What's to be done about homelessness?

[jhkim]

As to the homeless--well, yeah, they are a growing problem. A vast majority of them are drug addicts and alcoholics, or some combination of both. Add in the mentally damaged--some of which are naturally dealing with such, from birth, etc, through no fault of their own--while many of these mentally defective homeless people have developed mental illnesses as a consequence and byproduct of their years of drug addiction. The huge spectre of many of these people is yeah, they are not just "unemployable"--they have become entirely non-functional.

Actually, the number of homeless people in the U.S. has been decreasing over the past two decades. They might be increasing in some areas, or just becoming more visible, but the total absolute numbers are going down - and the fraction goes down more since the population is going up.


cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#Statistics_and_demographics

While there are some non-functional people for certain, most homeless aren't like that. Most are temporarily homeless and then get back on their feet again.

EDITED TO ADD:

It bothers me greatly, though, that we are confronted with what? 10%? 20% or more of the population that gets a free pass. They get to fuck and breed, and do drugs, and lay around, vandalizing the community, threatening the community, and just being an endless, bloated fucking cockroach, totally dysfunctional, and mostly due to their own shitty, poor choices, their own selfishness and irresponsibility on a monstrous sale, for years in many cases, if not the vast majority--and the rest of society gets to pick up the whole fucking tab. We work, pay taxes, obey the law, try and live life right, and we are stuck with the tab for these millions of irresponsible, selfish, fucked up homeless people, most of which are addicts.

The total homeless population is 0.17% of the population - and most of those are sheltered (i.e. living in shelters or group homes) - not living on the street. It's not millions - it's less than one million. We have more prisoners than that, and they cost more to house and feed.

[SHARK]

As to the homeless--well, yeah, they are a growing problem. A vast majority of them are drug addicts and alcoholics, or some combination of both. Add in the mentally damaged--some of which are naturally dealing with such, from birth, etc, through no fault of their own--while many of these mentally defective homeless people have developed mental illnesses as a consequence and byproduct of their years of drug addiction. The huge spectre of many of these people is yeah, they are not just "unemployable"--they have become entirely non-functional.

Actually, the number of homeless people in the U.S. has been decreasing over the past two decades. They might be increasing in some areas, or just becoming more visible, but the total absolute numbers are going down - and the fraction goes down more since the population is going up.


cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#Statistics_and_demographics

While there are some non-functional people for certain, most homeless aren't like that. Most are temporarily homeless and then get back on their feet again.

EDITED TO ADD:

It bothers me greatly, though, that we are confronted with what? 10%? 20% or more of the population that gets a free pass. They get to fuck and breed, and do drugs, and lay around, vandalizing the community, threatening the community, and just being an endless, bloated fucking cockroach, totally dysfunctional, and mostly due to their own shitty, poor choices, their own selfishness and irresponsibility on a monstrous sale, for years in many cases, if not the vast majority--and the rest of society gets to pick up the whole fucking tab. We work, pay taxes, obey the law, try and live life right, and we are stuck with the tab for these millions of irresponsible, selfish, fucked up homeless people, most of which are addicts.

The total homeless population is 0.17% of the population - and most of those are sheltered (i.e. living in shelters or group homes) - not living on the street. It's not millions - it's less than one million. We have more prisoners than that, and they cost more to house and feed.

Greetings!

Jhkim, I normally like charts. Sometimes though, charts are meaningless. I'm from California. I have seen homeless populations go from being virtually invisible and infrequently encountered--to whole armies of them, gathered in gibbering squalor, and encountered every fucking day, whether you are in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Costa Mesa, Orange, and beyond. Every parking lot, many street corners, day or night. Santa Ana has *hundreds* of homeless people living near the library and government building, so much so that city employees need to be escorted by security to the parking garage so they are not assaulted and raped. Out in Anaheim, whole tent cities of homeless. In Westminster, packs of homeless everywhere. Garden Grove, and more. In fucking Huntington Beach, a friend of mine routinely had homeless people climbing his back fence and bathing in his swimming pool. The neighborhood has in recent years seen an increase in crime, vandalism, and vagrancy, all from homeless people. Not so long ago, Huntington Beach was a great city and a great place to live. It, like many other towns, has rapidly been turning into a shithole, overrun by homeless people. People in Seattle, and friends of mine in Portland tell me the same kinds of stories. Their cities are turning into dangerous shitholes filled with homeless people.

And again, you might like to believe that most homeless people are merely homeless temporarily, and soon "Get back on their feet." Nice. I'm not buying it though. I have personally met far too many homeless people that have been homeless for *years* man, with no end in sight.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

[zircher]

I've seen a decrease in my city, so I think it is fair to say that there is a redistribution of the homeless population in progress.  I know some of it is weather based and policy based, things got colder in OKC.  And, I would not be surprised if CA became more inviting.

[Two Crows]

I would be careful assigning causation here.

Most substance abusers are not lazy party-animals, they are people who are just far enough from suicidal that a daily faux-death has become their way of life.

Have you ever met a heroin addict?  Those people aren't living good.

It is entirely plausible that people who find themselves perpetually homeless turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism.


As to housing reform; you aren't going to see it in a democracy.  For most Americans, their home is BY FAR their largest asset and the majority of their wealth.  Anything that makes housing cheaper is going to exert a downward pressure on those values.  The only laws & policies we see are working in the opposite direction ... all home values go up annually.

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Well, as I mentioned, homelessness has increased nationally every year over the last three years, consecutively.

"Trends in Homelessness
Compared to the previous year, homelessness increased by 3 percent in the 2019 Point-in-Time Count.  This marked the third straight year of national-level increases."

Source:

https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-2020/

The giant map chart thing also shows that homelessness has increased in the states of New York, Washington, Oregon, and California, in particular.

Thus, based on the current and most recent data, what I said is accurate. Homelessness in America is a growing problem.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

[jhkim]

Actually, the number of homeless people in the U.S. has been decreasing over the past two decades. They might be increasing in some areas, or just becoming more visible, but the total absolute numbers are going down - and the fraction goes down more since the population is going up.


cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#Statistics_and_demographics

Well, as I mentioned, homelessness has increased nationally every year over the last three years, consecutively.

"Trends in Homelessness
Compared to the previous year, homelessness increased by 3 percent in the 2019 Point-in-Time Count.  This marked the third straight year of national-level increases."

Source: https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-2020/

My graph only went to 2018, but it's the same data. You can see the first two years of increase on the graph I posted. Yes, it did increase further in 2019 (to 567,715), but we are still well below the levels set in 2007. So... homelessness nationally went down 17% from 2007 to a low in 2016, and then up again 3.2% from that low to 2019.

That's different than the narrative you gave. Even if it had gone down again in 2019, it would still be a problem, and we should still try to address it. But it's important to see that we *have* successfully reduced it from 2007.

The giant map chart thing also shows that homelessness has increased in the states of New York, Washington, Oregon, and California, in particular.

Thus, based on the current and most recent data, what I said is accurate. Homelessness in America is a growing problem.

Why those states? And you're wrong about Washington - it has decreased there. From the site you source,

Since 2007 homelessness overall has decreased, but the ten biggest percent increases have been (in order) South Dakota (+72%), New York (+47%), Idaho (+32%), DC (+23%), Massachusetts (+22%), Montana (+18%), Alaska (+16%), Kansas (+13%), California (+9%), Minnesota (+9%).

Since 2018 which is the recent uptick nationally, the ten biggest percent increases have been New Mexico (+27%), California (+16%), Idaho (+15%), West Virginia (+12%), Kentucky (+11%), Georgia (+10%), Oregon (+10%), Minnesota (+10%), Kansas (+7%), and South Carolina (+6%).

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Yes, homelessness is a growing problem that needs to be addressed. I don't have much faith that the government bureaucrats involved will prove to be very successful. They will make lots of promises, embrace lots of compassionate-sounding rhetoric, and spend lots of money--lots of taxpayer dollars--and somehow, in the end, have little to show for it.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

[Ratman_tf]

Why those states? And you're wrong about Washington - it has decreased there. From the site you source,

Since 2007 homelessness overall has decreased, but the ten biggest percent increases have been (in order) South Dakota (+72%), New York (+47%), Idaho (+32%), DC (+23%), Massachusetts (+22%), Montana (+18%), Alaska (+16%), Kansas (+13%), California (+9%), Minnesota (+9%).

Since 2018 which is the recent uptick nationally, the ten biggest percent increases have been New Mexico (+27%), California (+16%), Idaho (+15%), West Virginia (+12%), Kentucky (+11%), Georgia (+10%), Oregon (+10%), Minnesota (+10%), Kansas (+7%), and South Carolina (+6%).

Huh. And Washinton's spending on the homeless continues to rise.



Interesting.

[David Johansen]

So, how many found housing and how many died?

[consolcwby]

Should the homeless should be rounded up and murdered horrendously? No.
Why? Because they are the perfect people to test new covid vaccines on!
Why? So SJW autonomous zones won't have competition from the FREE city street people!
There. Solved it!

EDIT: Damn it! That won't work because most people are killing each other in line for the privilege of being guinea pigs!

nevermind.

[The Spaniard]

Assuming Youtube hasn't deleted it yet, watch the documentary 'Seattle is Dying'.

Great documentary, very eye opening.

[Spinachcat]

California has mastered the homeless crisis.

The states and cities throw tax money at grifters and useless agencies who do nothing and everyone else just ignores the heaping piles of filth and drugged out human vermin.

Viola! Utopia achieved.

[Ghostmaker]

California has mastered the homeless crisis.

The states and cities throw tax money at grifters and useless agencies who do nothing and everyone else just ignores the heaping piles of filth and drugged out human vermin.

Viola! Utopia achieved.

Yeah, that works till you run out of other people's money.

Though with the newly anointed Pederast In Chief, I expect some of these big-spender blue states will be coming hat in hand to the federal government for bailouts. Sleepy Joe already plans, supposedly, to remove the SALT (state and local tax) cap on federal tax deductions, which means once again states with lower taxes will be propping up the ones with higher.

[zircher]

Yeah, that works till you run out of other people's money.

Feh!  That sure as hell has not stopped California.  I think all states should have a balanced budget amendment.

[Edit]
Of course, CA does have balanced budget language, but that is just a limit on expansion.  It permits same as last year+inflation expenditures.  So, if last year was broken, then all subsequent years will be broken as well 'by law'.

[Ghostmaker]

Yeah, that works till you run out of other people's money.

Feh!  That sure as hell has not stopped California.  I think all states should have a balanced budget amendment.

[Edit]
Of course, CA does have balanced budget language, but that is just a limit on expansion.  It permits same as last year+inflation expenditures.  So, if last year was broken, then all subsequent years will be broken as well 'by law'.

Yeah, it's so balanced that California's trying to crank out laws that will let them hit people who leave CA or don't even work in CA with taxes.