Road to hell is paved with good intentions blah blah blah

Mood: sad
A University of Virginia sociology professor made a profound and revolutionary observation: "The system always looks functional from the top." The foremost literary application of this principle is "Down & Out in Paris & London". Orwell was a tad ingenous in that his middle class background allowed him to come up for air periodically. Nevertheless, the book is a classic. For a modern day update, see Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America."

At the bottom in Richmond, in order for the homeless to get services from The Daily Planet, they must be processed by something called Central Intake. At least there are no signs at the entrance that say, "Arbeit Macht Frei." (OK, OK, I stole that gag from Sam Seder and we all know how painful that can be).