American ghettoes

Amazing (and sad) videos showing the extent of ghettoes in some American cities.

Cleveland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuEwReDWkI (the worst - few intact windows)

Detroit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WKMNmFsxM&NR=1&feature=fvwp

New Orleans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2l3QXMQelA

Chicago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir-J-9DIR70

Cincinatti http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCUokzWnWxc

St Louis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GonBT8n9C_k

Baltimore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jGfifqOiIg

(above contain coarse language)

The building stock for some is not dissimilar to expensive inner-city areas in Sydney or Melbourne, and if their CBDs were growing some might be gentrifying. But unlike our cities some of theirs are losing population.
 
The building stock for some is not dissimilar to expensive inner-city areas in Sydney or Melbourne, and if their CBDs were growing some might be gentrifying. But unlike our cities some of theirs are losing population.

Exactly right - some of those old buildings in Cleveland with the french doors and balcony... great bones - worth a fortune in a thriving community.

It's all pretty shocking. Where have all the people gone? It's not as if the population is decreasing.
 
to where it's warmer, and less expensive to live, and where the jobs are.

america gave their black population a sense of freedom with abe lincoln. they thought they were free. maybe a black pupet master might feel like they're "winning" or something.

now all they do is slave for nothing, call it "employment" if you will, just to exist and to pump taxes into the coffers of a company, lets call it the "IRS", that has no legal jurisdiction to charge those taxes from individuals to feed a system that idolises disaster capitalism and funds projects to feed that system by placing money in the hands of rich white folk to manufacture weapons and profit from more misery and making sure that the "employed" make up a majority of the "peace keepers" on the front line.

freedom? think again.
 
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Exactly right - some of those old buildings in Cleveland with the french doors and balcony... great bones - worth a fortune in a thriving community.

It's all pretty shocking. Where have all the people gone? It's not as if the population is decreasing.
In Iraq and Afghanistan and all the other countries American is invading:p
 
very sad. it shows me a place where hope is lost and not many people have dreams. Quite the contrast to how America had been portrayed to the rest of the world only 10-15 years ago.

But, so many people, still dream of going to America and living a rich life and fulfilling their dreams. Sadly many people fail and many dreamers end up running tables in some cheap diners.

It looks like America is decaying - from the inside out.

The really sad thing, is that there are hundreds of thousands poor and homeless people treading the footpaths each night and yet there are vast amounts of housing and developments turning into ruin. Where is the hope, where are the aspirations. The videos i just saw only show me lost dreams.

I really question the priorities of a country when there is so much decline, misery and depression and yet billions upon billions go overseas in trumped up military campaigns.

America - land of the free and a place where dreams are made. We don't know how good we really have it in Australia.



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These types of social issues need nipping in the bud early otherwise they end up in the too hard basket.

It's really not too different to some of the issues we see in our Aboriginal communities where people have become marginalised and the issues generational.

It's far easier for Governments to introduce token projects that cost peanuts (or say sorry :p) and appear to care and be doing something than actually work toward a costly solution that doesn't disadvantage or offend anyone.
 
I fully agree with what you have said about America.

I lived there for 5 years from 1985 to 1990....today it looks like nothing is going right there. How sad.....

I agree Australia is still the luck country....but we seem to be following in America's foot steps.

Lets hope that things America has like their Healthcare, lack of Welfare are things we don't follow....I want to be able to walk the streets.



very sad. it shows me a place where hope is lost and not many people have dreams. Quite the contrast to how America had been portrayed to the rest of the world only 10-15 years ago.

But, so many people, still dream of going to America and living a rich life and fulfilling their dreams. Sadly many people fail and many dreamers end up running tables in some cheap diners.

It looks like America is decaying - from the inside out.

The really sad thing, is that there are hundreds of thousands poor and homeless people treading the footpaths each night and yet there are vast amounts of housing and developments turning into ruin. Where is the hope, where are the aspirations. The videos i just saw only show me lost dreams.

I really question the priorities of a country when there is so much decline, misery and depression and yet billions upon billions go overseas in trumped up military campaigns.

America - land of the free and a place where dreams are made. We don't know how good we really have it in Australia.



g
 
Lets hope that things America has like their Healthcare, lack of Welfare are things we don't follow....I want to be able to walk the streets.

Exactly. Whenever I hear someone whinging about our 'socialist' government, I tell 'em 'You don't like it? Go and live in America with it's skyrocketing crime rates, non-existant healthcare and crumbling infrastructure'.

Our system is far from perfect, but it's preferable to the alternative.
 
Exactly. Whenever I hear someone whinging about our 'socialist' government, I tell 'em 'You don't like it? Go and live in America with it's skyrocketing crime rates, non-existant healthcare and crumbling infrastructure'.

Our system is far from perfect, but it's preferable to the alternative.

Well i will tend to disagree a bit here.

Healthcare - I have to take private health insurance in both the countries and at around similar prices(as insurance in US tends to be subsidised by the employer, so my out of pocket is similar).

Crime rates - I feel more insecure in Melbourne right now then i ever did in my 2 years in US and i travelled in over 30 states there over 2 years. At least in US i knew which areas/suburbs to avoid. Over here it happens everywhere.

Infrastructure - Dont get me started on this. What should i talk about Freeways, Internet, Public transport costs, hotel/accomodation costs. In all these things i found US much ahead but it also depended city to city.

Why am i still here or why i came back, you will ask? Well simple, my family was here. It had nothing to do with the above factors.
 
Healthcare - I have to take private health insurance in both the countries and at around similar prices(as insurance in US tends to be subsidised by the employer, so my out of pocket is similar).

Over here, if you don't have insurance, you can still get treated - for free. Over there, if you don't have insurance and can't afford to pay for it, tough luck! Have you seen Sicko? Michael Moore is a bit too wanky for my liking, but he does raise some excellent points in that doco.

Crime rates - I feel more insecure in Melbourne right now then i ever did in my 2 years in US and i travelled in over 30 states there over 2 years. At least in US i knew which areas/suburbs to avoid. Over here it happens everywhere.

Where's this 'everywhere' that you speak of? Are you afraid to walk around Toorak? South Yarra? Doncaster? Kew? Camberwell? What are you afraid of? Yuppies that might hurl wet noodle insults at your sense of fashion? You might claim to feel insecure *anywhere* here (which I frankly find utterly ridiculous), but comparing crime stats here to theirs speaks louder than your insecurities.

Infrastructure - Dont get me started on this. What should i talk about Freeways, Internet, Public transport costs, hotel/accomodation costs. In all these things i found US much ahead but it also depended city to city.

Since when is internet and hotel accomodation classed as infrastructure? Public transport costs here are more expensive, because we have less than 10% of the population. Of course our public transport is going to be more expensive.
 
Infrastructure - Dont get me started on this. What should i talk about Freeways, Internet, Public transport costs, hotel/accomodation costs. In all these things i found US much ahead but it also depended city to city.

I can see how all these could be true, for example:

America started its federal national highway (freeway) program in the 1950s (Eisenhower). We started federal funding much later.

Public transport costs. Yes their fares are lower, but so is their service levels and patronage (outside a few big cities). Few people with a choice use public transport in the US.

Low Hotel accommodation costs. Maybe low due to cheap labour/illegal immigrants who will work for nix.
 
Over here, if you don't have insurance, you can still get treated - for free. Over there, if you don't have insurance and can't afford to pay for it, tough luck! Have you seen Sicko? Michael Moore is a bit too wanky for my liking, but he does raise some excellent points in that doco.

I cant say for others but I don't have a choice, i have to take it here else i will be slugged with another tax. So even though i never used it in last 5 years but i still have to take it for the whole family. And i think the Rudd govt. is keen to make it even more expensive by removing the govt. rebate :eek:


Where's this 'everywhere' that you speak of? Are you afraid to walk around Toorak? South Yarra? Doncaster? Kew? Camberwell? What are you afraid of? Yuppies that might hurl wet noodle insults at your sense of fashion? You might claim to feel insecure *anywhere* here (which I frankly find utterly ridiculous), but comparing crime stats here to theirs speaks louder than your insecurities.

Well i am of Indian origin and as of now, yes i am afraid of going anywhere after dark and that will include suburbs that you have mentioned. I am sure you wont feel like that coz you are not being targeted. It wasn't always like that though. 8-10 years i used to feel very safe till very late in the city as well but not any more.

Also i dont think that giving instances of posh suburbs serve any purpose. Good suburbs in Chicago are pretty secure as well.

Since when is internet and hotel accomodation classed as infrastructure? Public transport costs here are more expensive, because we have less than 10% of the population. Of course our public transport is going to be more expensive.

I thought thats what Rudd is trying to say that Internet is part of vital infrastructure of this century. So i am sure he knows what to consider as infrastructure and what not. As for hotels, that was more from my point of view as i used to travel a lot. But let me what parameter you consider Australia light years ahead of US.

Objectively speaking, i dont think we need to say which country is better than other. Both the countries are big and experiences will differ based on where one lives and ones particular circumstance. All in all i will regard both the countries pretty much the same with few differences.

The key positives making Australia look better then elsewhere are:
1- High Migration
2- Resources
3- Lack of resource daring big war commitments.

You take away these three big advantages and see the difference.
 
Well i am of Indian origin and as of now, yes i am afraid of going anywhere after dark

This is appalling and I'm embarrassed for our country that the policing seems to be totally ineffective.

The police presence in the USA is so large that I felt safer in most places there than here in Australia, too. Especially driving on lunatic fringeville known as the Australian freeway.
 
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