Improved Clinch

Condemning the Poor Into Abject Poverty

If an individual is poor, or drops into economic circumstances due to job loss wherein pinching pennies is a daily task, the individual must tighten their personal financial belt in order to not succumb to total personal economic collapse.

Individuals who may be living in the above manner, and attempt to continue living within their modest means, without applying to the State for relief, are to be admired. Unfortunately, the State may not necessarily admire these economically challenged individuals striving to live within their means, and thus the State may force these individuals into abject poverty. To wit.

Consider the case of Avondale, Arizona resident Christine Stevens, who has been in deep water (financially speaking) since losing her bank job in January 2009. She decided to discontinue her electricity service and make do with solar panels – Arizona has no shortage of sunshine, after all – and using an ice box in lieu of a refrigerator.

But such frugality defies Avondale city codes, which require a refrigerator, heating and cooling system, and electricity enough for all. So Stevens’ house was condemned, and Stevens kicked out. “We explained to her that the panels weren’t enough to sustain a quality of life there,” Avondale’s code enforcement manager said.

And this.

When you’re worried about someone’s quality of life, adding them to the ranks of the homeless might not be the best way to improve it, but it’s close enough for government work. Sometimes more drastic measures are needed, like the ones taken by city officials in Mountain View, California: they kicked an old lady named Loretta Pangrac out of her house, demolished it, and billed her almost $20,000 for their troubles.

The road to Hell is indeed paved with good intentions.

No fridge is better than no house

Linked via James Hanley at Positive Liberty who linked to the story via Jennifer at Ravings of a Feral Genius.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/16 at 07:58 AM