Hugs for the Homeless: Fuck Off, This is a Travesty.

Louis Shalako

Hugs for the fucking homeless.

(Make my fucking day. – ed.)

This story really pissed me off, ladies and gentlemen. I will try to be calm and sensible and explain just why that is.

It’s simple, really. The Canadian journalists who report these stories, whether on the radio or in a community newspaper, never seem to ask any questions. They’re more concerned with making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, in the sense that it’s Christmas. They don’t want to bring anybody down.

No, they’re just being good corporate citizens. No, this is a heart-warming, touchy-feelly sort of a story, and how wonderful it is, that the community will find some dried soups in the back of the cupboard and drop that off at the radio station...

They’re virtue signalling like mad, just like the rest of the bourgeoisie. They want that fuzzy, feel-good glow that comes from making some sort of charitable, public-service announcement that, in the case of radio, is in fact part of the license agreement. Just as they have to play X-amount of Canadian Content, which leads to repetition and a certain, inoffensive boredom-ness if nothing else.

The fact is, young people between the ages of 16-18 can apply for OW, (welfare). There are some restrictions. Reading the guidelines, (which you probably won’t), a simple runaway doesn’t really qualify. But here’s the real problem.

Welfare is only $733.00 per month. This Ministry has always divided subsistence (as well as ODSP, the Ontario Disability Support Program), into ‘shelter portion’ and 'subsistence portion'. This is part of the colossal cluster-fuck of a system that this province has just claimed to have solved in their ‘comprehensive’ 100-day review of social services. Never mind the fact that you can’t find too many one-bedroom apartments in this town even for $733.00 per month. The shelter portion is $390.00 per month. If they don’t have a place, an address of record, they are simply not eligible for that $390.00 per month. Simple subtraction shows that the remainder is $343.00 per month to live on.

Bearing in mind the need to contribute, even for a couch surfer, something in terms of food, laundry, transportation, it is virtually impossible for a person in such circumstances to save up the necessary first and last month’s rent to move into virtually any apartment, shared accommodation or rooming house.

They'd better not be sharing or co-habiting with anyone else on OW or ODSP, because one or the other will have to give up that shelter portion, or both will have to give up some of it.

There’s nothing left at the end of the month for them to save, and quite frankly, that’s damned little for a month’s worth of food—especially, as the piece notes, they don’t have cooking facilities to begin with. It will be, out of sheer necessity, fast food. It will be junk food, just exactly the sort of behaviours that make it so easy for the true, knee-jerk Toronto Sun comments section trolls to bite on. And having bit on that, the fuckers will never let it go, either.

I remember that fucking goof St. Myles of Yappi, in a story in the Sarnia Journal, once said, “People aren’t getting the assistance they need.” Even then, he was careful not to mention Ontario Works or ODSP.

He’s too afraid to piss off corporate donors or just the smug, mealy-mouthed hypocrites that like to call themselves Christians but they’re basically just ignorant. They’re ignorant as all hell, when it comes to any knowledge about the people they are ostensibly trying to help, or what resources are (or aren’t) available, or what sort of circumstances or conditions people are operating in.

When they donate a tin of beans or some stale bread, they actually think that it does something--anything, to end poverty. The truth is, that it doesn't because the problem is structural.

They are extremely careful not to know that.

And that’s a damned shame, because this problem, this travesty, really doesn’t have to happen. It is a choice, and a political one.

I say that because if starving, homeless children isn’t a political issue, then I would sure as hell like to know what does qualify.

In other words, fuck off.

Image: Stolen.

Thank you for reading.

END

A New Camera for My Business. Louis Shalako.

Louis Shalako



Okay, this is the camera I have ordered. I will be using it for the business, where I take pictures of rooms to be rented, renovations,  cars, motorcycles, beds, even lava lamps.

(If I get a chance to take a picture of a pretty girl, you guys will be the first to know. Also, this thing does macros. So watch out for that.)

Also, I take pictures of progress on my own jobs, as well as before-and-after shots of projects engaged in by my clients; photos for their blog, (and this blog), etc. I have to admit, I've done very well with the cheap, $100.00 cams, and I have no doubt they will continue to give good service under certain circumstances, for example, this one won't be quite so easy to slip into a pocket or lunch-bag.

#cameras

I take pictures of houses, landscaping, public events portraying Sarnia-Lambton in a positive manner.I take pictures at work, the beach, and pictures of my dinner. I have always wanted to be a food and beverage blogger.

What's missing in the cheap cameras is image quality—lens quality. They're not much better than a plastic button, the digital zoom rapidly becomes pixelated.

Nowhere in the specs did it mention a flash, although it probably has one. Downloadable via Wifi and Bluetooth, but a cable is fine for what I plan on doing. I can always pull the card and stick it into the front of the machine.

This one claims 1080 HD video with stereo sound pickup. #hmn

#killer

I will let you know how that works out.

Here are the specs.

You can click around in there and see what I’ve just bought for roughly $340.00 CDN, including tax, shipping and handling, from Amazon dot ca.

I’ve been reading it, and so, we do have a flash, and a micro HDMI cable will work to load to the computer.

Digging into the specs here, the camera is supplied with a USB/HDMI cable, a neck or shoulder strap, and a lens cap. Other than that, I might have to buy batteries. I am sure I have an SD card around here somewhere. After all, I have them in other cameras.

So, with an actual lens on the front of the thing, we shall see if I can do anything with it—other than making money, that is.

The really great thing, is that it’s an allowable deduction from income under ODSP guidelines. You can also make a book cover with it, which I have done in the past when I was young and desperate.

Hell, I might even create some derivative works of art.

Image. (stolen by) Louis Shalako.

Thank you for reading.

Change Your Thoughts And You Change the World.

Louis Shalako.

According to the news, clients of the Ontario Disability Support Program will now be able to earn up to $6,000.00 per year without deductions. If true, and if it works as advertised, that would be up from $2,400.00 per year as it currently stands.

What will happen, is that all ODSP (and OW recipients), will get a notice in the mail regarding the changes to the system. There are some less positive changes, including a new definition of disability, which will make it harder for those with mental health issues to qualify for ODSP, as well as injured workers.

Having fallen from a scaffolding and broken my back in three places, I can tell you that getting fucked over by a liar of an employer, and consequently denied WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) benefits has had a serious impact on my life and my earning potential.

#ODSP #OW

Here's the thing with ODSP guidelines for business and employment. If I buy work boots, or a computer monitor for business/employment purposes, it must be deducted from income in the month during which the purchase was made.

This is quite typical of the legislation, which was written for the province by some of the most expensive lawyers in the world.

It's not a year-end deduction such as that almost any other company or individual engaged in business might enjoy. In that sense, it was always discriminatory. People on ODSP should be seen to be suffering, or the taxpayers get ornery.

Cynical but true--it is also true that a good chunk of my yearly income is subsidized by the taxpayers.

So, when I totaled up my earnings, mileage, other allowable deductions, and I was still above the former $200.00 per month limit, I had little choice but to invest more into the business. 

Reinvestment is all very well, but as I have stated in the past, I can't eat it. I can't put it on my credit card. Essentially, I can't use it to live on. I had no choice, or I would face the (former) fifty percent claw-back. If the allowable earnings have indeed been raised from $2,400.00 per year to $6,000.00 per year, I have more choices in what I can do with the money.

#social_services_reform

Doug. If I buy a computer for the business, the deduction only applies to the month the purchase was made. This should be a year-end deduction.

#Doug_Ford @FordNation #ODSP #OW #Louis

Ladies and gentlemen, if their plan is a bit short on the details, then we have the opportunity to offer some suggestions. #right

On Ontario Works, (welfare), the system requires that people be looking for work. On ODSP (disability), the system cannot force people to seek employment. Loosening up the ODSP guidelines encourages work for those able to do so to some extent. For example, I work part-time. With maximum benefits still running thirty-five to forty percent below the poverty line, loosening up the guidelines is one method (among many) to reduce poverty in the Province of Ontario.

#ODSP #OW

Questions remain.

When they say 'without deductions', bear in mind there are few details other than this announcement, and that Canadian journalists, for all of their virtues, have little or no experience in interpreting ODSP/OW guidelines for business and employment.

For the government to say you can earn up to $6,000.00 per year and there are no allowable deductions would be just plain ignorant. 

My interpretation is that clients will still be allowed to deduct reasonable business or employment expenses, including mileage and other costs. In which case, raising the allowable earnings is a progressive step for those able to take advantage of these provisions.

It is also an encouragement for others to do so.

Especially if they see it paying off--

If you have a dedicated business vehicle, you could deduct insurance, fuel, repairs and maintenance, any required upgrades (a trailer hitch for example) against earned income.  

#ODSP #OW #Louis

Unless someone tells me otherwise, the usual provisions apply.

So. Rather than ineffectual do-goodery, all let's-go-down-to-the-riverbank-and-hold-a candlelight-vigil-to-raise-awareness, here is one single, concrete and specific suggestion for reducing poverty and providing employment training for clients of Ontario Works, (welfare):

Provide enhanced benefits as an incentive to go to community college and gain the skills to make good wages in industry and commerce, including service industries. There should be no penalties for otherwise employable persons who go back to school (at any level), with a view to improving their employment potential or entering the marketplace as a business, start-up, or other enterpreneurial venture, i.e., capitalism.

#Doug_Ford @FordNation #ODSP #OW #Louis

Ladies and gentlemen. I have just begun to consult with this government.

#Louis

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