Category Archives: afro American

What Is A Slumlord?

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A slumlord is a derogatory term used to describe a landlord who knowingly maintains rental properties in poor or unsafe conditions, often while charging high rents. Slumlords typically neglect necessary repairs, ignore health and safety codes, and exploit tenants, often those in low-income or vulnerable situations who have limited housing options.

Characteristics of a Slumlord:

  1. Poor Property Maintenance: Failing to address issues like leaky roofs, broken heating systems, mold, pest infestations, or structural problems.
  2. Health and Safety Violations: Ignoring building codes, fire safety regulations, or sanitation standards.
  3. Exploitation of Tenants: Charging high rents for substandard housing, often targeting tenants who lack the resources or knowledge to advocate for themselves.
  4. Lack of Responsiveness: Ignoring tenant complaints or requests for repairs.
  5. Illegal Practices: Engaging in unethical or illegal activities, such as wrongful evictions, rent gouging, or refusing to return security deposits.
The Shifting Sands of the Hourglass of World States, is there a Fourth World?

Legal Context in Canada and the US:

Both Canada and the US have laws and regulations to protect tenants from slumlords, but enforcement varies by region.

  • Canada: Provincial and territorial laws govern rental housing. Tenants can file complaints with local housing authorities or tenant boards if landlords fail to meet their obligations. For example, in Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act outlines landlord responsibilities, and tenants can seek recourse through the Landlord and Tenant Board.
  • US: Housing regulations are enforced at the state and local levels. Tenants can report violations to local housing authorities or take legal action. Many cities have tenant rights organizations that assist renters in dealing with slumlords.

Tenant Rights:

Tenants in both countries have the right to:

  • Live in a safe and habitable environment.
  • Request necessary repairs.
  • Withhold rent or take legal action if the landlord fails to address serious issues.
  • Be free from retaliation for reporting violations.

Addressing Slumlord Practices:

  • Document Issues: Tenants should keep records of complaints, repairs, and communication with the landlord.
  • Report Violations: Contact local housing authorities or tenant advocacy groups.
  • Legal Action: In severe cases, tenants may sue for damages or force the landlord to make repairs.

Slumlords contribute to the broader issue of housing inequality and the lack of affordable, safe housing in many urban areas. Combating their practices requires stronger enforcement of housing laws and increased support for tenants.

Arguments for Slumlords as a Source of Affordable Housing

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  1. Market Necessity: In areas with severe housing shortages, slumlords may provide the only available option for low-income individuals, preventing homelessness.
  2. Economic Realities: Some landlords claim they cannot improve properties without raising rents, which could displace tenants. Low-income tenants might prioritize cost over quality due to limited options.

Criticisms of Slumlords as a Blight:

  1. Exploitative Practices: Charging high rents for substandard housing capitalizes on tenants’ desperation, often violating health/safety codes.
  2. Health and Safety Risks: Poor conditions (e.g., mold, pests, structural issues) harm physical and mental health, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.
  3. Moral Concerns: Profiting from inadequate housing perpetuates inequality and dehumanizes tenants, prioritizing profit over human dignity.
  4. Community Impact: Neglected properties contribute to neighborhood blight, reducing investment and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Systemic Context:

  • Root Causes: Slumlords thrive in systems with inadequate affordable housing, weak regulation, and income inequality. They are a symptom of broader failures in housing policy.
  • Regulatory Gaps: Weak enforcement of housing standards allows slumlords to operate, while insufficient subsidies or public housing leave tenants with few alternatives.

Conclusion:

Slumlords are primarily a blight, exacerbating poverty and inequality through exploitation and neglect. While they may fill a temporary gap in housing supply, their practices harm individuals and communities. Addressing the issue requires systemic solutions:

  • Policy Interventions: Strengthen tenant protections, enforce housing codes, and expand affordable housing initiatives.
  • Ethical Alternatives: Promote public housing, rent control, and community land trusts to provide dignified, sustainable housing.

Ultimately, the existence of slumlords underscores the need for structural reforms rather than tolerating exploitative stopgaps.

slumlords provide affordable housing. In many cities, there’s a shortage of affordable housing, so even if the housing is substandard, it might be the only option for low-income individuals or families. Without these slumlords, maybe there would be even fewer options, leading to homelessness. But then, the counterargument is that the conditions in these properties are terrible, possibly violating health and safety codes. So even if it’s affordable, is it acceptable for people to live in such conditions?

You’ve highlighted a critical tension in the debate about slumlords and affordable housing: the trade-off between availability and quality. Let’s break this down further:

The Argument That Slumlords Provide Affordable Housing:

  1. Housing Shortages: In many cities, affordable housing is scarce due to rising costs, gentrification, and insufficient public housing. Slumlords fill a gap by offering low-cost options, even if the conditions are poor.
  2. Preventing Homelessness: For some low-income individuals or families, substandard housing may be the only alternative to living on the streets or in shelters, which can be even more precarious.
  3. Market Realities: Slumlords often operate in neighborhoods where property values are low, and the cost of maintaining or improving housing exceeds what tenants can pay. Without them, these properties might remain vacant or be redeveloped into unaffordable housing.

The Counterargument: Unacceptable Living Conditions:

  1. Health and Safety Risks: Substandard housing often violates health and safety codes, exposing tenants to hazards like mold, lead paint, pests, faulty wiring, and structural instability. These conditions can lead to serious health problems, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.
  2. Exploitation: Slumlords often charge rents that are disproportionately high relative to the quality of the housing, exploiting tenants who have no other options.
  3. Moral and Ethical Concerns: Allowing people to live in such conditions raises ethical questions about dignity and human rights. Affordable housing should not come at the cost of basic safety and well-being.
  4. Long-Term Costs: Poor housing conditions can perpetuate cycles of poverty by affecting tenants’ health, education, and employment opportunities, ultimately costing society more in healthcare, social services, and lost productivity.

The Broader Systemic Issue:

The existence of slumlords is a symptom of deeper systemic failures:

  • Lack of Affordable Housing: Governments and private developers have not built enough affordable housing to meet demand, leaving low-income individuals with few options.
  • Weak Regulation and Enforcement: In many places, housing codes are not strictly enforced, allowing slumlords to operate with impunity.
  • Economic Inequality: Rising income inequality and stagnant wages make it difficult for many people to afford decent housing, forcing them into substandard options.

Is It Acceptable?

While slumlords may provide a temporary solution to housing shortages, the conditions they offer are fundamentally unacceptable. Affordable housing should not come at the cost of health, safety, or dignity. The solution lies in addressing the root causes of the problem:

  • Policy Solutions: Governments should invest in affordable housing, enforce stricter housing codes, and provide subsidies or incentives for landlords to improve properties.
  • Community Initiatives: Nonprofits and community land trusts can develop and maintain affordable, high-quality housing for low-income residents.
  • Tenant Protections: Stronger tenant rights and rent control measures can prevent exploitation and ensure that housing remains affordable and habitable.

In conclusion, while slumlords may fill a gap in the short term, their existence is a symptom of systemic failures that need to be addressed. Affordable housing should not mean substandard housing, and society must strive to provide safe, dignified living conditions for all.

Why Criminalizing Homelessness Fails Society: A Call for Compassionate Solutions

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Introduction
In cities worldwide, the visibility of homelessness often prompts punitive measures, including arrests for offenses like sleeping in public or loitering. However, jailing homeless individuals is a counterproductive approach that exacerbates systemic issues rather than resolving them. This article explores why criminalizing homelessness is ineffective, inhumane, and costly, while advocating for evidence-based alternatives.

1. The Ethical Failure of Punishing Poverty
Homelessness is rarely a choice. Systemic factors such as unaffordable housing, wage stagnation, mental illness, and lack of healthcare drive individuals into homelessness. Criminalizing these circumstances is inherently unjust, punishing people for conditions beyond their control. As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing noted, laws targeting homelessness often violate human rights by discriminating against the poor. Jailing vulnerable populations ignores the root causes of homelessness, perpetuating cycles of marginalization.

implicating the Co-Ordinating The Use of Space Should Involve Inhabitants of Our Streets

2. Financial Costs: Jails vs. Solutions
Incarceration is expensive. The average annual cost to incarcerate one person in the U.S. exceeds 35,000,whereas providing permanent supportive housing—a proven solution—costs roughly 20,000–$25,000 per person annually. Cities like Houston and Salt Lake City have reduced chronic homelessness by up to 90% through Housing First initiatives, which prioritize housing without preconditions. Taxpayer dollars spent on jails could instead fund housing, mental health services, and job training, generating long-term societal savings.

3. Overburdening the Legal System
Arresting homeless individuals for minor offenses clogs courts and jails, diverting resources from serious crimes. In Los Angeles, for example, homeless individuals are disproportionately cited for low-level violations, straining law enforcement and judicial systems. A 2019 study found that 11% of LA County Jail inmates were homeless, highlighting how incarceration becomes a revolving door for those without stable housing.

4. Public Health and Safety Concerns
Jails are ill-equipped to address the complex needs of homeless populations, particularly those with mental health or substance use disorders. Incarceration often worsens these conditions, leading to higher relapse rates and vulnerability upon release. Conversely, access to healthcare, counseling, and harm reduction programs has proven more effective in improving outcomes. A 2020 study in Health Affairs found that supportive housing reduced emergency room visits by 40% among chronically homeless individuals.

For Many on the streets, the failure of other systems of family and faith lead to the desire for answers - often to solve problems in the economics of identity.

5. The Cycle of Criminalization
A criminal record creates barriers to employment, housing, and benefits, trapping individuals in homelessness. For example, a 2018 report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty revealed that 70% of U.S. cities ban camping in public, pushing homeless populations into further isolation and legal jeopardy. This punitive approach undermines trust in institutions, discouraging people from seeking help.

6. Alternatives That Work
Successful models emphasize dignity and support:

  • Housing First: Provides immediate housing with wraparound services, showing a 99% retention rate in Denver.
  • Mental Health Courts: Divert individuals to treatment instead of jail, reducing recidivism by 58% (Council of State Governments).
  • Outreach Programs: Cities like San Diego employ teams to connect homeless individuals with services, reducing street homelessness by 14% in two years.

Conclusion
Jailing homeless people is a costly, short-sighted strategy that deepens societal inequities. Compassionate policies addressing root causes—affordable housing, healthcare access, and economic support—offer a sustainable path forward. As a society, we must choose investment over punishment, recognizing that homelessness is not a crime but a systemic failure demanding urgent, humane solutions.

References:

  • United Nations Human Rights Council, “Report on Adequate Housing” (2016)
  • National Alliance to End Homelessness, Cost Studies (2021)
  • Journal of the American Medical Association, “Health Outcomes and Housing First” (2020)
  • U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Housing First Evidence (2023)

The Disparity in Dental Care Between the Rich and the Poor

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A person receiving dental care
Disparity in dental care

Proper dental care is essential to living a healthy life. However, there’s a greater chance for people from low-income backgrounds to have greater dental health problems than those from affluent families. Here’s a quick analysis of the disparity in dental care between the rich and the poor.

The Gravity of the Situation

A greater percentage of people from deprived backgrounds have been hospitalized because they needed dental care than those who were better off financially. However, many people from low-income backgrounds struggled to receive the care they needed because 35% of low-income parents and 38% of low-income adults without children did not have health insurance in 2013.

What makes this situation worse is that dental care treatment in the hospital is about 10 times more expensive (even with Medicaid enrollees) than preventative dental care at a dentist’s office. Furthermore, Medicaid doesn’t cover preventative costs. Thus, enrollees have to rely on ER care at the hospital when their conditions worsen.

The Effects of Lack of Dental Care for the Poor

Receiving proper dental care is vital because it affects the patient’s and physical health as well. A lack of proper dental care can contribute to various chronic illnesses that may pertain to cardiovascular disease, pregnancy complications, respiratory infection, and so on.

Regular dental check-ups, cleanings, and prompt treatment of any oral issues are essential for mitigating these risks and ensuring optimal health outcomes. One often overlooked aspect of oral health is the condition of the tongue. A yellow tongue, for instance, can be indicative of various underlying issues, ranging from poor oral hygiene to more serious health concerns. Monitoring the color and appearance of the tongue during routine dental visits can provide valuable insights into a patient’s overall health status.

In addition to physical health ramifications, there are mental health concerns, such as a correlation between decaying or missing teeth and depression. This is also the case because missing teeth can result in increased self-consciousness and societal scrutiny.  So, it makes it more challenging for people from low-income backgrounds to thrive within society.

Lack of proper dental care for people from low-income backgrounds also causes them to struggle with its effects on their employment opportunities. Poor dental care causes patients to experience discrimination in the job market. Thus, there’s a cycle in which disparity in dental care between the rich and the poor causes the latter to continue struggling to receive better dental care because they can’t afford insurance.

From Homelessness to Renting: How to Find Rental Housing without References

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Homeless
The solace of silence is sometimes the only vocal support one gets without friends and family references.

There is no point in sugar-coating the fact that transitioning from homelessness to renting can be quite difficult for an individual, especially in cities like Toronto or Vancouver. From a landlord’s perspective, these markets are full of eligible and desirable tenants, so why would they lend their property to someone without any reference and an unstable (or non-existing) rental history.

This is a challenge most homeless people face, even when they have found a stable job and have enough money for a deposit. Finding rental housing without references can be tough but not impossible. There are a few things you can do:

1. Seek out your regional Housing First* program. It’s designed to help homeless people find stable homes. You’d need to contribute a portion of your income (ideally 30% or more) while the rest would be covered by rent subsidies. It also helps you establish a rent history that can open up more rental housing options for you.

2. Provide potential landlord proof of stable income. If you’ve been working for a while, bring your last three payslips and, preferably, a letter from your employer stating your good behavior (and that they don’t have any plans to let you go in the foreseeable future).

3. If you have a stable income and money for monthly rent but not the deposit, charities like Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army might assist you (financially). With a decent deposit amount (say three-months rent), you might be able to convince potential landlords to rent to you, even if you don’t have references.

4. Don’t fake a reference history. It is a huge red flag, and if you get caught, it might disrupt your chances of renting with other landlords as well.

5. Talk to the people who are running emergency shelters. They might be able to guide you to individuals who might be inclined to rent to you without references, just to pull you out of homelessness. If not, they might be able to put you in touch with local housing assistance programs you might not be aware of.

Be honest, talk to the people helping homeless individuals in your community, try to save as much money as you can for rent and deposit, find a co-signer if you can, and make sure your employer puts in a good word for you.

*https://www.bchousing.org/projects-partners/funding-opportunities/RHFP

This Is Not Racist?

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If this picture is offensive to you, donate 1$.  If a billion dollar a year company can produce top notch commercials to present their product to the public, that same company should put as much emphasis on it’s personnel’s education.

Said company is quite good at educating mass populations into their stores with the promise of a better life.  The reality is harsh.

This is an experiment to assess how many people still find this image unsettling.  And along with your dollar, please leave a comment as to why this image is offensive.

 

 

A WalMart employee celebrating Hallowe’en in Blackface.

Hello Out There

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You wonder sometimes if there is really anybody out there? Do you ever get that feeling that there is, I know I do – and in these days and times it seems not even God is enough or rather faith in God. Are we alone in this vast Universe have we turned our backs on God or has God turned it’s back on us. Mankind professes to know so much, The Big Bang , went from a “theory” to a factoid even-though there is no real way to prove or disprove that theory.

So here we are in 2018 staring down an unknown but a seemingly apocalyptic future, man wants to be the creator of his own Universe. There is no insurance policy that protects this Earth in case of destruction. There is only faith, you either have it or you don’t, if you don’t have faith there is a certain emptiness that pervades your every waking moment.

If I had known what I know now then would I have chosen the same path? Was a life of unrighteousness worth the pain of the memory of so much gone wrong and spoiled bad and rotten. Losing ones faith to mediocrity and popular-ism seeking fame and fortune leads to the same 6 foot hole that a nameless vagrant lies in with no headstone.

We humans are so smart we can demand that it be as we say or we will make it so, and like Children arguing with a parent we think we get our way until we realize that we don’t. It was a smart creator that put the things in the Universes so far out of reach – when God thinks mankind is ready we will be free of the bonds of Earth, free to roam the stars and with Gods blessing.