|
Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2016 14:40:13 GMT
I ran across this interesting article today, about an aerial photographer who took drone shots that highlight the architectural and planning contrasts in post-Apartheid South African cities. The results are, expectedly, shocking. Apartheid's Urban LegacyThe poor and the wealthy are competing for space on this planet. In my home city, Vancouver, home of the multi-million dollar condos, there are thousands of people living on the streets. We have the downtown Eastside which, as some of you can attest to, is a tragedy. So what do we do? Wait for the apocalypse or the class wars? Disease, famine or climate change? I'm glad my life is drawing to a close, because it seems there are no right answers.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Jun 22, 2016 15:20:51 GMT
That is interesting. One thing that is striking is the disproportion of use of space - the poorer communities have no green space and probably few amenities, while the richer ones are following a suburban US model that is very wasteful of space and resources.
While not all the problems in Vancouver's downtown east side are caused by our version of apartheid (against Indigenous people) they are a major factor. But so is the gross inflation in housing costs - even a couple in which both partners have decent jobs has a terrible time finding and affording housing. I have a friend there who is a nurse, with a lot of seniority; his wife is also a nurse. They've had a terrible time affording anything there.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Jun 22, 2016 15:40:32 GMT
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is a terrible comment on our times, we now see the consequences of overpopulation and greed together.
I read somewhere that the so called "quantitive easing" where the central banks issue extra money is simply passing that money directly to the rich. We get scandals like the present BHS chain store saga, where the rich owners take over an old established store chain with a healthy pension scheme for the employees. They then proceed to asset strip the business and salt the money away in tax havens, sell the husk of the business to a dodgy "businessman", who strips out what is left, and chucks the employees on the scrap heap. Is there any morality left at the top?.
I'm with Lizzy, not long to go before they come to fit my wooden overcoat, and hope to go before it all turns nasty. The French revolution will have nothing on what could happen here.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Jun 22, 2016 15:54:20 GMT
When Marks and Spencer pulled out of Canada, leaving many people craving tasty foods and undergarments that wore like iron, as well as woollens that were still made in the UK or occasionally in continental European countries, the Canadian branch was profitable. This was in the great age of greed is good, and they decided that they could make a higher profit in some other kind of trading. And that was just one example.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2016 16:10:31 GMT
|
|