush....

kidding aside... the press never reports on the people such as these who haven`t the riches to afford to go somewhere else...
"ain`t that america
home of the free"
and no little pink houses
for them.........

[Cobalt Violet]

3. Gee, where are all these "faith-based" charities ...

The re:puke:s keep talking about? What have they done for Charlie and Francis victims?

[wurzel]

5. The poor are lucky. They have nothing to lose.

Ask any Republican.

[madfloridian]

6. Sad words: homeless say others more unfortunate....something to lose.

These words brought tears today. It is very nerve-wracking here anyway as the feeder bands are rolling through and the winds are picking up.

SNIP..."The 56-year-old Army veteran has been sleeping in the city's parks and back lots for 13 months, catching the odd painting or construction job. He was wandering the streets of Fort Pierce Thursday when a local barkeep recognized him drove Rivera 13 miles north to the shelter at Lakewood Park Elementary School. .

Sipping coffee outside, Rivera waxed philosophical on his circumstances.

"There are more unfortunate than me," he said. "Because they've got something to lose."

[wurzel]

8. How can we boast "we are the wealthiest nation in the world"?

These Floridians seem to be about as well off as if they were living in the Philippines. With a government that cares just about as much.

[oneighty]

9. The aerial view

of the cars heading north out of Florida caught my eye. There were no cars sitting on the shoulder; hoods open, radiator steaming or maybe out of gas, or a blown up engine. There were times in my life when one of my ratty old cars would leave me stranded along side the road. Would be better not to attempt an escape if one does not have a really dependable car.

Anybody ever been like that? I bet.

180

[madfloridian]

10. Hey 180!

You are so right about that. It is worse to be stranded than to stay home. That happened a lot during the last two bad storms, but it was not covered by the librul media.

Good to see you!

[Kanary]

11. This, folks, is why I get so upset with rabid attacks here

whenever a thread about "socialism" pops up. Just the thought scares so many people to distraction, yet...... people suffering in this manner doesn't seem to raise nearly as much blood pressure.

Unless a workable alternative is forthcoming, I much rather see some socialism in this country than this amount of sufering.

Kanary

[Catt03]

12. Well...a lot of peole who are wealthier residents are in shelters

in Palm Beach. The hotels are full and have been since Wednesday.
Also, a lot of people want to stay with their homes or near them. In reality, most of the really nice hotels have evacuated as they are too close to water.

Flroida is a right to work state. Professionals don't make much more than minimum wage is some jobs.