Richard...if you think that you (or I) in our respective stations in life have the ability or the true knowledge to "address the reasons for street gangs and poverty" then you are just being foolish.
I'm a musician who 17 years ago entered the porn biz.
You are an affiliate rep.
FAR smarter people than us have tried to tackle poverty...and FAILED.
Let me smarten you up about the U.S.:
Back in the 1960's President Johnson declared "War On Poverty" (sound familiar..."war on drugs", "war on terror", etc.)
Since Pres. Johnson declared "War On Poverty" the U.S. govt. has spent 15 TRILLION dollars to eradicate poverty.
The result:
1969...2.8 million people in the U.S. on foodstamps
2013...47 million people in the U.S. on foodstamps
that's FORTY SEVEN MILLION or 44.2 million MORE people in poverty than when the "war" was still young.
Dude, take off the rose colored glasses.
When you put people in a position where they get a check and food stamps for doing nothing...they will continue to do nothing.
The policies that you would probably approve of (like the war on poverty) have made things WORSE by taking away the impetus for many people to have any ambition.
I've seen it with my own eyes. Not amongst black people...but WHITE people.
I moved here to Vegas from South Carolina. And I know dozens of people back in SC who got govt. checks and food stamps and went out of their way to NOT work to make money because it would stop their govt. check.
Even though they COULD have made a lot more money with a job...they would rather get the smaller govt. check.
The flea markets in South Carolina are full of folks working cash businesses so the govt. doesn't know that they are making a few hundred bucks in cash (not reporting it of course) on the side to go along with their govt. checks.
You really don't have any idea of how low people will sink.
I admire that you think that all the "poor" people in the U.S. are honorable souls who have been "victimized" by society.
But after almost 50 years of us taxpayers putting out a total of 15 trillion dollars, the situation worsened.
I just want to be clear:
1. Yes, you are WHITE
2. Black people in the United States will not like you no matter how many times you try to tell them you are a Canadian. Matter of fact they will like you less.
3. I know and hang out with lots of black folks. They laugh at people with the ideas you are putting out (not talking about the "poor" black folks, I'm talking about strong successful black people who do NOT like to be thought of as "victims" all of their lives).
4. Blacks, Latinos, and Asians are many times MORE racist than white people.
5. Jews were in slavery for THOUSANDS of years. And after they were finally "free", they were persecuted and even killed in great numbers (the Holocaust).
Nobody gave them foodstamps or welfare checks.
The result: As a race, they are rich as fuck.
Maybe it's time that black and white people let go of the slavery issue (as I said, the Jews make the Blacks slavery history look like a walk in the park).
Nobody alive on this earth in 2013 in the United States was ever a slave or a slave owner.
But some black "leaders" are in the business of racial strife. If you can't see that...I can't help you to understand how it works in the U.S.
You will never see me on here trying to tell you how things should be in Canada and making snide insinuations about you or others there.
Why?
Because I'm ignorant of Canada.
And you, my friend, are ignorant about the U.S.
The thing I can't quite figure out is why you get in these threads in the first place.
You say things about situations that you don't understand. AND you piss people off.
Pissing people off can't be a good thing for a guy who is an affiliate rep for a company. A guy like you should NEVER be on here arguing this kind of thing and insulting people.
Not good business at all.
Just sayin'