Poverty Profiteers

@wreckedfeline Here in India the elderly are normally looked after by their children or relatives and such crimes are therefore less as they step in to protect their parents.

Thank you, I appreciate your input. Here in the US things have gotten so out of hand. People don't even answer their phones anymore for fear of scammers. Just a few days ago a friend, who is elderly, went to a store to cash some winning lotto tickets and the clerk gave him less than half their value. We assume she pocketed the rest. He confronted her and she finally returned some of the money but not all of it. He should have involved the police but he is from a time when men didn't treat a 'lady' that way. The elderly and poor are target groups for criminals as they are the least able to adequately protect themselves or fight via the courts for lack of resources.

Yes, yes, it is very much like The Matrix. We treat the poor, the aged, the mentally ill, etc, as if they are nothing more than something to be harvested for whatever can be drained from them. As if they are just fodder for the machine.We now have laws that make it illegal for the homeless to sit down in public places, like park benches. They can be thrown in jail for stopping to rest. The thing about being homeless is that there is nowhere private for them to go. I wonder at the logic of a public that is upset that the homeless use parks to relieve themselves but refuse to give them portable toilets. They can't panhandle in public places anymore. How far are we from simply disposing of them altogether. I've heard stories about the homeless in California just vanishing in large numbers. I have no idea if that is true, but I certainly think it is a possible future if people of means don't get their compassion back on track.

Politics is not what I was hoping for. Have you had any experience directly with being forced to do business with an entity that openly sets unfair terms? Like payday loan companies? That sort of thing.

I have given more thought to what you said, even if it was meant as a quip. Government, the lawmakers, let it happen to begin with. Even when it is illegal, our government will turn a blind eye if it is believed its agenda is served by allowing it. The good people who are paying the bill for the authority our government wields include the working poor who are unable to adequately protect themselves. It makes sense that they are the most preyed upon economic class.

Heartless is right. It is no wonder our species is teetering on the line between survival and mass extinction. Our reality feels a lot like an episode of Star Trek. This is a line from an episode of the original series about an alien planet on the verge of self-anialation: "We were so sure of our methods that we failed to question our reasons." Maybe flip that around. It's been awhile. How do people think that what they do to others isn't also condemning themselves? What will they look like when it's their turn to face whatever comes next? No one has to be a saint in all things. But we all should do our best to at least not cause suffering. Doesn't matter if you're just doing your job under the banner of corporate indifference. The universe knows who you are. I feel strongly about this topic. Sorry if this was a little weird...but I'm a little weird.