This is really sad and I’m sorry it happened. But this is exactly what happens when critical government services get cut, the people who rely on them end up paying the price. It’s only going to get a lot worse as hurricane season brings more storms.

44 minutes ago, Matt! said:

There are solutions, but neither party seem willing to seriously pursue them. For example (nordics comparison):

• Raise the federal minimum wage and tie it to inflation. Strengthen labor unions to give workers more negotiating power and leverage.

• Implement universal health care or at least a strong public option and cap prescription drug prices to reduce overall costs. in the Nordic countries, healthcare is publicly funded and available to all, with tightly controlled drug prices. In America, a vial of insulin can cost $100-$300 (just checked and its mind boggling) without insurance. In contrast in Sweden, thanks to price regulation and universal healthcare system, patients pay a maximum of about $25-ish total per year for all their prescription medications.

• Cancel/reduce student debt and make higher education more affordable and accessible. Ror example in the Nordic countries, university is tuition-free and and students receive monthly support to cover living costs, so they can focus on studying instead of drowning in debt.

• Reform the tax system. Raise taxes on extreme wealth, capital gains, and high incomes and most importantly !___close the loopholes used by corporations and the ultra wealthy___!.

• End corporate lobbying through complete campaign finance reform. In the Nordic countries, political campaigns are publicly funded and very strictly regulated, which helps keep corporate influence out of politics and ensures elected officials are accountable to the people, not corporate/private money.

US politics is super corrupt and sick (biggest donor is wall street no matter which side wins) So common sense aid doesn't go through. Also Americans are effectively in debt and broke, as is the federal government . The middle class is funding their lifestyles with debt and the future is unclear.

Those points you posted help a lot but in the US are extremely difficult to execute. They ultimately do not solve the underlying structural problems in the US system. This is why social welfare is a band-aid to the core systems.

Basically what happened in the US is the economy shifted from the real economy to the bullsh*t economy (finance, information tech, services, predatory health care sector among many) which made life very difficult for the bottom 99%. My parents' generation had a much easier life and much higher purchasing power.

Here is a general history of what happened in the US (I didn't write it but it summarizes many of the key disasters):

🇺🇸 Stages of the U.S. Debt-Inequality Cycle

Stage 1 – Financialization (1970s–1990s)
- Shift from industry to finance
- Deregulated credit markets
- Wealthy gained through assets, others took on debt


Stage 2 – Privatization & Wage Stagnation (1990s–2008)
- Public goods became expensive
- Wages stayed flat, productivity rose
- Households relied on borrowing to survive


Stage 3 – 2008 Financial Crisis
-Mortgage collapse exposed systemic debt
- Banks got bailouts, people lost homes
- Rich recovered, poor fell deeper into debt

Stage 4 – Unequal Recovery (2009–2019)

- Low rates inflated assets, not wages
- Debt collection and predatory lending thrived
- Millennials and Gen Z fell into deeper debt traps


Stage 5 – Pandemic Relief (2020–2022)
- Temporary aid: checks, rent moratoriums, loan pauses
- Relief delayed, not erased, debt obligations
- Wealthy gained from asset bubbles


Stage 6 – Debt Saturation (2023–2025)

- High inflation and rising rates
- Credit card and student loan debt surge
- AI and automation worsen income gaps
- Deepening financial strain for households

1 hour ago, Matt! said:

This is really sad and I’m sorry it happened. But this is exactly what happens when critical government services get cut, the people who rely on them end up paying the price. It’s only going to get a lot worse as hurricane season brings more storms.

Oh never mind. It's all fake news.

22 minutes ago, Jade Bahr said: