More Than Half A Million People: America’s Homelessness Crisis Is Rapidly Exploding On Both Coasts

Oh goody. Like we need another plague upon this earth.

Are they at least getting some sort of medical attention?

 

The simple fact is that over half of the homeless are either mentally ill, or suffering from addiction issues.

Also, the numbers are huge when it comes to homeless and those who are chronically unemployed and homeless. That means people who have not worked or had a home in over a year.

Now I myself have been homeless several times in my life. But I was never a "bum", I continued to work or look for work while I was in that condition, and the times like that were never for more than 3-4 months. I did not use drugs or alcohol, and as soon as I was back at work I returned to "normal" society.

But today, we have an increasing class of people who simply live that way. I literally see them every day at work, and frequently have to call law enforcement because of them. Thieves, they urinate inside the store, they panhandle the customers as they come in or leave the store, sometimes they even try to purchase $5 or so in merchandise, then bum in the line to get the money to pay for it because they have none.

And of course those who sell their Feed Stamp money. The going rate is .50 to the Dollar. They give you their card and number, you make your purchase, then give them half the money in cash. And I can not tell you how many times I have had them come to my register and use 3 or 4 different food stamp cards.

Want to see most of the homelessness evaporate? Institutionalize those who are mentally ill, and force those with addiction issues into rehab. The simple fact is, that is over half of the crisis. It has nothing to do with jobs, because they do not (or can not) work in the first place. The same with affordable housing. If you do not have a job, of course you will be unable to pay rent.

I would rather see them institutionalized, where I know they have a roof over their heads, and 3 good healthy meals a day. Not see somebody who talks to people who are not there selling half of their EBT money for meth, then with the rest buying Honey Buns and candy bars. To me, that is the humane way to handle the issue.

 

All viruses are antibiotic resistant.

 

You will never convince the idiots of that simple and obvious fact.

Like they claim that the "Government", "Big-Pharma", etc. is keeping the "cure" to some disease hidden away in some secret vault somewhere. HIV, Ebola, Flu, Zika, Hanta, Hepatitis, Rabies, Herpes, not a single virus has ever been cured. Not one, ever.

Maybe the closest is Rabies, in which if an individual who comes in contact with the disease gets immediate anti-viral inoculations as soon as they are infected, they have a 95% survival rate. But once they come down with the first symptoms (7-60 day incubation period), the disease is 100% fatal.

In all other cases, the most they can do is try to support the body as best as they can, and try to help it fight off secondary infections. This is the kind of thing that killed Jim Henson. On 4 May 1990 he first showed symptoms of Viral Pneumonia, by 15 May he was hospitalized. On 16 May he died of a massive Strep infection caused by the lowered immunity due to the massive viral infection. The same kind of illness that killed my fiancée 8 years later in almost the exact same way (Viral Pneumonia, followed by a sympathetic strep infection).

That is why even today when I hear somebody state "Pneumonia is not a big deal", I tell them it depends on which form of pneumonia somebody has. Most are bacteriological and easily cleared up. Viral, prayer is about as good as any medical treatment known. Even your own body works against you then, as the very white blood cells that try to fight off the infection actually destroy the lungs in the attempt.

 

Homelessness in America??Never!!Dirty Donald says we have the greatest economy we have ever had and more blacks,whitesAsians and Latinos are working than have ever worked in the history of the world.We can't possibly have homeless and poor people with the mighty mouth Dirty Donald as our leader??Must be fake news!!

 

Just another leftover from the inept Obama years.

 

Yes, free antibiotics are being handed out to all these street people.

(That's what's causing it to be antibiotic-resistant)

 

The state of the economy means nothing to those who choose homelessness. And for those who don't choose it, but somehow end up there? They don't care either.
You'll have to find something else to drop on his doormat. There are enough problems out there, I'm sure you can pick one. Just make sure that he is actually responsible for it.

 

I wouldn't regard myself as a patriot, but I am very fond of my homeland. Which isn't America.

 

"for the people" does not mean free lunch. a commune is the most 'for the people' model of existence on earth, and NO ONE EATS FOR FREE. every single member pulls their weight.

 

ah .. antibiotics have no effect on viruses. Flu is a virus.

 

It’s very telling about who we are having discussions here with. Basic knowledge is virtually absent, yet these people argue with others like they know everything.

 

I'm probably just confusing it with another disease. There are a couple of different ones going around on the streets of SF.

Anyway, it's a little complicated to get into but this is still an issue. Antibiotics are commonly mistakenly given to treat the cold/flu, and it's estimated nearly half of antibiotic prescriptions are prescribed for what are actually viral conditions:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-flu/the-danger-of-antibiotic-resistance.aspx

That doesn't change the fact that there are still some really bad cold/flu strains going around on the streets of SF, which you seem to want to deny.

 

https://www.centerforhealthjournali...-crisis-became-health-crisis-hep-cases-spread

 

More Than Half A Million People: America’s Homelessness Crisis Is Rapidly Exploding On Both Coasts
As a liberal, I care about this problem & want government to help. We should have a program that provides basic, clean, temporary housing for every American needing it. That program could also provide assistance in finding employment & permanent housing for the homeless over time. This is MORE IMPORTANT than further tax breaks for the wealthy.

 

No, what we should do is treat the actual problem.

Put those that are mentally ill into facilities to get the help they need. Make sure they take their meds, and help then control their illness.

For the addicts, put them into mandatory treatment centers, in-patient. Stay in the facility and get and stay clean, or go to jail. No more coddling of drug users.

For the rest, I say we reform the CCC. Put them to work making fire breaks, putting out fires, improving the infrastructure of the country. Hell, it was a great idea that FDR created, I say we bring it back.

Not worked for over a year? Then into the CCC you go. No more free checks from the Government for not working, now you work for the Government, helping the country.

The problem is, most of the homeless do not want work, they do not want homes. They want a handout, food stamps, and cheap drugs. And there is no other way to explain it other than they want to be homeless.

Sorry, I believe in one thing that is said clearly in the Bible. "Those who do not work do not eat." Most of those that are Homeless are their by their own choices in life. Ultimately, they decided to be homeless.

Want simple proof? Right now, I am living in an area that last week saw over 30,000 people become homeless. And I bet within a year very few will be homeless.

Why? Because they want homes again, and are going to do whatever it takes to get a roof over their heads again. The bum that last night was sleeping in front of my store at 4AM and pissed on himself (again), I bet in a year he is still going to be homeless. Why? Because he has no damned drive, so long as he has his booze and a place to sleep that the cops do not bother him.

This is what Socialists and Liberals almost always fail to realize. Most of the homeless made the choices that put them there. And no amount of taxation cries or screams of class warfare will address that issue.

Want to solve it? Force the ill and addicts into treatment, and force the other to either work or starve. Then over half of the problem will magically vanish.

 

No, they are not MISTAKENLY given at all. A med student in her/his first week of college knows antibiotics treat bacterial infections, not viral infections. They are give out because patients demand them.

 

They are like spoiled children, complaining about the weird taste that solid gold faucets give the water. Because 'feeling sorry' for utter wastrels living on the streets is about the same level of First World Problem angst. They will rant about it as though it's some great involuntary misfortune .. like war, or famine. It's quite sickening.

 

You should take some into your home and educate yourself. These people live on the streets because that is their choice. My wife went grocery shopping the other day. A man was on a corner near the store with a "will work for food" sign. When my wife bought her groceries she bought a bag full of groceries for him as well. She gave it to him when she left the store. Later she was running an errand and went by the same corner. The man was gone, the bag of groceries she gave him was lying in the street. In short, you can not help people who don't want help.

 

I agree you can't help people who don't want help, but I disagree that that description fits all homeless people. The rate of homeless people in America isn't exploding because millions of new Americans suddenly got infected with a virus that caused them to want to be homeless. Homelessness is increasing at an expanding rate because they are paid so low, that even two or three jobs won't allow them to make enough money to survive in today's high cost society, where rents cost far more than mortgages, but you can't get mortgages without thousands of dollars down. Inflation has jumped prices for basic needs thru the roof over the past couple of decades, but wages have stagnated. As an example: for me personally, rent has increased 150% over the past decade, and food has increased 400%. My working income has decreased substantially in that same time. I suspect many homeless people are there due to circumstances totally beyond their control. Not all, mind you--but the majority--especially those added to the rolls most recently. To be a "great" nation, the vast majority of our citizens must be allowed to participate in the riches & wealth and high standards of living. Today that isn't happening. The wealth has gone increasingly more to the wealthy with less & less to the middle and lower classes. That's been happening since the Reagan administration. As long as it continues, nothing will improve.

 

1) Adapt or perish. Only in Disneyland does that fundamental of mortality and finite resources not hold. And no, you do not need more money or free stuff to survive modern life in America. You simply need self-discipline and the desire to do whatever it takes to survive.

2) The 'vast majority' of your citizens ARE allowed to participate. They are as free to participate as those who do. EVERYONE has the same choices to make, in our opportunity rich western nations. To play the game and get ahead, or not.

 

Well said. There are more jobs now than workers. Anyone claiming they can't get a job is lying or a degenerate. If you want to make more than minimum wage, you need a skill, ability or / and an education. An auto mechanic can make 100K, plumbers and electricians can do the same. Corporations are begging for engineers and business grads. It is all there for the taking. No one ever got ahead begging for handouts.

 

1. Sounds like traditional Capitalist Darwinism. Pure BS. We live in an economy with ever increasing disparity between the rich & poor, with a rapidly decreasing middle class. We're approaching the level of income disparity that existed in France during the 1780s, and Russia during the 1910s, and you know where both of those ended up. The only way America can ever become "great again," will be if & when it remembers how to allow everyone--or at least a large majority--to share in its wealth.
2. There's a HUGE difference between being allowed to participate and being financially capable of participating. If every moment of every day is hijacked by the demands of simple survival, there's no time, money, or left over energy to invest in building a business or investment portfolio. But even more importantly, the daily struggle for survival erodes and eventually destroys hope for those trapped in that environment. Being judgmental & critical is easy for those who never had to face that challenge. But for those who do, it dominates their views on life, and their very existence. The wealthy see & experience a very different reality, where opportunity & the means to access it are available to them. There is a definite perspective tied to each side of this equation, and it is based on personal experience. Neither side has experienced the other side, and are equally inept in understanding the other's point of view. History teaches that eventually those left out get mad and resort to violence. That always ends up badly for everyone. The solution is to find ways to allow more & larger segments of the population to enjoy the wealth of the nation. Many countries have achieved that. America did so during the 1950s, but since the early 1980s, we've been sliding backwards into capitalist purity, where the rich own & control everything. That's a dangerous place to be--historically speaking.

I'm not suggesting "handouts." I'm suggesting the renewal of assistance programs to help those blocked from opportunity to regain access, so they can become successful on their own. The more people gain access & are given the opportunity for success, the greater our nation and our society will become--and the longer it will last.

 

This has very little to do with the issue. Automation has taken 80% of jobs in the past decade. Not illegals.

Im not saying the illegal immigration situation isnt an issue, and needs to be looked at. But its not THE reason.

 

I heard Nader say recently, that the Milennial generation will have the lowest percentage of home ownership ever witnessed in modern times. And there are reasons for this, and it isn't just because that generation are dead beats, but reflects upon a globalist economy that destroys middle classes in america. Add to that the fact that paying back high student loans(cannot get out of them by bankruptcy) is taking the place of house payments and it makes common sense.

I never knew what a homeless person was until it began in the 1980s in my area. We have seen a return of what we saw as a nation during the great depression. And it is primarily caused by an economic model, globlalism, that does not supply enough living wage jobs for our population, due to competition with slave labor in the East, from the world's dirt poor. In order to max out the upper tier's profits. We once viewed our economic model differently, that began with our founders and using tariffs to protect our business and labor from the world's poor who will work for cents on the dollar.