The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

...sickens me to no end (and I know this may appear arrogant). When I see pictures of small children in a city that has a sh!t ton of money having to get meals their meals at a food bank, I cannot help but think what the heck is happening to the thousands of dollars I give every year to local charities?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100928_11_0_Theper91472

I challenge all of us in this forum to find just one family in need, and do what you can to help them to their feet. It really is rewarding to see the results of a little effort. Yes, this is guido, and I am on my meds.

Get rid of the casinos and see if the trend reverses.

Does this challenge extend even to those of us who are currently homeless?

I doubt it would.

Why not?  Are the poor exempt from caring for their neighbors with the same lot?

But it makes it difficult when that person has nothing to give.

It's not always about giving money. Sometimes a phone call re: a job lead, or taking care of their kids in order to make a job interview, or helping write a resume. Jeez cust, think!

And if that person had a job lead, or the ability to write a resume, or a place to watch kids, that might be reasonable, but some don't even have that.  Jeez guid, think!

If memory serves, the big casinos have only been around for 10 years or so? Has the government school system gone down that far in 10 years?

The problem with the higher level of those in poverty reflect the current economy more than the school.  What Conan is refering to though is the tendancy of people to poor their coin into the machines hoping for a big payout, and finding themselves in poverty because they keep chasing that payout.

The problem with that theory, in my experience, is that people who are the type to toss away all their money in casino, are the type that will find somewhere to toss it all away even without a casino.

That'd be the tri-fecta of alcohol/cigarettes/meth.  The Casino is the host.

I don't find too much accuracy to that statement.  Yeah, there are several that are wasteful with their money even away from the casino, but not on the scale of what they spend at the casino.  I've seen people take the money out of their accounts that is to pay the mortgage and put it in the machine, when normally they would have held on to that last bit to pay what they needed to pay.  In the business they have a term called chasing the loss/win.  What this comes down to is the person "playing" the "game" thinks that because they just got a win, they will get another (chasing the win), or if they keep lossing, they think that big win is coming up (chasing the loss).  It's a mentality that over takes these people when at the casino's.  I have witnessed firsthand how these people react with this industry compared to away from it.

Oops, my bad. I mixed threads. Lack of sleep and long days has the mind playing tricks.

Okay cust, if your poor, you are off the hook. Don't even bother try helping.

I'm simply pointing out that there may be some on the boards that may need a hand up themselves.