Gas Money
--Recycling, Michael KountourisI'm going where the sun keeps shining
Thru' the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
--Everybody's Talkin', Harry Nilsson
A man willing to work,
and unable to find work,
is perhaps the saddest sight
that fortune's inequality exhibits
under this sun
--Thomas Carlyle
Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you
Strong wind, strong wind
Many dead, tonight it could be you
--Homeless, Paul Simon
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night
--Big Rock Candy Mountain,
Harry McClintock
_____________________
Recently, Florida Governor Rick "Pink Slip" Scott misguidedly called for an increase in the number of engineering and math students in the state as a solution to the unemployment problems the state is suffering. Sorry, but graduating students who will face dwindling job prospects is not the solution.
While Ranger was sitting in Publix enjoying a yogurt the other day, he was approached by a homeless man with a zero-sum scheme: If Ranger would allow the man to purchase his groceries on the man's Food Stamp card, Ranger would then pay the man back in greenbacks. He explained that he needed money for gas because his car was on empty, a car which also serves as his living quarters.
The man recently was released from a 50-day jail sentence for holding a sign on the road and violating the city's easement policy [local Ordinance 12-62] -- aimed at reducing panhandlers and protesters -- since he could not pay the bail nor afford the $385 fine. (He never said what was on the sign, and Ranger never asked; this is Publix's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.)
Now, Ranger associates with the hoi polloi which mill about the only lake in downtown Tallahassee (which was actually a rainwater drain off pond, but that's another story), and so knows this man with the hustle. He is an unemployed engineer with a graduate degree from the Florida System -- of this, there is little doubt. His unemployment recently ran out, and he has taken on various piecework projects over the term of his unemployment, often traveling out of town to do so, but he cannot seem to extricate himself from the rabbit hole he has fallen down. His is not an atypical story.
Here is where Ranger gets all Bolshie: What is it in the universe Republican that eludes his comprehension? Here is a skilled, adult male engineer, Mr. Scott -- where does he fit into your Floridian utopia?
The sadness is, neither party will or can solve this man's or this nation's problems. So, how does a nation live in a car? A person can do so, but what is the national equivalent? The good news is, the man is driving a Ford vehicle and is still buying BP petrol.
As General Petraeus asked, tell me how this story ends.
While Ranger was sitting in Publix enjoying a yogurt the other day, he was approached by a homeless man with a zero-sum scheme: If Ranger would allow the man to purchase his groceries on the man's Food Stamp card, Ranger would then pay the man back in greenbacks. He explained that he needed money for gas because his car was on empty, a car which also serves as his living quarters.
The man recently was released from a 50-day jail sentence for holding a sign on the road and violating the city's easement policy [local Ordinance 12-62] -- aimed at reducing panhandlers and protesters -- since he could not pay the bail nor afford the $385 fine. (He never said what was on the sign, and Ranger never asked; this is Publix's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.)
Now, Ranger associates with the hoi polloi which mill about the only lake in downtown Tallahassee (which was actually a rainwater drain off pond, but that's another story), and so knows this man with the hustle. He is an unemployed engineer with a graduate degree from the Florida System -- of this, there is little doubt. His unemployment recently ran out, and he has taken on various piecework projects over the term of his unemployment, often traveling out of town to do so, but he cannot seem to extricate himself from the rabbit hole he has fallen down. His is not an atypical story.
Here is where Ranger gets all Bolshie: What is it in the universe Republican that eludes his comprehension? Here is a skilled, adult male engineer, Mr. Scott -- where does he fit into your Floridian utopia?
The sadness is, neither party will or can solve this man's or this nation's problems. So, how does a nation live in a car? A person can do so, but what is the national equivalent? The good news is, the man is driving a Ford vehicle and is still buying BP petrol.
As General Petraeus asked, tell me how this story ends.
Labels: engineers, governor rick scott, poverty. poor, unemployment
posted by rangeragainstwar at 7:39 PM
3 Comments:
can you spare a dime?
To:
jim@rangeragainstwar.com
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Gas Money":
The perpetrator:
Well Ranger,,, what type of yogurt were you eating anyway when we talked???
You have a few errors in your rendition of the events so let me take a moment to correct a few points on topic.
To begin, the food stamp recantation of yours would be illegal if it were true, therefore I must say, “What a novel idea, I must try it sometime,,,”.
Yet, I feel it noteworthy to mention that the jail kept my money that I had on my person and I have yet been able to retrieve it. It seems that they want a series of forms completed to release one’s money back to the owner which would be me. Please mark this as ‘to be continued’, recovering my money taken from me by the jail.
On the specifics of the ordeal, I was not sentenced to 50-days in jail. I was unwilling to sign a paper that I would have to attest to my guilt and then pay them $385 ‘court costs’ while at the same time I did not have the required $250 for the bond, nor did anyone I knew, so I sat in jail till they released me on my own recognizance after denying my release twice before. Also note the max sentence was 60-days anyway.
Yet, shortly after I was released on my own recognizance, my charges were dropped or more exactly, ‘nolle processed’, so the criminal matter is over and I am guilty of nothing. Worth mentioning is that I requested and requested the ‘stop light camera’ photos from that intersection to establish a time-line and what was finally delivered was a full length video of about an hour corroborating my version of the events vs. the police’s version. i.e., the video was perfect.
Via my first contact with my public defender through video conference in the JAIL, where he had ‘called’ to offer me a deal for my release and give me his well qualified legal advice, he had not even read the law. I had to sit and wait while he looked it up and read the law. The deal, as mentioned, was $385 court costs and my admission of guilt, which I refused.
Let me also mention that my sign said exactly, “Here’s my sign,,,”. I personally consider it a delimiter, where it means different things to different people. What does it mean to you Ranger???
As for my education, I do have an civil engineering degree from FSU and I am also a registered E.I. with the Florida Board of Professional Regulation. The test is a proctored 8-hour test which is offered twice a year. To take the P.E. test, one must first pass the E.I. test, which I have done.
In 2010, I sent out over 1400 resumes’ locally and nation wide, yet the amount is actually greater than that number, for only offices that I emailed did I have a record of; if I went through their web site, I have no record of that contact.
Now, considering the ‘crime’; if one is out of the city, and in the county, then no ‘crime’ is committed. Obviously, it is not a ‘State Statute’ either; yet, my documents said ‘The State vs. Me’. Go figure.
Therefore, the criminalization of the act of doing what I did, is applicable to Tallahassee specifically, not outside the city limits. Which begs the question, why not a state or national law to criminalize poverty in this never ending recession???
Speaking of my education,,, bla, bla, bla,,, yet a course in literature comes to mind.
I would suggest that those interested regarding this matter might read, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, by Ursula Le Guin:
http://iweb.tntech.edu/jcbaker/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walked%20Away%20from%20Omelas.pdf
I believe this is a condensed version of the original story but I could be mistaken. My formal education was quite a lengthy process,,, and seemingly it continues.
Carry on,,,
Posted by Anonymous to RANGER AGAINST WAR at Friday, October 21, 2011 9:00:00 AM GMT-05:00
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anon,
did u vote yet?
let's focus on the possible.
jim
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